Acro Crabs?

[falconut]

Is this crab OK?

http://melevsreef.com/id/tbs/acro_crab_tb.jpg

I am considering an Acro at the LFS and it has 1 or 2 of these crabs in it. Is it OK? If so, what do they eat?

Other corals have hairy legged crabs, I believe they're bad. Is that correct?

[LeslieH]

Yes, it's fine. Members of the genera Trapezia, Tetralia, & Quadrella are obligate commensals on acropora corals. They're primarily harmless tenants and even help protect the corals against predators. The hairy legged crabs are not so well behaved and there are a lot of reports that they will damage polyps.

[AquaReeferMan]

They will eat any detritus that happens to land on the colony.