Common name – Anemone Hermit Crab

Scientific Name – Dardanus venosus

Size – 2" to 5" Compatibility – Good in reef tanks, larger ones can mess up a tank.

Food and Diet:  It will eat fish, snails, and worms, but also detritus and some algae. If there is insufficient algae to eat, dried seaweed should be provided. Molluscs, worms, and other meaty items can be provided.

Like all crustaceans, they shed their hard outer skeleton, so be sure to include a few spare shells among the tanks decorations to provide new homes for the growing crabs.

These crabs not only find new and suitably sized shells for their delicate absomens, but they also tease their anemones of the old shell and deliberately replace them on the new one.

The anemones accept this willingly, because as the crabs rip up their food, many small pieces drift away and into the anemones tentacles.