The crabs use their anemones to “mop” the aquarium floor and surfaces! Particles get stuck in the anemones.

Seeing a pom pom crab feed is a pretty fascinating thing. Ptychognathus barbatus is a fully aquatic crab species that sports hairy patches on its claws, which it uses to catch food particles. Despite their boxer attitude and tendency to hide, they’re still pretty small and vulnerable.ĭid you know? There’s also a freshwater pom pom crab that goes by the same common name. Keep in mind that it’s not a great idea to combine these crabs with larger, carnivorous fish species. There is a small chance your pom pom crab might end up bothering corals by touching them with its anemones while foraging, but this usually shouldn’t pose too much of an issue. If a fish does bother a pom pom crab, it probably only needs to get bumped with the anemone once to refrain from doing that again! Although they’re listed as not reef safe in some places, all of the actual accounts of aquarists who keep them have noted that they’re very peaceful. Like a tiny aquarist, it will frag the anemone to turn it into two.Īside from not being demanding at all, another great thing about pom pom crabs is that they’re great neighbors. If your crab only has one anemone, it’ll take care of that itself. Alternatively, it might replace them with something else, like sponge, tiny Zoanthids or other coral bits. It’ll break off any it can find in your aquarium (they use Bundeopsis and Triactis anemones) or even “borrow” one from another pom pom crab. The species can be a bit timid and likes to be able to retreat if it feels threatened.ĭid you know? If you bought a pom pom crab and it doesn’t actually have any anemone with it, don’t worry. Make sure to offer plenty of hiding and foraging spots in the form of live rock, caves, and more. Any stable saltwater aquarium of five gallons or up should work well. Due to their size, they don’t need a large aquarium, making them the perfect choice for a nano set-up. Honestly, caring for pom pom crabs really is a breeze. There are 10 species of pom pom crabs out there, all of them pretty small but featuring nice patterns. This works well for both: the anemone’s sting offers protection, while the anemone itself gets carried around and is therefore probably able to catch more food particles. These are actually pieces of anemone, which the crab holds in its claws. It’s not difficult to see where the pom pom crab got its name: it really does look like a little cheerleader carrying two poms. Pom pom crab, boxing crab, boxer crab, cheerleader crab, Lybia sp. Keep reading for everything you need to know about pom pom crab care and caring for this species in your own aquarium! Name (Common, Scientific) Today, we’re putting the spotlight on one of the most wacky members of the crab department: the tiny pom pom crab from the genus Lybia. We love shrimp, we love crabs, and heck, we even love the ugly peanut worm. If you’ve been following our blog for a bit, you’ll know we love invertebrates.

Pom pom crab saltwater