Crustaceans · Diogenidae
Left-handed hermit crab
Small Indo-Pacific hermit crab recognisable by its left claw, much larger than the right, purplish with a white tip. Sold as a 'zebra hermit' to graze algae, it fights its own kind over shells.
What it needs
Related species
Calcinus elegans
Range recommended by the sheet
Day to day
Acclimation: drip-acclimate it (one to two drops per second) until the salinity in the bucket matches the tank.
Shells: this is an aggressive species that fights over shells. Leave several empty shells of various sizes, preferably globose ones (Turbo or nerite type). Like any hermit crab, with no shell available or when hungry it may kill a snail to take its shell.
Aquascape: an established tank with plenty of rock, cracks and caves to graze. Quality Marine rates it easy and peaceful towards other tankmates; mainly watch for fights between hermits.
Sensitivities: it does not tolerate copper treatments. Water: 22 to 25.5 °C, specific gravity 1.023 to 1.025, pH 8.1 to 8.4, alkalinity 8 to 12 dKH.
No source consulted describes its diet in the wild.
In the aquarium it grazes algae, including coralline algae and cyanobacteria, which helps keep them in check. If algae run short, add algae wafers; it also accepts frozen food.
Tank mates
In detail
Identification: total length up to about 3 cm, males larger than females. Brown to grey carapace; eyestalks blue at the base and orange towards the tip; orange antennae; purplish-brown claws with white fingers, the left one much larger, smooth and shiny; orange-brown legs with white tips. The size and brightness of the white patch on the left claw seem to act as a strength signal in fights.
In the wild it ranges from East Africa and Madagascar to Hawaii, on reef flats, rock platforms, rocky reefs and coral rubble, from the low intertidal to the upper subtidal zone; it also occurs in mangroves. It prefers globose shells, especially of Turbo and nerites, and fights for empty shells or other resources.
Reproduction: females carry the eggs under the abdomen. In Hawaii about 80% of females carry eggs from February to October, with about 3,000 eggs per brood; the larvae pass through six zoeal stages and one glaucothoe stage. No source consulted describes captive breeding.
Status: the species has not been evaluated by the IUCN and is not listed by CITES.
Status
Not evaluated (NE)
WoRMS
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Where this comes from
Calcinus elegans
Clibanarius tricolor
Paguristes cadenati
Calcinus elegans
Clibanarius tricolor
Paguristes cadenati
Hymenocera picta
Lysmata amboinensis
Neopetrolisthes maculatus
Stenopus hispidus
Alpheus randalli
