Identification: the body is transparent, but the carapace, abdomen and large third pair of legs carry red and white bands, sometimes edged in purple; the antennae and other legs are white. Carapace, abdomen and claws are covered with small spines. It reaches about 6 cm (up to 8 cm according to reeflex), and its antennae can double its length; the male is usually smaller than the female. It recognises other individuals of its species, which is rare among invertebrates.
In the wild it lives in the Indo-Pacific, from the Red Sea and South Africa to the Tuamotus, Hawaii and Easter Island, and in the western Atlantic from North Carolina and Bermuda to the Caribbean and Brazil, from about 1 to 200 m. It occupies deep crevices and overhangs on reefs and rocky bottoms, often upside down with only its antennae showing. It lives in monogamous pairs on a territory 1 to 2 m across. As a cleaner it attracts fish by waving its antennae and removes parasites, fungi and damaged tissue; it is also a general carnivore that eats small arthropods and other invertebrates.
Reproduction: mating follows a set sequence: antennule contact, the female raising her body, grasping, mating and spawning. In the aquarium breeding rarely succeeds, as the larvae are usually lost to filtration and skimming. The species is not evaluated by the IUCN and not listed by CITES; it was one of the first crustaceans imported into Germany for the marine hobby.
