Paguristes cadenati, hermit crab algae eater

Also known as a scarlet hermit because of its color, we should not confuse it with the red-legged hermit which will have a less solid color.

They are highly appreciated thanks to their graceful appearance, their good temperament, small size and their remarkable ability to feed on filthy waste and algae.

Caribbean Sea and the West Atlantic in warm waters along the American shores.

The body is bright red and has yellow eyes.

They can reach 2.5 cm in size.

It is a algae eater. It helps keep our aquarium clean by feeding on algae, food waste left by the rest of its inhabitants and even the remains of dead animals. He feels a predilection for harmful algae like filaments and dinoflagellates. If the levels of algae present in our aquarium are insufficient to feed our hermit we can complete their diet with dry seaweed foods. Due to its small size does not pose a significant risk to our corals.

It is easy to maintain because of its robustness. You can enter one specimen per 10 L, being recommended to have at least 20 L to have a single specimen. It will be necessary to provide conical empty shells appropriate to its size as it develops.

It is considered one of the hermit species more peaceful, so it will be strange to observe an aggressive behavior. Your favorite area within the aquarium will be live rock and substrate where you will spend time looking for food.

To be able to develop they realize nocturnal changes. They are deposited on his back leaving his old exoskeleton and harden the new, at which point he will look for a new empty shell in the case of being small the one he was using until now.

PH 8.1 - 8.4, salinity 1.023 - 1.025, temperature range 22 ° - 27 ° C. DKH 8-12