Crab ID

[Snoopdog]

I think so too, it may be because it is a juvenile or its diet made it so that they aren't as bright.

Also, from what I have read on KP Aquatics, they sometimes catch emerald crabs that are much hairier than normal emerald crabs - so something similar might be going on with your ruby crab? I haven't seen any literature with pictures identifying a separate species that look like the ones that they sell. Crab taxonomy hasn't really been updated much during this century.

Hopefully we see him again this week, I am going to take a macro lens and try to get a better picture. The only thing different, or appears to differ is the claws. It could be because he is juvenile but his claws look shorter than mithraculus forceps.

 

[Cole.mormon]

Is there substrate

 

[Cole.mormon]

They need it to walk

 

[Snoopdog]

Is there substrate

Yes.

 

[KyleJ42]

Sorry, didn't mean to seem like I was attacking you. Please do not take it personally. I just did not want to let someone mistakenly make a decision from that statement, be it a joke or not (which is sometimes hard to tell through just text alone).

I'm just honestly tired of people being trigger happy on killing every single crab that is hairy when someone posts an ID request. It's our responsibility to proper research what we take from the ocean before we make a decision like that, or else it is pointless and irresponsible to do that.

I wholeheartedly agree. I just got some tbs rock that had some gorilla crabs in there, and as much as i didnt want to hurt them (believe me i sat there for like a half hour just watching them after catching wondering if there was anything else i could do) i had no choice. I live in an apartment and have no sump with my tank or any other means to keep them around without being in the DT

 

[BloopFish]

I wholeheartedly agree. I just got some tbs rock that had some gorilla crabs in there, and as much as i didnt want to hurt them (believe me i sat there for like a half hour just watching them after catching wondering if there was anything else i could do) i had no choice. I live in an apartment and have no sump with my tank or any other means to keep them around without being in the DT

Honestly a hard decision to make even if there really is only one sometimes, especially because nobody is going to want to take it from your hands either. There is really no way for the rock sellers to even prevent this either... If you've seen live rock in the ocean, you'll notice that there are often soooo many crabs in a rock and nearly all of them are impossible to remove.

 

[Snoopdog]

Honestly a hard decision to make even if there really is only one sometimes, especially because nobody is going to want to take it from your hands either. There is really no way for the rock sellers to even prevent this either... If you've seen live rock in the ocean, you'll notice that there are often soooo many crabs in a rock and nearly all of them are impossible to remove.

Because they are smart enough to hold on for dear life. You would literally have to tear one to pieces to get it off a rock. I just found the little guy again, he is on a chunk of live rock in the sump chewing away on something. He is definitely not shy. I know I have one more crab in the DT that I have to catch, he is a bit more red though. I am trying to catch anything and everything that could propose a problem before I really start buying corals. I am getting close to the end of the ugly stages but I will be as patient as these guys are at not getting caught.

 

[BloopFish]

Because they are smart enough to hold on for dear life. You would literally have to tear one to pieces to get it off a rock. I just found the little guy again, he is on a chunk of live rock in the sump chewing away on something. He is definitely not shy. I know I have one more crab in the DT that I have to catch, he is a bit more red though. I am trying to catch anything and everything that could propose a problem before I really start buying corals. I am getting close to the end of the ugly stages but I will be as patient as these guys are at not getting caught.

You might have a better chance at catching them by trapping them. Most crabs are quite attracted to squid or shrimp.

Yeah, I totally get it. Once I saw a large Carpilius maculatus (7-11 crab) under a ledge that was about 6-7inches long that I wanted to catch out of curiousity (some people eat them, though they are sometimes rumored to be poisonous). It was impossible to get it out with just my hands and with the waves crashing. Definitely need a tool of some sort to pry them out to even have a good chance at getting them, especially because these crabs are so smooth and round that its impossible to grab (compared to a spiny lobster). Perhaps next time I encounter one I may bring a tool to catch them and keep it in its own tank.

 

[Tired]

If anyone winds up with a crab they actually don't have anywhere to put and can't find anyone to take, please don't flush it. That's not a humane way to kill anything. Either euthanize it with clove oil (which you should have on hand anyway, in case something is too sick or injured to survive), or get a sharp knife and cut it in half like how people kill lobsters. The knife thing seems brutal, but is a quick death- something can't suffer if its brain is destroyed.

 

[KyleJ42]

If anyone winds up with a crab they actually don't have anywhere to put and can't find anyone to take, please don't flush it. That's not a humane way to kill anything. Either euthanize it with clove oil (which you should have on hand anyway, in case something is too sick or injured to survive), or get a sharp knife and cut it in half like how people kill lobsters. The knife thing seems brutal, but is a quick death- something can't suffer if its brain is destroyed.

Does impaling with a sharp object work too? Practically the only way i could get them out of the rocks, and then flushed them. Also, trapping doesnt work in my case currently because i have cirolanid isopods that need to go byebye before i give them a free meal.

 

[Tired]

Impaling is really not ideal. Through the center of the body could kill them relatively quickly. If it's your only option, have a sharp tool and flat surface ready to kill them as soon as you get them out of the tank, then flush. Or, if you plan on keeping any fish that would like to eat crabs, put the (dead) crab in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Add any further crabs to that same bag, and voila. Free treats.

Cirolanids can get caught in crab traps, too, if you watch the trap closely enough. Or you can make a cirolanid trap. Dead crab might actually work as bait for either kind of trap.

 

[Snoopdog]

Well, he grew.

Better ID now?

This is only two months of growth!!