Crab ID

So, I caught this guy trying to dismantle my sand sifting star last night. He managed to saw off two legs before I noticed it happening.

Of course, the crab is holed up in the worst possible piece of LR in my tank in terms of accessibility. It's also too close to the sand to try the glass trap trick.

All help is appreciated!

 

Can't really see it well enough to ID. Need to see the claws.

Crabs in general are known to nip at sea stars' limbs, though.

 

The claws are rounded, not pointed. I can try and get a better pic of it later, but it's tough where he is hidden.

 

well if it went for your sea star its aint good!

 

Oh, that I know. I was more curious to find out what type it is for other reasons... just to know its habits to help catch it, or to know how much of a priority catching it is.

The hole where it is hiding in my LR has two entrances, but I think it's only big enough to fit out of one of them... which I barred off with my net. I tried luring it out with some food in the net, but it seems to want to go no further than the entrance of its little cave.

I would have to remove 2/3 of my LR (and all of my corals to be safe) to get this piece out. Very frustrating. LOL

 

Wow nice looking crab, looks a bit like a box crab (Hepatus epheliticus) or something similar and as mentioned doesn't look too reef safe. I used the old glass jar to catch mine, I had to find one small enough that the crab could get into but not so large anything else could, enjoy.

 

Take the handle of a wooden spoon or chop stick, and just ram it in there until you crack him. Dead crab is easy to fish out. I know this sounds brutal, but if can't catch it, then what??

I have a small stone crab in my tank that has a IQ of 1000! I can only get a glimpse of him very few weeks or so, but ill get him.

 

cool looking evil crab!

 

My wife, who is normally quite peaceful and loving, is all for this solution. She loves sea stars, and was ticked off to see her favourite one missing two legs.

It could not have picked a better piece of LR to hide in to make my life miserable. LOL It's at the bottom of my tank, and is the fulcrum for a good 1/3 of my LR. I would need something with a 90 degree bend in it to spear the crab though. Any ideas?

I can give the glass trick a try, but I'll need to narrow the opening enough to keep my cleaner shrimp out.

 

cleaner shrimp can swim out to a degree