local beach crabs in a reef tank

[Samw]

...and if OP was able to find hermit crabs or some other type of crab not listed in the "Shellfish - Species and Limits Table", he can retain 4 in all Areas in BC including Areas 28/29 (Lower Mainland) with a tidal license.

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/r...quille-eng.htm

"Crab, Other
Area 1 to 29 Limit: 4 Apr 1 - Mar 31"

[gregzz4]

I'll say it again ...
Adding local shore crabs to one's tank is a risky business.
You run the risk of adding pathogens/diseases whatever to your tank.
And now are potentially adding them to the reefing community.
Diseases, pests and so forth come from somewhere;
Flatworms, nudibranchs, whatever.
We all do our best to keep them out of our tanks.

It would be different if these critters were coming from the same places we buy our crabs and shrimps from

You have NO idea what you are adding to your tank by adding crabs from your local shores.
And by doing so, you are adding them to our community.
Have fun with your crabs and I hope you don't incur any issues ...

[Samw]

Not sure if this was a reply to my post. The point of my post was to simply state the laws and regulation. I am not suggesting OP to add crabs to his tank nor to add them to a species only tank either. I'm not giving advice. I am actually trying to minimize posting advice on this board lately But I sometimes post when I see misinformation. Just wanted to make sure there is no misinformation here as well. I kept posting the laws and regulations but people weren't reading them.

Some people keep saying they are legal, and some say they aren't even after the regulations have been posted. So I wanted to repost the regulations.

[gregzz4]

Sam, I'm sure many people saw your posts concerning the laws and such.
But I'm also sure 10x as many people missed them

[gobytron]

Jaywalking is also illegal.
So is speeding.

The legality of something isn't always the be all/end all of many scenarios.
It's good to know the rules though.

I wonder how many instances of the kind if rampant outbreak described above there actually have been within the aquarist hobby.

I just did a quick google search and didn't see anything come up.

It certainly sounds like something that could happen, but I'm no carcinologist and not privy to how their pathogens or pests and predators work.

In any case, It seems to be something that has been done, I imagine it happens fairly often.

That being said, I think it would be far more rewarding to create a natural environment, at least as far as salinity and temperature goes.

Then go and collect...IF you decide you want to run the discussed risks or get a licence rather than to go and grab something and toss it your tank, hoping for the best.