Crab Hitchhiker ID

[ChiReefGuy]

Tanks been up and running a few weeks and a sneaky little hitchhiker crab from my live rock just decided to show himself. Looks like a porcelain, but would love some other opinions. Best pic I could get so far... he hides a lot still. Thoughts?
http://i459.photobucket.com/albums/qq312/pezdek1/Mobile%20Uploads/20140702_185541.jpg

[ChiReefGuy]

Bump. Can anyone offer a definite ID with that pic? Or do I need a better pic?

[jrozzi]

need a better pic he doesn't have black claws and he doesn't look hairy so that's a plus.

[ChiReefGuy]

Ya, I've been trying to get a better pic. He's still skittish when I catch him out in the open and ducks into the rock right away. Hopefully over the next week or so he gets a little braver and allows me to get a good pic. No fish going into my tank until I know if I have to remove him, or not. The spotted/yellow claw has me leaning towards porcelain, though.

[andex23]

it looks cool, hopefully not a problem.

[mattmann88]

Hard to tell but like jrozzi said he doesn't look hairy. General rule of thumb is smooth=good hairy=bad

[Noah 123]

Generally porcelains won't hide. They need to stand with their claws out to filter feed.

[mattmann88]

And luck with a better pic?

[mbingha]

Generally porcelains won't hide. They need to stand with their claws out to filter feed.

You are half right. They do filter feed, but they are very reclusive. I had one for two years. I saw him maybe a dozen times.

[SwampyBill]

Looks like an emerald crab. Porcelains have thicker, stubbier claws; & are more reclusive. I doubt a porcelain would be that far out in the open. I rarely saw mine either, unless I put food pellets right in front of it's 'den'.

[ChiReefGuy]

Looks like an emerald crab. Porcelains have thicker, stubbier claws; & are more reclusive. I doubt a porcelain would be that far out in the open. I rarely saw mine either, unless I put food pellets right in front of it's 'den'.

To quote you and mbingha, he's extremely reclusive, honestly. He has his den and 99% of the time is in it. I'll come home and spot him in the open a little, and he immediately darts back into his "den" to hide when he spots me. Every time I see Him he's picking at rock eating. I do see him occasionally spit a bunch of stuff out like hes filtering, though. I'm trying to get a good pic, but again, he's very reclusive. He's had a couple blue leg hermits in his holes, and never bothered them. Seems fairly reef safe. Got a hitchhiker coral right next to his den too and he hasn't bothered with that either. Definitely a cool hitchhiker tho! :beer:

[ChiReefGuy]

I would take some food, and put it in a glass cup on an angle from a rock so he crawls in and can't crawl out, then you will know for sure.

I still don't think I would get a great ID. He looks to be covered in coralline lol.