Blue Legged Hermit Crab

General information

The Clibanarius tricolor is a hermit crab that has blue legs with red banding and reaches up to 3/4″ (2 centimeters) in size. This species is very popular, especially to aquarium home trades. Its environment inhabits intertidal zones where they feed upon detritus and algae. They are more active during nighttime than daylight hours.

They will climb over anything in the aquarium but are considered reef safe and do not disturb the corals; it may cause them to temporally close.

Blue legged hermit crabs can live up to 30 years in the wild. However, they only last for about 1-2 years average when inside an aquarium.

It is a scavenger for most aquarium foods. It is also a detritivore which eats dead plants and animals. It also eats green hair algae, cyanobacteria, and seaweed. Its feeding habits lead to cleaning aquarium tanks, helping sustain the ecosystem of the aquarium and lessen the need for maintenance by the owner.

There are no distinguishing characteristics in differentiating male blue legged hermit crabs from the female ones.

Blue legged hermit crabs mates when they are partially out of their shells, and the date of mating is spontaneous. The Clibanarius tricolor reproduce by spawning, which means the female lays her eggs in the water, and the male will release his sperm so that the eggs will be fertilized. But breeding these species in an aquarium is very difficult.

These kinds of species live in Tropical western Atlantic Ocean, especially in the shallow waters of the Caribbean Sea, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Like most invertebrates, the Blue-Legged 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 Blue-Legged 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.