Clibanarius tricolor
| Common Names: | Blue Leg Hermit Blue Leg Reef Hermit Equal Handed Hermit |
| Salinity: | Marine |
| Distribution: | Found in various regions of the Caribbean Sea, in shallow water. |
| Care: | Not difficult animals to care for. They are hardy and can tolerate a fairly wide range of water parameters. However, one thing they cannot tolerate is copper. As with most invertebrates, even low levels of this me This type of hermit crab is known to sometimes attack snails or other hermits in order to steal the shells. For this reason it is important to provide a number of extra shells of various sizes. This will prevent most or all shell-related homicides, which can whittle down the population of small shelled invertebrates in an aquarium. Aside from mechanical damage to corals caused by wandering specimens crawling over the polyps, blue leg hermits will typically not injure other aquarium residents. |
| Feeding: | These hermits will feed on detritus, green algae, shed exoskeletons, and dead organic matter. They are also happy to eat any food the keeper chooses to add to their tank, live or frozen, flake or pellet. They are also reputed to consume cyanobacteria, though this may not be true. |
| Temperature: |
|
| Potential Size: | Male: 2cm (0.8") Female: 2cm (0.8") |
| Comments: | These hermits crabs are often recommended as maintenance critters for marine aquariums, and can be bought as part of a “clean up crew”. In some tanks, they are kept at a density of one per gallon of water. Large groups need plenty of extra shells to accommodate for growth. These are some of the most popular hermits in the marine aquarium trade. Since they are a “bread and butter” item and are collected in large numbers, prices are kept very low. There are multiple species of “blue leg” hermits spread over several genera, but Clibanarius tricolor is the most commonly found in the hobby. |
| Image Credit: | sirbooks |
| Submitted By: | sirbooks |
| Contributors: | sirbooks |
| History: | View changes to this profile |
| Edit Profile: |