Recent content by LeslieH1

It's a juvenile Panulirus, possibly ornatus. The color is variable and it changes as the animal grows. Here's an adult http://www.scuba-equipment-usa.com/mari ... us%29.html Lobsters are not reef safe. They're omnivorous eating machines. They prefer other crustaceans & fish but if their...

A picture and information about it's origin would be helpful. :)

It's a female Coralliocaris shrimp. There are several species and without a better picture I can't tell which one it is. Like acro crabs they are obligate symbionts of acropora & related corals. My friend Art has a good image of one species here http://www.flickr.com/photos/artour_a/243275702/

Tom, that's absolutely invaluable information for reefers, thank you. I'm sure everyone who reads it will be extremely happy that you answered a year-old post. Perhaps this would take too much time but including the same information on your website for future reference would be a great service...

From reading the various posts about flatworms "plagues" the main concerns people have are 1) will they damage my corals? 2) will they eat something beneficial? 3) will they produce toxins when they die - especially if there's a lot of them? 4) they're ugly & icky. Reef wisdom says that...

It's a commensal crab in the family Cryptochiridae, in the genus Fizsereneia. These called coral gall crabs because the females settle on corals, causing the corals to grow over them & form galls. I know a researcher who would LOVE to have the critter if you want to get rid of it. You can...

Back at ya, Tom :) Folks - Tom is THE expert on Convolutriloba and even has a picture key on the 4 known species on his web site. And if you want to know how species are defined check out his latest paper http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2007f/zt01525p017.pdf It's on the nifty new species Tom...

So maybe they hatched? ;) Experts have their specialties both in terms of the groups they work on and the areas they work in. If I had an odd crab from the Pacific northwest Greg Jensen would be my first choice for an id because he's worked on this fauna for 30 years. I wouldn't ask someone...

thanks Beth. If Shane says its a Durckheimia that's good enough for me. He is one of the world experts on the group and is certainly more likely to recognize it than anyone else who answered your emails. I see Greg & one other went with D. caeca. Eggs change color as they develop so the...

Hi Beth -- did you ever get a reply? I'm curious to know what it is and what the experts thought about the behavior.

If it dies and you see it before something scavenges the body throw it into a container filled with 70% or higher percentage alcohol. Everclear, rubbing alcohol, or a high proof clear liquor like Baccardi 151 white rum are acceptable. Let it sit overnight, drain off the alcohol, then refill...

Hi Beth -- It's very clearly a female whose protruding abdomen is full of eggs to the point where the crab plops forward rather than remain upright. Some species are sexually dimorphic in that the females which stay in the host for their entire lives look quite a bit different from the males...

Durckheimia caeca may not be a rare crab but because of its life inside flame scallops it's not seen or photographed very often. Here's a line drawing of one http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request ... -1-116-f03 If you have access to a library or ejournals check out Journal of Crustacean...

Mysids swim, isopods for the most part crawl. Mysid legs are tucked under the body & not visible from above while munnid isopod legs are spread out on either side of the body just as in the photographs.

Isopods, maybe munnids. harmless & fish food.