Porcelain anemone crab

Care at a glance

The porcelain anemone crab is white with red-brown blotches and lives among the tentacles of large anemones, where, like a clownfish, it finds protection. It is not a true crab but a relative of the hermit crabs, as you can see from the fourth, greatly reduced pair of legs.

With two fan-shaped mouthparts it filters particles from the water, so it catches its own food and leaves corals and fish alone. Its name comes from its fragility: handled roughly it will drop a leg without hesitation, which grows back later.

Good to know

• Filter feeder — needs fine suspended food

Related species

• Emerald crabMithraculus sculptus
• Tuxedo urchinMespilia globulus
• Sand sifting starfishAstropecten polyacanthus
• Saron shrimpSaron marmoratus
• Brittle starOphiuroidea sp.
• Harlequin shrimpHymenocera picta