Crab ID Please!!

[Aldente P.]

This is the guy that has been lurking in the dark for months in my big tank.Do anemones kill crabs?

 

[Guest]

I do not know what type of crab he is but with the sharp and pointy claws I would be wary.

 

[bimmerzs]

Looks like a gorilla crab...very bad guy. http://www.tbsaltwater.com/thepackage/watchout.html

Cheers,

 

[Wes]

my mantis would be happy to take care of him! great snack! let me know if you need help with the extermination!

 

[SCOTT42]

Did you find him dead? or is he still alive?

 

[Aldente P.]

Yes he was dead when i found him. This is the first time i have seen him out in the open. Before now never could get a full view of him. Wonder what killed him? He was laying right beside the seabea. Any thoughts? TIA

 

[Ashlar]

I bet that's not a dead crab but an intact molt.

 

[ss95003]

@Ashlar wrote:

exactly what i was thinking...I bet he is still in there somewhere.

 

[Aldente P.]

Not a molt,it is a dead crab no doubt. I even broke off one of his claws. :twisted:

 

[SCOTT42]

I was thinking it was a molt as well, Do you still have it? If so then try to break open his main body shell, and see if theres any meat in there. If im right crab can regrow there claws, and if it is a molt he may have lost his claws in the process, it's worth a look.

 

[Wes]

many creatures that molt give up a claw from time to time, when we were looking into our mantis, they said it is not uncommon for him to molt off a claw every other time, so definately check his body like scott said...

 

[Aldente P.]

Wow! I think you are correct! When i cut into its main there was no meat. then i cut into the claws and there was nothing there either. I am beside myself. :shock: And i thought i was finally rid of him,nope he's just got bigger! How do i get rid of him before he does something bad to my fish? I only catch a glipse of him every 6 months or so. The last time i fed him a whole cube of shrimp, so he would'nt feed on anything else. TIA

 

[SCOTT42]

How deep is your sand bed? One way I can think of is if you got a deep sand bed, you can bury a glass jar in the sand with food in it, now once he goe's in to feed he might not be able to get out, kinda like a pit trap. Now if someone else has a better way then you might try it,but that is my sugestion.

Allso, What are you gonna do with it once you catch it?

 

[SCOTT42]

@WeMa wrote:

Good one WEMA, what you got is a rentamantis.

 

[Aldente P.]

Would the Mantis harm anything else in my tank ?

 

[Wes]

Trust me, you do not want a mantis in your tank. They will destroy and eat everything in it. The only reason you would ever want one is to keep it as a pet in its own seperate tank. If you ever catch that crab and decide not to keep it, we will happily take it from you and feed it to our mantis. She would love it!