#will hit you with his anemone friend

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