Hitchhiker baby crab?

[1epauletteshark]

Issue I've had is "random" deaths. Come in, find an emerald crab on its back or part of a skunk cleaner. Gorillas are good at hiding and are most active at lights-out. I saw one many months ago and never saw it again even after setting traps. Presumed dead, but then there's those random deaths...

If you have a local reefing community, I've posted online when I catch them and there's suprising interest from local reefers to add them to their sump. Might be an alternative to driving to the ocean!

Hm ok good idea, i have a sad feeling it is a gorilla crab but ill have to wait and see

 

[1epauletteshark]

Weird scary hitchhiker crab… gorilla crab?

youtube.com

Looks to be a hitchhiker baby porcelain crab

youtube.com

@Lionfish hunter

 

[1epauletteshark]

Weird scary hitchhiker crab… gorilla crab?

youtube.com

Looks to be a hitchhiker baby porcelain crab

youtube.com

@Lionfish hunter

Does that work?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Weird scary hitchhiker crab… gorilla crab?

youtube.com

Does that work?

That's a filter feeding crab likely a porcelain crab. Those little feathery appendages the broadcast out to catch particulate matter for food. Harmless.

 

[1epauletteshark]

That's a filter feeding crab likely a porcelain crab. Those little feathery appendages the broadcast out to catch particulate matter for food. Harmless.

Thank you, any idea about the other?

 

[Cthulukelele]

Thank you, any idea about the other?

Can't tell for sure from the video, but I will echo what others have said that in that lighting it most looks like an emerald crab to me. In a reef tank they often wash out and aren't nearly as green. Also there are many varieties of mithrax crab. Most common are green, red, and black.

 

[1epauletteshark]

Can't tell for sure from the video, but I will echo what others have said that in that lighting it most looks like an emerald crab to me. In a reef tank they often wash out and aren't nearly as green. Also there are many varieties of mithrax crab. Most common are green, red, and black.

hmm ok

 

[Lionfish hunter]

Weird scary hitchhiker crab… gorilla crab?

youtube.com

Does that work?

Yes it worked! I won’t lie to you though, I don’t know what it is. Very cool though.

 

[1epauletteshark]

Yes it worked! I won’t lie to you though, I don’t know what it is. Very cool though.

Alright no problem i think ill keep it its pretty cool

 

[Cthulukelele]

I had a mithrax crab (emerald crabs are green mithrax crabs) lose a pincer, and when he was growing it back after a molt he looked very similar

 

[Cthulukelele]

Are the pinsirs black and spikey?

 

[1epauletteshark]

Wow i have gone through my fair share of hitchhikers the day i got my live rock i saw a bristleworm but it had promptly jumped out of the tank by the next morning

 

[1epauletteshark]

Are the pinsirs black and spikey?

Yes i do believe so

 

[1epauletteshark]

Wow i have gone through my fair share of hitchhikers the day i got my live rock i saw a bristleworm but it had promptly jumped out of the tank by the next morning

I am sure there are more to come

 

[Cthulukelele]

Yes i do believe so

If they are black and spikey absolutely get it out it's a gorilla crab. Very common and indiscriminate murderers.

 

[1epauletteshark]

If they are black and spikey absolutely get it out it's a gorilla crab. Very common and indiscriminate murderers.

OK thats very worrying and ill try to look up a video to see what kind of trap to make

 

[Cthulukelele]

OK thats very worrying and ill try to look up a video to see what kind of trap to make

Sounds good. If in person it's fuzzy looking with black spiky pincers it's gorilla crab. It won't kill everything overnight, but anything it can get its claws on it'll try to kill and eat

 

[1epauletteshark]

Sounds good. If in person it's fuzzy looking with black spiky pincers it's gorilla crab. It won't kill everything overnight, but anything it can get its claws on it'll try to kill and eat

DEFINITELY FUZZY LOOKING DEFINITELY BLACK SPIKY PINCERS UH OH

 

[1epauletteshark]

DEFINITELY FUZZY LOOKING DEFINITELY BLACK SPIKY PINCERS UH OH

should i try removing the rock it escaped into?

 

[Cthulukelele]

should i try removing the rock it escaped into?

My biggest advice would be the advice everybody on here gives. Only bad things happen quickly in reefing. It will not immediately kill everything. Yes, you should remove it, but take your time. Watch a couple youtube vids on homemade traps. They're noctournal opportunistic omnivores. Should be relatively easy to catch them in a homemade trap at night with a little frozen food in it.

I'm sure if you look up "gorilla crab trap" on YouTube you'll see at least 4 or 5 very usable options. They're incredibly common, and most long term reefers have had one at one point or another.

If it helps ease your mind, I had a tank for almost 4 years with various different fish and corals in it, and I came across a gorilla crab breaking down the tank. Tank was well fed and not casualties.

All that to say don't freak out, take your time, come up with a plan, and enjoy the ride. You'll hit these bumps reefing a lot, and a key to enjoying the hobby is knowing almost nothing is the end of the world and everything can be fixed if you put in the work. Good luck!