Hermit crab (red leg)

Care at a glance

The red-leg hermit crab is part of the standard clean-up crew of a reef tank: it scrambles between the rocks, grazes hair algae and clears leftover food that would otherwise push up your nitrate. Small, cheap and visibly at work all day.

It grows out of its shell and then goes looking for a new one. If it cannot find one, it will pull a snail out of hers without a second thought — so always keep a few empty shells in various sizes on hand. A hermit is not entirely innocent among small invertebrates either, but in practice the damage stays limited as long as there is plenty to eat and to move into.

Best not combined with

• Harlequin tuskfishChoerodon fasciatus
• Picasso triggerfishRhinecanthus aculeatus
• Snowflake eelEchidna nebulosa
• Ribbon eelRhinomuraena quaesita
• Niger triggerfishOdonus niger
• Clown triggerfishBalistoides conspicillum
• Porcupine pufferDiodon holocanthus
• Dogface pufferArothron nigropunctatus
• Peacock mantis shrimpOdontodactylus scyllarus

Related species

• Cleaner shrimpLysmata amboinensis
• Turbo snailTurbo fluctuosus
• Fire shrimpLysmata debelius
• Peppermint shrimpLysmata wurdemanni
• Sexy shrimpThor amboinensis
• Coral banded shrimpStenopus hispidus