Hitchhiker Crab ID Help!!

Owens187

Owens187

AC Members
Oct 22, 2005
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California
just wondering if anyone can id this crab for me, so i know if it is bad or not. i caught it last night , it came in on some aquacultured fiji live rock. i have it in a separate container till i know what it is. the pics arent that great, so maybe you can post a pic of what you think it might be, so i can compare them to it. it is kind of silver/ gray colored with black bands on its legs. the right claw is bigger than the left, with both claws very pointed. the legs are very hairy, and the claws and body have some hair also. the fifth pair of legs is not reduced. any help would be greatly appreciated!!

hitchhiker crab 001.jpg hitchhiker crab 003.jpg hitchhiker crab 011.jpg hitchhiker crab 017.jpg
 
I need to see the Carapace and claws. It is a true pain to ID crabs but fun to do. If you have a reef I wouldn’t take the chance. Some crabs if big can eat your fish.

It may be in the family Xanthidae by your description.
 
With the discription of the hair, i would be concerned that it could be a Gorilla Crab. If so, it is a bad crab because it will eat your fish while they are sleeping when it is bigger. I had one that hitchhiked in on some live rock. I had to remove him. If you see hair on the legs back, I would not risk it.
 
Crabs, as a rule, are all opportunistic feeders.

Better to err on the side of caution if you are not sure what it is exactly.
 
heres a few more pics, maybe theyll help. for some reason i cant get my camera to take clear pictures up close, even though it has a macro setting. i dont know what im doing wrong, as i see all of your guys up close pics so clear. i want to find out if its safe or not so i can get the extra container out of my tank! lol :help:

hitchhiker crab 008.jpg hitchhiker crab 015.jpg hitchhiker crab 018.jpg I need to know so i can remove this eyesore 001.jpg
 
I still can’t tell. The picture is not close enough and blurred. Judging the out line of the claws it may not be bad for the health of your fish. Hair on a crab is for protection. It hides them amongst algae. Usually they live among the rocks.

Here is a picture of a crab to avoid for fish. Notice the claws. Ignore the color, or pretend it’s black and white.

http://www.jamarc.go.jp/zukan/c/c-1/c-m035/c-157.jpg

http://www.jamarc.go.jp/zukan/c/c-1/c-m036/c-161.jpg

Look at these crabs. If I didn’t have a reef I would get either one.

http://www.edge-of-reef.com/brachiuri/BRApilumnus0339.jpg

This one is in someone’s reef. What a brave soulhttp://www.mjc70.co.uk/images/teddy_t.jpg
 
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the claws on this one are just like your first and second picture, really sharp, and the right being bigger than the left. i cant see the claws in the third, but that looks pretty dam close to this one. what is that one??
 
emerald crabs have hair on their legs, but they are not too bad. i have a big one of those and my baby clown fish are still alive. by the way, anybody knows how big emerald crab gets? do they always grow? your crab looks like emeralt to me, but i haven't seen too many crabs in my life.
 
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