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Anemone Crab

Purple Porcelain Crabs are rock dwellers. They will station themselves on rocks and filter feed on floating debris. They may also feed on invertebrate food such as marine snow or microvert. Porcelain crabs are ornamental...

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Searched Anemone Crab in Reviews

A bit of confusion in species can make a big difference

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There is more than one type of crab commonly called a porcelain crab, some of the crabs that bare that common name are anemone crabs, and some are not. Those that are anemone crabs require an anemone, without one, according to Dr. Shimek (Marine Invertebrates, p. 265) they will die. It is my personal experience that this is true.

When I first placed my anemone in my tank, the clown fish weren't interested in hosting with it, they had plenty of xenia and seemed pleased to live among its waving polyps. The anemone crab lived happily in the anemone instead. As time went buy I decided for various reasons to thin the xenia which rendered it unappealing to the clown fish which then began hosting with the anemone. The little crab sparred with them at first, but was no match for the pair and was eventually driven off. It wandered the tank for a week after which time I managed to catch it and return it to the anemone only to have it driven off again. This crab that I had kept for months perished in just a couple of weeks without the anemone.

The porcelain crab that is not an anemone crab is a shy rock dweller that will do well in most any tank. The various Neopetrolisthes species are anemone crabs, Petrolisthes are rock crabs, both share the common name porcelain crab.

Anemone crab can live in a small tank with their host anemone and will filter feed part of the time, but require supplemental feeding. They will attempt to steal this from the anemone, but you can also place extra food close by the anemone and it will go after it. This is rather fun to watch as it holds onto the anemone with its rear two legs and hangs out into the water, as if hanging on for dear life.

As a crab lover, I highly recommend either of the crabs mentioned in this review. If you do not have an anemone, or a tank mature enough to support one, then the non-anemone species is a good and attractive substitute. The only draw back is that you won't see it nearly as often as you see the anemone crab.

Remember, anytime you have commensal animals you must be able to meet the needs of both animals. In this case, anemone are very difficult to keep and require expert care in a mature tank with plenty of light and random flow.

Liked about it	1. Very attractive crab 2. Interesting behavior 3. Hardy when established with its host anemone
Didn't like	1. Needs a host anemone 2. If kept with clown fish the crab must have its own anemone 3. Will die without the host anemone

Overall rating:		5.0
Overall satisfaction:		5.0
Would consider buying it again:		5.0

By tcamos
Jun 16, 2010

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really cool crab

Comments

A great crab that I got for my RBTA, but is a good solution even without the anemone. Very interesting and attractive crab that filter feeds, so no risk of pestering or bothering other inhabitants in the tank. These will also coexist, and don't require an anemone, and I like to keep them in multiples in all my tanks. I'd highly recommend these for anyone with a reef tank.

Liked about it	very interesting crab, active, peaceful, and will coexist with other anemone crabs.
Didn't like	nothing particularly negative to say, though they may be hard to find if they're not being hosted by an anemone.