Need help with Red crab ID

[wingster]

Me again...sorry.
I have this reddish hitchhiker crab I was able to catch. The white dots look like some other creature stuck to it's shell. It was much more red in water than out. It also has a smooth back, no ridges.
I have seen another in the tank ...whitish, have not caught that yet :)

thanks for any help! I Did check all the crab ID posts and didn't see this one.

 

[Idoc]

I'm not very good on crab identification, but typicallly follow the guidelines that if the legs are hairy there's a good chance it's a bad one. You might want to sump this little guy for awhile.

 

[Patx]

Could be : red Emmerald crab

 

[wingster]

I'm not very good on crab identification, but typicallly follow the guidelines that if the legs are hairy there's a good chance it's a bad one. You might want to sump this little guy for awhile.

Thanks! It's got furry legs for sure.

 

[Tikki]

I have one I believe they’re calling it a ruby clinging crab. Seems sort of like a mithrax. Mine just waves its little claws all day and scrapes algae off the rock.

 

[wingster]

I have one I believe they’re calling it a ruby clinging crab. Seems sort of like a mithrax. Mine just waves its little claws all day and scrapes algae off the rock.

Thanks! I think that might be it. Bummer it can't go back in the tank, as macroalgae is one of the things I want to grow. I might take a ride to the beach and drop it back into the ocean. It will be only a bit further west than from where it came from . I want to catch the other one first that I think is not a good one either. So much fun!!

 

[Tikki]

I have one I believe they’re calling it a ruby clinging crab. Seems sort of like a mithrax. Mine just waves its little claws all day and scrapes algae off the rock.

Thanks! I think that might be it. Bummer it can't go back in the tank, as macroalgae is one of the things I want to grow. I might take a ride to the beach and drop it back into the ocean. It will be only a bit further west than from where it came from . I want to catch the other one first that I think is not a good one either. So much fun!!

I doubt it will make much of a dent in macros. The one I have never leaves its rock and seems to scape film all day.

 

[Double monti 61]

Do not dump it back into the ocean it could become an invasive species!

 

[wingster]

Do not dump it back into the ocean it could become an invasive species!

Good to know and worth considering. It wouldn't be that though if it came from there? Not quite sure how that works...I mean it cam from the gulf, putting it back into the Gulf is bad? Can you please explain more?

 

[wingster]

I doubt it will make much of a dent in macros. The one I have never leaves its rock and seems to scape film all day.

well it's in a separate tank for now.

 

[Double monti 61]

Does not make a difference do not do it give it to someone who might want it or sorry to say kill it!

 

[CaptainScuba]

Good to know and worth considering. It wouldn't be that though if it came from there? Not quite sure how that works...I mean it cam from the gulf, putting it back into the Gulf is bad? Can you please explain more?

Just chiming in;

Just because it is from the gulf doesn't necessarily mean its from THAT part of the gulf. (Is it originally from deeper offshore waters but doesn't exist in the coastal waters where you would place it?)

OR

Just because it came from the gulf doesn't mean that its necessarily originally FROM the gulf. (Is it originally from a different part of the world and now an already established invasive species in the gulf?)


AND

I agree that it looks a lot like a red mithrax crab, I believe an easy way to ID them from other crabs is to look closely at the tips of it's claws. Mithrax crabs have claws that have littles "scoops" or "spoons" at the end of them

 

[BristleWormHater]

I doubt it will make much of a dent in macros. The one I have never leaves its rock and seems to scape film all day.

I agree, crabs hardly touch them, no need to worry unless you are starting with very tiny samples.

 

[wingster]

Just chiming in;

Just because it is from the gulf doesn't necessarily mean its from THAT part of the gulf. (Is it originally from deeper offshore waters but doesn't exist in the coastal waters where you would place it?)

OR

Just because it came from the gulf doesn't mean that its necessarily originally FROM the gulf. (Is it originally from a different part of the world and now an already established invasive species in the gulf?)


AND

I agree that it looks a lot like a red mithrax crab, I believe an easy way to ID them from other crabs is to look closely at the tips of it's claws. Mithrax crabs have claws that have littles "scoops" or "spoons" at the end of them

Thank you for the explanation. This makes sense now. I like to know the "why" when someone tells me don't do something. I really appreciate you taking the time to explain! It has it's own tank for now It can live there with the other one when I find it. I think it might be too large for my small DT (JBJ 45), I red in one place that they can grow up to 3+ inches.