New porcelain anemone crabs

Discussion in 'Inverts' started by sonam, Oct 19, 2014.

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  1. sonam

    sonam Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    The new addition to our system today was two porcelain anemone crabs. They took to the bubble tipped anemone right away. A side benefit was they almost immediately began protecting the anemone from a pesky peppermint shrimp that had been pulling it's tentacles off.

    They both seem happy with the nem and we even got to watch one eat some of the anemone's poo.

    They both look quite different however. Is this just normal variation in morphology?

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Thanks for reading through this. We are hooked on reef keeping I fear... Little things become deeply fascinating.
     
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  3. Mr. Bill

    Mr. Bill Native Floridian

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    "They both look quite different however. Is this just normal variation in morphology?"

    Probably not; as of 2010, there were 277 known species divided between 30 genera. I think it's safe to assume that at least a few would be popular in the aquaria trade. :)
     
    Last edited: Oct 20, 2014
  4. dienerman

    dienerman Corkscrew Tentacle Anemone

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    Great pictures and must be very exciting to watch!!
     
  5. sonam

    sonam Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Wow. Thanks for the info!
     
  6. sonam

    sonam Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    We've noticed that since the arrival of the crabs we never see the anemone poo anymore. It use to do this every few days. Is this expected? It seems like the crab moves to the mouth when the anemone is getting ready to expel mucus.

    They are a wonderful addition, very interesting to watch.
     
  7. sonam

    sonam Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    Quick update - within 48 hours of arriving one of the crabs already molted.

    [​IMG]

    Interestingly it now looks more like the other crab.

    Thank you for indulging the fascination and wonder. Hope we don't seem too goofy.
     
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  9. jonjonwells

    jonjonwells Great Blue Whale

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    Very possible that the coloring difference was an effect of molting. The spotted pattern looks very similar.

    Awesome addition btw. They are some cool critters.
     
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