This little fellow decided to come out of the rock. I have been trying to keep an eye on him for about a week. Nothing is missing but the tank is still relatively new. He is now in quaratine until we can get a verdict.
I had a very similar looking crab in my 30 gallon for a year. I only discovered him when I broke down the tank. I would consider any crab to be NOT reef safe, unless you can identify it as otherwise.
Also hairy sharp claws=very bad. Mythrax crabs that eat algae should have a club appearance on their claws, not a sharp tip. BTW, porcelain crabs are not harmful, usually hitchhike on an anemone. They're filter feeders only, and have very nice markings on them. So not every crab is bad, just a high majority of them. Kinda like a mantis shrimps evil cousin.
Yeah, except for all the porcelain crabs that filter feed and the emerald crab, I can't think of an entirely reef safe crab. Even sally lightfoots will attack shrimp and fish, and some people won't add hermits at all to a reef.
Thanks everyone for your help. Since I am not emotionally attached to the little fellow, and I am attached to a few other things in my tank...he is exiled for good. Better safe now, then sorry later.
