Tampa Bay live Rock came in today

[DrinkinPepsi]

What of these are allowed in the display and what are designated to the sump and what or designated to the trash?


#1


#2



#3

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

# 1 is a decorator crab - considered reef-safe with caution (may or may not go after corals).
# 2 looks like a red Mithrax crab (as safe as an Emerald Crab).
#3 isn't reef safe, but could be a fun sump crab.

 

[BetterJake]

# 1 is a decorator crab - considered reef-safe with caution (may or may not go after corals).
# 2 looks like a red Mithrax crab (as safe as an Emerald Crab).
#3 isn't reef safe, but could be a fun sump crab.

I think #3 is a Gorilla Crab? I had one come in on my TBS rock as a tiny baby and had no clue until I saw it devouring my mushroom coral.

 

[ISpeakForTheSeas]

I think #3 is a Gorilla Crab? I had one come in on my TBS rock as a tiny baby and had no clue until I saw it devouring my mushroom coral.

Yeah, it may be a Xanthid or Pilumnid crab, both of which would be called Gorilla crabs by most reefers.

Technically no because the hairy legs alone don’t make it a gorilla crab. Colloquially, you could almost make that argument, but they have the wrong kind/shape of claws for it.

Technically, the term gorilla crab pretty well only applies to crabs from the taxonomic family Xanthidae (emerald crabs are from the same taxonomic subsection - Heterotremata - but a different superfamily and - thus by default - a different family, Mithracidae).

Colloquially, however, the term is applied to pretty much any hairy crab with scissor-shaped claws (emerald crabs have more spoon-shaped claws), and, in the hobby, the term is basically used to mean any crab (regardless of claw shape or if it’s hairy or not) that isn’t reef-safe/would be likely to attack other inhabitants of the tank.

 

[DrinkinPepsi]

Well 3 went to the sump. We will give the decorator crab an opportunity in the display tank and number two also went to the display tank. Thank you for all those that chimed in.