SKAustin! Orange crab pics

OnePsychLynne

A couple of months ago you advised me to catch an orange crab that we thought might be terrorizing our tank. Well, it's been two months and we still haven't caught the thing! (He's apparently a lot smorter than our emerald crabs that we caught many, many times.) However he's molted again and I have a couple of pics of what is left of his shell (sorry we couldn't get it out completely intact). Let me know what you think.

Pasfur

As a general rule for crabs, "if its hairy, its scary", but I don't see hair on this one!

Austin?

OnePsychLynne

Actually before it molted all of it's legs were incredibly hairy but it didn't have hair anywhere else (he's still hairy). I also know that most brown- or black-clawed crabs are considered bad for an aquarium environment. I think he's slowly chopping up our purple serpent star.

SKAustin

Sorry, I must Have Missed this thread.

That looks like the molt of a Gorilla Crab. It's very likely he may be the cause of your problems, as these are an aggressive little bugger. The pointed tips of the claws are indicative of a carnivore (herbivorous crabs have a spoon like end to the tips of their claws for picking at algae on the rocks).

If he's still in the tank, Best to bait him out, trap him, and remove him.

If you need still help in removing him, post a reply here, then send me a PM directing me to the post.

OnePsychLynne

We've actually had a terrible time with this crab. :( He succeeded in killing all of my emerald crabs, eating all but a 1/4" of one limb off my red serpent sea star and nearly cutting him completely in half, and ripping off one of my rather large hermit crab's claws! Sadly for the little orange crab, after he and my husband had a little run in he (the little orange crab) committed suicide at the end of a knife. I do not normally support such extreme violence but in this instance I was definitely my husband's cheering section! Hopefully the critters that are left can now heal in peace and be happy, healthy aquarium dwellers once again. :D

SKAustin

While I don't necessarily support the killing of aggressive hitchhikers, Sometimes, it is necessary for the safety and success of your investment. So sad is it that you were unable to catch the crab, as in a sump, they are really quite interesting to watch, but I'm certainly relieved that you were able to rid your display of the little bugger. One death to prevent many seems a small price to pay (unless of course, you are the crab).

Best of luck with the further success and healing of your display creatures.