acro crab

[reefman]

anyone know if this acro crab is safe?
he is kinda hairy n blends into the acro well. i saw him looking like picking on the polyps with his claws n eating. should i evict this guy?

 

[reefman]

heres the little bugger evicted. i think he's eating my acro. i heard hairly ones r not good. he actually was on a smaller acro i got from deepwater. he was much smaller then.

 

[DevIouS]

Sharp pinchers = No good

 

[212jay]

Looks like a gorilla crab.

NOT GOOD!!!!

 

[reefman]

i have another one. should i evict this guy too? no hair on this guy

 

[212jay]

be safe than sorry so yes chuck the bast#$5

 

[loismustdie]

1st one looks bad.
2nd one looks like a typical acro crab. I've got several of those living in my acros. If you guys caught the Blue Planet Coral Seas on Discovery, you would see that some of these crabs are benefical to acros. If these little crabs can defend an acropora against something like a crown of thorns, I'm wondering if they can help protect against any of the pests we get in out own tanks, like acro eating stars, red bugs, AEFW.

 

[michael chu]

cook 1st one
2nd one is safe

 

[Alexpescado]

Second crab is good,I have three of them on my Pocillopora that I purchased from Ronen.Those crabs have a symbiotic relationship with the coral.Check out the link below.





http://www.imagequest3d.com/pages/articles/trapezius.htm

 

[loismustdie]

good article Alex.

 

[reefman]

thanks for the info guys. i didnt evict the 2nd crab. he does seem harmless n after interrogating him with a spot light for 3 hrs, i let him be.:biglaugh:
btw: i realized there's 2 of them.