Strawberry crab
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| Strawberry crab | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Neoliomera pubescens (H. Milne-Edwards, 1834) |
The strawberry crab, Hawaiian strawberry crab or red boxing crab, Neoliomera pubescens, is a small, bright pink crab found in the Indo-Pacific region, including around Hawaii [1], French Polynesia [2] and Mauritius [3]. It has small white bumps on the main shell and whitish claws. Adults will reach about 5 cm (2 in) across.
N. pubescens is not to be confused with the strawberry hermit crab, Coenobita perlatus.
[edit] In aquaria
They are popular with aquarists, as they are a peaceful yet shy creature seldom seen during the day. The strawberry crab is an omnivore, eating algae and leftover food bits. Because of its small size and peaceful disposition, this animal is considered reef safe, i.e. generally safe for reef aquaria.
Because of its especially shy nature, from the aquarist standpoint the strawberry crab is not as well suited to large reef aquaria as it is to small (so-called nano reefs) because of its tendency to simply disappear in larger tanks and never be seen again.
[edit] References
- ^ Eldredge, L G & R C DeFelice. Infraorder Brachyura, Hawaii checklist. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii. Retrieved on 21 June 2006.
- ^ Poupin, J. Database of Crustacea (Decapoda, Stomatopoda). Retrieved on 21 June 2006.
- ^ MASDEA: Marine Species database for Eastern Africa. Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee. Retrieved on 21 June 2006.
