Scarlet Hermit Crab - Paguristes cadenati - Scarlet Reef Hermit - Red Reef Hermit - Scarlet Leg Hermit Crab

Taxonomy: Scarlet Hermit Crab belongs to the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Arthropoda, Class Crustacea, Order Decapoda, Family Diogenidae, Genus Paguristes and Species cadenati.

Scientific names: The scientific name of Scarlet Hermit Crab is Paguristes cadenati.

Other common names: Scarlet Hermit Crab is also known as the Red Reef Hermit Crab, the Red Legged Hermit Crab, the Gold Faced Hermit Crab and Shiraz.

Origin or natural range: Paguristes cadenati originates from the Indo-Pacific Ocean, The Western Atlantic Ocean including the American reefs and the Caribbean Sea.

Size: Scarlet Hermit Crab measures one to two inches or two to five centimeters.

Color: Paguristes cadenati is bright red in color.

Compatibility: Scarlet Hermit Crab is non-aggressive towards the other marine aquarium invertebrates.

Habit & Habitat:

• Paguristes cadenati is found on the reef slopes and on coral rubble in small groups.
• Scarlet Hermit Crab lives in empty gastropod shells.
• The abdomen of Paguristes cadenati is moveable and therefore, when living in a gastropod shell, the crab twists its body with the shape of shell leaving only its head and claws visible.
• Scarlet Hermit Crab keeps on changing the shells as it outgrows the existing one.

Morphology:

• Paguristes cadenati is very hardy and has three pairs of legs and long antennae.
• The first pair of leg of Scarlet Hermit Crab is developed into claws which help the crab get food, defend itself and to move around things.
• As suggested by its name, the body and the legs of Paguristes cadenati are bright red in color.
• The eyestalks of Scarlet Hermit Crab are yellow in color.
• The head of Paguristes cadenati is connected to thorax.
• The thorax of Scarlet Hermit Crab has a shell covering called as Carapace, which also hides the crab’s small moveable abdomen and tail under it.
• As Paguristes cadenati outgrows the existing shell, it needs to shed it off, a process called molting, so that a new and larger shell develops.
• At night, Scarlet Hermit Crab comes out of its home, that is, the gastropod shell and lies down on its back to take off its exoskeleton.
• Scarlet Hermit Crab leaves behind its shed shell at a visible place to detract its predators, while it hides away to allow the new shell to form completely and harden in a few hours’ time.

Growth enabling environment in your marine aquarium:

• Temperature of water: Seventy-two to seventy-eight degrees Fahrenheit .
• Specific gravity of water: 1.023 to 1.025.
• pH of water: 8.10 to 8.40.
• Habit & habitat:
• To host Scarlet Hermit Crab, you need reef type marine aquarium containing coral, rock, and sand and having ample algal growth in it.
• Keep Paguristes cadenati in a small group in your marine aquarium.
• Scarlet Hermit Crab continuously searches for food in substrate or on Live Rocks.
• Feeding & Nutrition:
• Paguristes cadenati is an omnivore and a scavenger in feeding habit. It eats meaty bits and micro algae, including filamentous algae and cyanobacteria, thereby controlling the algal growth and detritus in your marine aquarium.
• In case your reef tank does not have sufficient algae, add dry seaweed in the water for Scarlet Hermit Crab to feed.
• Add Iodine to the water as a dietary supplement to help smoothen the crab’s molting phase.

Care:

• Scarlet Hermit Crab is easy to maintain due to its non-poisonous nature.
• Paguristes cadenati is quite vulnerable between the time of molting and till it gets its new hard covering. Therefore, the crab should not be disturbed at this time.

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