#pom pom crab
The Lybia crab is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is also referred to as Hawaiian boxer crab, pom-pom crab, cheerleader crab, mosaic boxer crab among many other nicknames. The crabs are known for their signature move of always carrying a small living sea anemone around in each of its claws.
By waving sea anemone into different routines its dances its way to a free meal, gathering debris and food particles from the ground around the crab’s hiding place.
If provoked or attacked by a predator, the pom-pom crab (boxing crab) will threaten the aggressor and try to deter it by waving it’s anemones around, the tentacles of which are well armed with cnidocytes (stinging cells). Video
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Pico ja-tank? I still love the jar, but it’s so hard to scape! The 1 gallon has better dimensions, but is such a small volume of water that I really didn’t want to try it, but the 2.5 gallon was ridiculously tall and it’s hard to place corals on a completely vertical rock structure. Remember that my gf works at a saltwater store? She was able to snag this discontinued 4 gallon waterbox. Literally has almost the same dimensions as the jar, but because it’s a box, a lot easier to scape and get hands in and out of. We made a lid out of acrylic we had and my gf added silicone to create a lip for the lid to stay in place.
It’s still going to be a zoanthid/rock nem tank and it’s only other inhabits are a scarlet hermit, 2 bumblebee snails, 6 pom pom crabs and a porcelain anemone crab (who seems to hate anemones because he won’t stay near any of the 3 that are in there). The rock is a mixture of live rock from the invert QT and some dry rock.
Pico jar! The first resident was added yesterday, it’s a blue banded coral shrimp. His name is Terry 2 because Terry 1 was killed by the six line (we think). Unfortunately, he molted this AM, lost both of his big claws and somehow landed onto the new rock anemone. I didn’t even notice when I was taking the picture, but quickly tried to save him and am now floating in into the coral QT where he can hopefully bounce back.
I messed with the scape quite a bit after adding the new residents today and I think from the first to the last photo, it looks better. New residents are a bumble bee snail, 3 Mexican cerith snails, a scarlet hermit crab, 3 rock flower anemones, a pom pom crab and a porcelain anemone crab! I will probably add the zoas tomorrow and do a water change…and leave the jar behind for a pico tank, the jar is already a pain in the ass! In the meantime, enjoy some back and front views of the soon to be over reef jar.
POM POM CRABS
Lybia tessellata
©Marchione Giacomo
The Pom Pom crab is a cute and mysterious reef safe crustacean. If you’ve ever seen this curious critter, you may wonder what it is dancing for, and what it is holding.
It is actually holding two anemones, Triactis producta, that it uses for defense against predators. If one of the anemones is lost, the crab will split the other anemone in half and it will grow into another full size anemone.
Pom-pom crabs wave their anemones back and forth to let predators know it is not a defenseless little crab. Their Pom Poms, in addition to their cheerleader- like motions suggests how these decorative crabs got their name. Source
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Photo by Stefano Scortegagna |Info
Lybia tessellata is a species of small crab in the family Xanthidae. It is found in shallow parts of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. Like other members of the genus Lybia, it is commonly known as the pom-pom craborboxer crab because of its habit of carrying a sea anemone around in each of its claws, these resembling pom-poms or boxing gloves. It is a small crab growing to a width of about 2.5 cm (1 in) and is found in shallow water in the tropical Indo-Pacific region;
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