Tiny crab in live rock, reef safe ? ID ?

[reefdude101]

So i spotted this guy in my live rock & managed to get a pic before he went back into hole hes tiny like 2mm just wondering what type of crab he is & if hes reef safe ?, seems to be eating algae or maybe tiny pods from rocks.

 

[reefdude101]

Gotta say I’m looking at him now & he’s cool AF ! Hope he’s reef safe.

 

[DeniseAndy]

Crabs are hit and miss. Especially ones that come in on live rock. May have to wait until it grows a bit to really tell. From the slight view of the pinchers, I would say in the mithrax family, but really hard to tell.

Just cannot tell if they are scoop type claws or serrated.

 

[reefdude101]

Crabs are hit and miss. Especially ones that come in on live rock. May have to wait until it grows a bit to really tell. From the slight view of the pinchers, I would say in the mithrax family, but really hard to tell.

Just cannot tell if they are scoop type claws or serrated.

Just had a bit of a look at the claws, they seem very slim/slender & hes mainly picking the rocks around his hole, from what i can see they dont look serrated at all, he is tiny though, im thinking now how big will it get & are crabs from this family mainly detritus/algae eaters or can they cause issues with inverts too.

If i was to describe it the claws are like long thin tweezers with curved ends.

thanks for the quick response !

 

[DeniseAndy]

Goodness, I am no expert on crabs, but know claws have a lot to do with diet. Mithrax have these scoop like spoon claws that are used to scrape algae off of rock.
Almost all crabs are opportunistic. So, even the reef safe ones can turn into beasts. If he is mostly picking around the algae and not searching for things to kill, that is a good sign so far.

He is not a porcelain type (they are filter feeders and great on the reef).

I would keep an eye on him and where he goes and what he eats. When he gets bigger, get a nice close shot. I love hitchhikers.

 

[reefdude101]

Goodness, I am no expert on crabs, but know claws have a lot to do with diet. Mithrax have these scoop like spoon claws that are used to scrape algae off of rock.
Almost all crabs are opportunistic. So, even the reef safe ones can turn into beasts. If he is mostly picking around the algae and not searching for things to kill, that is a good sign so far.

He is not a porcelain type (they are filter feeders and great on the reef).

I would keep an eye on him and where he goes and what he eats. When he gets bigger, get a nice close shot. I love hitchhikers.

Will do !, me too haha, hes pretty cool either way i think & if hes not great in the tank ill catch him once he gets bigger & donate him to my lfs sump, its amazing what you find at night time with a torch XD & here i was checking on night time PE on sps & he jumped out at me lol.

either way ill make sure he gets a good home too cool not too

thanks for your help !