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Yellow-tipped Hermit Crab
Clibanarius virescens
A resilient, highly common Indo-Pacific hermit crab with dark green legs tipped in yellow-cream. It serves as an exceptionally diligent reef scavenger.
Class:Malacostraca
Order:Decapoda
Family:Diogenidae
Genus:Clibanarius
Species:Clibanarius virescens
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Water Temperature
22 - 28 °C
pH Value
8.1 - 8.4
Water type
Marine
Invertebrate type
Hermit crab
Adult size
3 cm
Minimum group
>= 1
KH
8 - 12 dKH
Ecological role
Scavenger
Species description
Geographical Origin and Habitat: Highly common throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to Australia, Polynesia, and southern Japan. Inhabits rocky shorelines and tide pools. They are highly resilient, having evolved to survive temporary exposure to air during low tide. They occupy the upper intertidal zones of rocky shores.
Taxonomy: Member of the family Diogenidae. Small hermit crab species growing to around 3 cm in total length. Has a robust body and prefers gastropod shells with round openings. The genus Clibanarius is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical shallow waters. They are commonly known as the yellow-tipped hermit crab.
Social Behavior: Peaceful, active, and highly gregarious. Forms very large groups along the intertidal shoreline. Excellent climber that active explores live rocks. They actively search for new shells, often inspecting and fighting over available options. Shell exchange rituals are common in large groups.
Coloration and Sexual Dimorphism: Walking legs are dark olive-green, greenish-brown, or almost black. Characterized by pale yellow, cream, or white tips on the claws and legs. No visible sexual dimorphism. Their legs are banded, which serves as a visual identifier and camouflage. The claws have distinctive yellow or cream-colored tips.
Care, breeding and tankmates
Tank Setup: Suitable for tanks of 8 gallons or larger. Provide plenty of live rock for climbing and algae grazing. Empty gastropod shells of various sizes must be added to allow growth. Provide a mix of sandy areas and rocky structures to mimic their natural intertidal zone. Aragonite sand is ideal for buffering water pH.
Diet and Feeding: Herbivore and detritivore. Highly efficient at eating green hair algae, film algae, diatoms, and cyanobacteria. Accepts spirulina wafers and sinking pellets. They will graze on green hair algae, making them excellent members of a reef clean-up crew. Supplement their diet with pellet foods.
Water Quality: Stable marine parameters: SG 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4, temperature 22-28°C. Highly sensitive to copper treatments and elevated nitrates. Perform regular water changes to replenish essential minerals needed for shell growth. Calcium and magnesium levels must remain stable.
Compatibility and Tankmates: 100% reef-safe. Perfect Clean-Up Crew (CUC) member. Compatible with peaceful fish and corals. May occasionally target small live snails if empty shells are lacking. Avoid housing them with large predatory crabs or aggressive fish like puffers. Wrasses and hawkfish are also potential predators.
Aquarium Breeding: Microscopic larval stages are pelagic and complex, and do not survive standard home aquarium filtration systems. Breeding is difficult due to the planktonic larvae being easily damaged by filtration systems. Larval rearing requires specialized rotifers.
Risks and Diseases: Low iodine or calcium leading to failed molts. Lack of suitable replacement shells causes high stress. Highly sensitive to copper treatments. Ensure a slow acclimation process to prevent osmotic shock when introducing them to the tank. Use drip acclimation over at least one hour.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Highly common throughout the tropical Indo-Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to Australia, Polynesia, and southern Japan. Inhabits rocky shorelines and tide pools. They are highly resilient, having evolved to survive temporary exposure to air during low tide. They occupy the upper intertidal zones of rocky shores.
Origin
Tropical oceans and reefsAfrica and MadagascarEast AsiaAustralia, New Guinea, and Oceania
Invertebrate profile
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Ecological role
- Scavenger
- Shock sensitivity
- Medium
- Calcium and minerals
- Medium
- Molting
- Shell growth
- Reproduction
- Oviparous
- Compatibility & tankmates
- Peaceful
Omnivorous scavenger. Feeds on detritus, uneaten fish food, and nuisance algae. Supplemental feeding with sinking pellets is recommended if algae is scarce.
Acts as part of the clean-up crew in marine aquariums. It helps keep the substrate aerated and free of decaying organic matter.
Sensitive to rapid changes in salinity, pH, and temperature. Acclimation should be done slowly using the drip method.
Requires adequate calcium levels in the water to maintain a healthy exoskeleton and support proper growth.
Molts periodically as it grows. During this time, it is vulnerable and needs a safe hiding spot while its new exoskeleton hardens.
Difficult to breed in captivity. Larvae require specialized planktonic stages and complex rearing environments to survive.
Generally peaceful with most fish and corals. May prey on small snails to steal their shells if empty ones are not provided.
Image gallery
Licensed images linked to the species or, when marked, to the closest representative taxon.
Related species
Recommendations grouped by close relatives, companion choices, and similar care.
Variants and close relatives
Same atlas type, nearby scientific identity, genus, or family.
Ambon Hermit Crab
Clibanarius ambonensis
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Blue-eyed Hermit Crab
Clibanarius corallinus
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Blueish Hermit Crab
Clibanarius englaucus
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Carnifex Hermit Crab
Clibanarius carnifex
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Eurysternus Hermit Crab
Clibanarius eurysternus
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Lined Hermit Crab
Clibanarius lineatus
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Red-stripe hermit crab
Clibanarius rutilus
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Snellius's hermit crab
Clibanarius snelliusi
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Stebbing's Hermit Crab
Clibanarius astathes
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Tricolor Hermit Crab
Clibanarius sclopetarius
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Zebra Hermit Crab
Clibanarius zebra
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Blood-spotted Hermit Crab
Clibanarius cruentatus
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Blue-stripe Hermit Crab
Clibanarius merguiensis
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Chapin's Hermit Crab
Clibanarius chapini
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Ranson's hermit crab
Clibanarius ransoni
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Antillean hermit crab
Clibanarius brasiliensis
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Recommended companions
Compatible cards from coherent ecosystems with matching parameters.
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Caulerpa prolifera
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Caulerpa taxifolia
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Chaetomorpha macroalgae
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Dead man fingers algae
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Halimeda macroalgae
Halimeda opuntia
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Red gracilaria
Gracilaria parvispora
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Allen's blenny
Ecsenius alleni
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Ambon Chromis
Chromis amboinensis
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Axelrod's blenny
Ecsenius axelrodi
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Similar care
Cards with similar requirements, difficulty, habitat, and husbandry profile.
Arethusa Hermit Crab
Clibanarius arethusa
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Boschma's hermit crab
Clibanarius boschmai
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Cook's hermit crab
Clibanarius cooki
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De Man's Hermit Crab
Clibanarius demani
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Rosewater's Hermit Crab
Clibanarius rosewateri
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Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab
Calcinus laevimanus
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Hidden Hermit Crab
Calcinus latens
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White hermit crab
Calcinus minutus
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Danai's hermit crab
Clibanarius danai
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Double-striped hermit crab
Clibanarius bistriatus
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Pacific Hermit Crab
Clibanarius pacificus
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Striped-leg hermit crab
Clibanarius rhabdodactylus
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White-fingered Hermit Crab
Clibanarius albidigitus
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Mexican Hermit Crab
Clibanarius digueti
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Orange-banded hermit crab
Ciliopagurus strigatus
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West African hermit crab
Clibanarius africanus
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