Electric Orange Hermit Crab

General information

The Electric Orange Hermit Crab pops out from the rest of the animals in the aquarium because of its bright orange legs with brown bands. In addition to that, it also has blue eyes. It can grow up to 2 inches. It also lives inside empty snail shells.

It is an omnivore that mainly consumes algae, seaweed, uneaten fish food, and detritus. It also helps in maintaining the aquarium by eating up green hair algae and cyanobacteria. Like the electric blue hermit crab, it aerates the substrate of the aquarium by sifting through the sand. When there is scarcity in algae, the electric orange hermit crab can be fed with meaty food such as mysis shrimp.

Sexing hermit crabs is extremely difficult.

It is native from the Hawaiian Islands.

Like most invertebrates, the Electric Orange Hermit Crab does not do well if there are large swings in water parameters. It also does not tolerate any type of metal traces in the water, therefore, it should never be in contact with any copper medications.

Most invertebrates do not like large swings in water parameters and the Electric Orange Hermit Crab is not an exception, so even though most hobbyists do not acclimate their cleaner crews it is suggested to do so. If you have a sump, float your cleaner crew in an area with low light to allow them to temperature acclimate first which should take about 15-20 min. Then it is best to slowly drip acclimate them to allow them to adjust to your water conditions.