Blue leg hermit crab

Care at a glance

The blue leg hermit crab is a small hermit with blue legs banded in orange and is one of the standard clean-up crew members for a reef tank. It clambers ceaselessly over rock and sand, grazing hair algae, film and leftover food.

It stays small and is therefore relatively harmless to corals, but with too few empty shells around it will occasionally attack a snail to take its shell. So always keep a supply of empty snail shells in various sizes on hand.

Best not combined with

• Picasso triggerfishRhinecanthus aculeatus
• Clown triggerfishBalistoides conspicillum
• Porcupine pufferDiodon holocanthus
• Dogface pufferArothron nigropunctatus
• Peacock mantis shrimpOdontodactylus scyllarus

Related species

• Purple reef lobsterEnoplometopus daumi
• Scarlet reef hermit crabPaguristes cadenati
• Electric blue hermit crabCalcinus elegans
• Peacock mantis shrimpOdontodactylus scyllarus
• Dwarf zebra hermit crabCalcinus laevimanus
• Squamosa clam (scaly clam)Tridacna squamosa