clarity

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Finding hitchhikers (benign ones especially) is actually one of my favorite things about reef-keeping! And today I noticed a new friend in my 1.5 gallon that I most definitely did not add. It’s a beautiful little crab, but not particularly active— I’ve never actually seen it move, just sort of reappear in different locations around the rockwork. But it’s a beautiful animal. I was wondering if anyone had ever seen a crab like this before— what it may be called, what it likes to eat, etc.

B8A5D9FF-8B06-429A-B6C2-6E9DCA0DF22F.jpeg A20895AF-29BB-4E93-BB95-59E7DA0704D6.jpeg 26678929-7074-49BD-A6E2-645144643008.jpeg
 

ISpeakForTheSeas

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Finding hitchhikers (benign ones especially) is actually one of my favorite things about reef-keeping! And today I noticed a new friend in my 1.5 gallon that I most definitely did not add. It’s a beautiful little crab, but not particularly active— I’ve never actually seen it move, just sort of reappear in different locations around the rockwork. But it’s a beautiful animal. I was wondering if anyone had ever seen a crab like this before— what it may be called, what it likes to eat, etc.

B8A5D9FF-8B06-429A-B6C2-6E9DCA0DF22F.jpeg A20895AF-29BB-4E93-BB95-59E7DA0704D6.jpeg 26678929-7074-49BD-A6E2-645144643008.jpeg
You may need to pull the crab out into a container of tank water for some clearer pics (straight-on pics of the top and of the face/claws are helpful with crabs).


To tell if it's a porcelain crab or not:

Porcelain crabs have three pairs of walking legs, two large claws, and a pair of "windshield wiper" legs under their body; true crabs have four pairs of walking legs, two claws, and no "windshield wipers."
 
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clarity

clarity

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You may need to pull the crab out into a container of tank water for some clearer pics (straight-on pics of the top and of the face/claws are helpful with crabs).


To tell if it's a porcelain crab or not:

Porcelain crabs have three pairs of walking legs, two large claws, and a pair of "windshield wiper" legs under their body; true crabs have four pairs of walking legs, two claws, and no "windshield wipers."
Fantastic, thank you! Unfortunately I had a crash after my ac went out and the baby nassarius got to it before i did, so the mystery remains unsolved. But I’ll remember this for the future!
 

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