hariy hitchhiker

N

natan

Reefing newb
[Instead of a picture (I'll upload it when I can): a hairy chunky crab, about 0.5 in across the longest axis of the body, yellow ends of lags, dark shall, light hair, possibly red eyes.]

This hitchhiker looks cute but how safe is it? It took me a month to first observe it (just as I was getting jealous of other reef folks getting so many cool surprises with their life rocks). From preliminary observations it seems it feeds on algae or organic matter on them - which is probably good.
 
IMO if it is hairy and I don't recognize it I toss it in the sump or give it to someone with predator tank. my theory is if it is hairy it is bad.
 
I don't like em either. they can be a nuisance once they get big. I guess they are ok if you don't have sps and they are still small but once they get big it's another story.
 
There are no good crabs, just killer crabs. Even those sweet little hermit crabs are killers. They have a place in the wild, like minature vultures of the sea. In a small closed ecosystem such as a reef tank there are just to many better options for accomplishing what they wiil do.
 
Xanthid crab from your description but I can't be sure without a picture.

So far,it sounds bad,more predator than an algae grazer.
 
Here is an image:
 

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the image is still in the blurr for identification. I would keep it off your DT untill you get a good picture and confirmation of its identity.
 
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