Giant teddy bear crab

[Teddy03]

I was looking in my tank today and in a hole and saw this fuzzy little creature. I have never noticed it and I did not add it. The rock has been in the tank for 5 years do I'm guessing it came with the rock. I have not added any rock to the tank. It is huge. 2 1/2 inches. I have not had anyone cone up missing but a couple months ago my brittle showed up missing an entire arm. Could he be the culprit? I am guessing he is safe since that is the only thing that has happened in my tank. Any input on this guy

[Teddy03]

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[SushiGirl]

Kinda looks like it. No idea on the star, since I have no idea what size it is or what size crab it would take to take an entire arm off a star. Stars often lose legs when starving or due to just injury, though.

[Boboli]

Bad news ! Check this site out about crab hitchhikers.
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/hitchcrabs.html

[LeslieH]

Regardless of what Chuck said on his site, the fact that this crab has been in the tank for 5 years without harming anything tells me that it's essentially harmless. Even if it's an omnivore it's finding plenty of food.

As to whether it's a true teddy bear - Polydectus cupulifera - I can't really tell from the images but it's certainly furry enough.

[Teddy03]

Thanks guys, I can't even Leuer him out With Krill. He had no interest in that whatsoever. I will try to get a pic of him when he comes out again. I have never had anything come up missing so he's probably a good one Even though he is super creepy

[OKDOHK]

I don't trust chuck either. With 2 crabs mis-labeled as Xanthid crabs, that are actually Pilumnidae. And all the crabs listed under Mithrax, are actually Xanthid except for the first photo (orange crab with black background). I hesitate to trust his information. Also, i would suggest the OP look up, "Pilumnus vespertilio" as another potential identification for his crab.

[Teddy03]

Thanks I will check it out. Ya, that site was not very useful

[Teddy03]

Just looked that up. It definitely looks like that