Need Invert Expert Here

[lebloom]

Well I have finally got a a good look at the creature that I have hidden in my LR. It's a white furry crab. Anyone out there have any idea what it is? This sucker is about 2-3 inchesi n diameter and he walks around on his legs. He has got a good set of pinchers too. All this time I thought it was a star fish.

I did lose six fish in my tank. Could this had been my problem? My LFS kept telling me my water was in good shape when I'd go in for a test. I lost a lemonpeel angel, a purple tang, a clown and 2 yellowtail damsels who I never even found they just disappeared. But wouldn't he have eaten the fish or is this thing posionous?????? I NEVER had any type of problem with the fish I bought from my LFS till as of late.

I lost these 5 fish about the middle of october when I went out of town for 2 weeks. This was 3-4 weeks after I purchased the piece of LR I believe he came with.

Should I get rid of my stranger? He may be alot of trouble getting out of there since he balls up in my LR and I just got a good look at today.

Need some help out there!!!!

[Boogiechillin]

I doubt the crab was responsible for the fish deaths, but you definitely want to get it out of the tank - "mystery" crabs like these are usually predators on sessile and slow, mobile inverts. You can usually draw crabs out into the open with a little bit of bait on the end of a long skewer. They have surprisingly strong grips, so give it a good yank when the crab grabs onto the food. If you're quick with a cup or a net, you can usually snag the li'l ******* before it lets go and scurries off again.

[FishBait]

I agree...unless this thing is quite large (of course you would have found it alot sooner then too) there's no way he could have caught, killed, and eaten all of those fish in such a short time. But the general rule is, if it's "fuzzy/hairy" it isn't a good guy ;)

[Pisces]

Sounds like the stowaway we had once. When we first added liverock to our tank we discovered a white, spikey, hairy-looking crab with purple claws. At first I thought it was a pretty little thing (silly me!) so we didn't touch him. The weird thing about him was he stayed hidden inside a hole in the rock all the time, he'd never come out except after dark. Over the next few weeks I noticed the anemones were disappearing. Then I finally caught the little creepy crab in the act of dragging a brand new anemone under a rock to eat it! Needless to say he was no longer welcome in our tank.
The lfs guy just called it a rock crab (so scientific, huh?) and said they are bad news, get them out if you see them. Yeah, we figured that out already, thanks.

[lebloom]

Thats what this creature looks like, exactly. He's got white spikey hair with a purpleish white claws. About 2-3 inches and has no shell. Haven't notice any hermits missing but don't really take a head count. Hides out in my LR and haven't been able to get to him. Guess I'll have to remove the piece of LR.

[TRIGGERFISH1964]

I just removed six of these little guys.
Try to bait a tall drinking glass leaned against the live rock.Once they fall in they can't get out.