Who Gives A Fish Forums

I recently got a small Aussie Elegance and it's been a letdown - it never really opened up like it should. I've been trying to get the lighting and flow just right, moving it around, but the other night I took a closer look and found these bright orange, crab-like legs tucked away in its soft tissue. They were definitely moving, and I figured that wasn't good for the coral. So, I decided to take it out and carefully remove the "crab" with tweezers - turns out its body shape is more like a tick, actually. My 9-year-old son, my little biologist, started researching "sea tick" and had a good laugh about it. Does anyone know what this thing is? Hopefully, I didn't do too much damage to the coral's tissue when I was removing it, and it'll recover.

https://scontent-b-mia.xx.fbcdn.net...=52e6e65d14f56d3a941cb3aad43d3042&oe=54E2A660

No way, that's seriously creepy. I'm sorry, I've got no info on that one. The face on its back is just plain unsettling.

That face on its back is freaky, I didn't catch that till you mentioned it, now it's all I see.

No, no, no, no, and no. That's just plain creepy. I've got no info on this one, sorry. And honestly, the face on its back? Not a fan.

I'm thinking it might be a sea spider, actually. Those Pycnogonids are pretty interesting, I found some info on them. Check out this link - it's got some good stuff on hitchhikers like this guy. http://www.lionfishlair.com/hitchhiker/hitchhiker.shtml

I'm pretty sure I know what you're dealing with - a coral gall crab. I did a quick image search on Google and found tons of pics of these little guys attached to elegance corals.

felinxo wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 10:23 am No way, that's seriously creepy. I'm sorry, I've got no info on that one. The face on its back is just plain unsettling.

I've had a similar experience with gall crabs in my Aussie Elegance - they can be quite damaging. Mine made a hole roughly the size of a pencil eraser in the skeleton.

felinxo wrote: ↑Fri Dec 27, 2024 10:23 am No way, that's seriously creepy. I'm sorry, I've got no info on that one. The face on its back is just plain unsettling.

I'm pretty sure you nailed it. I did some digging at lunch and that's exactly what it looks like. Glad I was able to get it out, hopefully the Aussie Elegance will bounce back now.