3 Crab Hitchhikers!

Scythan · 04-27-2008, 12:58 AM

First post here other than my intro post.

All these crabs have come from my Live Rock. I knew after a month that there was a crab in there, but I didn't think there were 3! And I suspect that there is at least one more in there too...

I have decided to keep them and make an "all crab tank" in my spare 10 gallon, and put maybe hermit crabs in there too. Since they have been living together all this time, I figured that would be okay. I have them separate in plastic containers until I get it set up.

The first one to be found was Lucky Beetle, and the last (and hardest!) was the unnamed mottled one. I broke a piece of liverock in half to get at him and had to prod him out with a toothpick.

I love all of them and have held them all without getting pinched.

You can click on the pics to make them bigger if needed.

First crab, purple with yellow legs, named Pinky:

Second crab, mottled grayish, no name yet:

Third and biggest crab, black, named Lucky Beetle:

Lucky Beetle upside down:

Thanks for any help you can give me!

charlesr1958 · 04-28-2008, 10:23 AM

Hard to say by the photos but odds are that they belong to the Xanthidae family, not something you want in a reef aquarium and it is nice to see that you have taken the effort to make them pets. For identification purposes, please see the relevant section of my hitch hiker pages, hope it is of use to you.

A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs

Chuck

goldenmean · 04-28-2008, 10:37 AM

Nice Crabs.
Im glad you are going to make a nice home for them.
Good Job!

Scythan · 04-28-2008, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by charlesr1958

Hard to say by the photos but odds are that they belong to the Xanthidae family, not something you want in a reef aquarium and it is nice to see that you have taken the effort to make them pets. For identification purposes, please see the relevant section of my hitch hiker pages, hope it is of use to you.

A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs

Chuck

Thanks for the link! I looked through the pictures and some looked close with the body shape, but I'm no expert. There are so many types of crabs, I hope to get mine narrowed down to species level, but family is a great start! Nice to know they are related.

Are there any specific things about them I should take a picture of that would help you ID them?

By the way, the link near the top to the photo gallery is broken, thought you'd want to know. Thanks again!

rlcline76 · 04-28-2008, 10:47 AM

Wow, a whole tank dedicated to crabs?!
Nifty!

vdituri · 04-28-2008, 11:23 AM

Raise them up to boiling size? Just kidding.
Nice to see your conservation efforts!

I would be heistant to use those rocks long term unless you are confident in their makeup. They could leach out metals and minerals that could be bad for your marine life. Just a thought

charlesr1958 · 04-29-2008, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scythan

Thanks for the link! I looked through the pictures and some looked close with the body shape, but I'm no expert. There are so many types of crabs, I hope to get mine narrowed down to species level, but family is a great start! Nice to know they are related.

Are there any specific things about them I should take a picture of that would help you ID them?

By the way, the link near the top to the photo gallery is broken, thought you'd want to know. Thanks again!

Carapace shape and claw details will give you the best ID features, but if they belong to the Xanthidae family, a species ID is going to be almost impossible as there are thousands of species and very few of them are documented/known. Online sources (except mine of course..lol) are usualy horrible at getting species correctly named as well.
Thanks for the heads up on the link!

Chuck

04-27-2008, 12:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
Scythan Tunicate Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 10 View Gallery Karma Komment	3 Crab Hitchhikers! First post here other than my intro post. All these crabs have come from my Live Rock. I knew after a month that there was a crab in there, but I didn't think there were 3! And I suspect that there is at least one more in there too... I have decided to keep them and make an "all crab tank" in my spare 10 gallon, and put maybe hermit crabs in there too. Since they have been living together all this time, I figured that would be okay. I have them separate in plastic containers until I get it set up. The first one to be found was Lucky Beetle, and the last (and hardest!) was the unnamed mottled one. I broke a piece of liverock in half to get at him and had to prod him out with a toothpick. I love all of them and have held them all without getting pinched. You can click on the pics to make them bigger if needed. First crab, purple with yellow legs, named Pinky: Second crab, mottled grayish, no name yet: Third and biggest crab, black, named Lucky Beetle: Lucky Beetle upside down: Thanks for any help you can give me! Last edited by Scythan : 04-28-2008 at 12:33 AM.

04-28-2008, 10:23 AM	#2 (permalink)
charlesr1958 Sea Pen Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Mactan Island, The Philippines Posts: 315 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: 3 Crab Hitchhikers! Hard to say by the photos but odds are that they belong to the Xanthidae family, not something you want in a reef aquarium and it is nice to see that you have taken the effort to make them pets. For identification purposes, please see the relevant section of my hitch hiker pages, hope it is of use to you. A Hitch Hikers Guide to the Reefs Chuck __________________ __________________________________________ Chuck's Addiction Reef & Reef Aquarium Articles and Links

04-28-2008, 10:37 AM	#3 (permalink)
goldenmean Beautiful Katamari Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Chicago Posts: 4,087 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 3 Crab Hitchhikers! Nice Crabs. Im glad you are going to make a nice home for them. Good Job! __________________ A 55g link in the GoldenChain My Second Quarantine Tank 2 (+) Year Retrospective of a 12g Nano Jeff What You Think Upon Grows... Have a Smooth Day!

04-28-2008, 10:47 AM	#5 (permalink)
rlcline76 Manta Ray Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 3,365 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: 3 Crab Hitchhikers! Wow, a whole tank dedicated to crabs?! Nifty!

04-28-2008, 11:23 AM	#6 (permalink)
vdituri Excellent Guesser :D Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Sacramento California Posts: 5,728 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 3 Crab Hitchhikers! Raise them up to boiling size? Just kidding. Nice to see your conservation efforts! I would be heistant to use those rocks long term unless you are confident in their makeup. They could leach out metals and minerals that could be bad for your marine life. Just a thought __________________ Victor ----- People come into our lives for a reason, a season or a lifetime. When you know which one it is, you will know what to do for that person. When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled, their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

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