Critter identification

thatindonesianreefer

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Hi
Can you guys please help me identify this?

IMG_5266.jpeg IMG_5267.jpeg
 

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Mr_Knightley

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Looks like a gall crab of some sort, which live in the tissues of LPS coral. They are generally considered harmful since they irritate their hosts.
Where did you find it? It would be incredibly odd for it to leave it's coral host, so it might not be a gall after all.
@ISpeakForTheSeas can help you get a more detailed ID.
 
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thatindonesianreefer

thatindonesianreefer

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Looks like a gall crab of some sort, which live in the tissues of LPS coral. They are generally considered harmful since they irritate their hosts.
Where did you find it? It would be incredibly odd for it to leave it's coral host, so it might not be a gall after all.
@ISpeakForTheSeas can help you get a more detailed ID.
On a trachyphyllia
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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Honestly, I'm thinking that may be a molt rather than the crab itself, but - regardless - I'm fairly confident that's a pea crab of some variety (taxonomic family Pinnotheridae). Do you have any clams or other bivalves in the tank?

Edit: Based on the top of the shell, it's most likely Xanthasia murigera; it's known to inhabit giant clams.
 
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ISpeakForTheSeas

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Still sounds like a gall crab to me. It won't survive long off of the coral, so flush or feed it to a fish.
Yeah, the reason I'm thinking X. murigera is because of this (pic taken from the video):
IMG_9536.jpeg

The pattern there with the heavy definition of the two swirls, the circle, and the little bridge shape between the swirls is very unusual; X. murigera is known to have these shapes heavily defined like this, and another genus of pea crabs are known to have a similar pattern but much less defined.
 
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thatindonesianreefer

thatindonesianreefer

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Honestly, I'm thinking that may be a molt rather than the crab itself, but - regardless - I'm fairly confident that's a pea crab of some variety (taxonomic family Pinnotheridae). Do you have any clams or other bivalves in the tank?

Edit: Based on the top of the shell, it's most likely Xanthasia murigera; it's known to inhabit giant clams.
I do have a tridacna clam
 
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thatindonesianreefer

thatindonesianreefer

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Honestly, I'm thinking that may be a molt rather than the crab itself, but - regardless - I'm fairly confident that's a pea crab of some variety (taxonomic family Pinnotheridae). Do you have any clams or other bivalves in the tank?

Edit: Based on the top of the shell, it's most likely Xanthasia murigera; it's known to inhabit giant clams.
Its moving and alive
 
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thatindonesianreefer

thatindonesianreefer

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Honestly, I'm thinking that may be a molt rather than the crab itself, but - regardless - I'm fairly confident that's a pea crab of some variety (taxonomic family Pinnotheridae). Do you have any clams or other bivalves in the tank?

Edit: Based on the top of the shell, it's most likely Xanthasia murigera; it's known to inhabit giant clams.
Should i kill it?
 

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