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African mangrove crab

Goniopsis pelii

Also known as Purple mangrove crab, Violet mangrove crab, West African mangrove crab

BrackishCrab

African mangrove crab (Goniopsis pelii)

Care at a glance

Temperature
75–86°F
24–30°C
pH
7.5–8.4
Adult size
2.4 in
6 cm
Minimum tank
24 gal
90 L
Temperament
Aggressive
Social behavior
Solitary
Own kind
One male per tank
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Medium
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Very rare
Family
Grapsidae
Origin
West African mangroves, Senegal to Angola

Overview

The African mangrove crab is a fast, aggressive crab for a brackish paludarium. It is best kept by someone with a little experience.

Did you know

Wild African mangrove crabs live in groups whose shared tunnel systems disappear under water twice a day. The crabs wait out the high tide below and come out to work the mud and roots when it drains.

Caring for the African mangrove crab

The African mangrove crab is mostly a land animal and only visits the water, so the land is the point of the setup. Set it up as a paludarium that is mostly land, with bogwood, stones, sand to dig in and high humidity. Give one crab a footprint of at least 24 gal (90 L), under a heavy, tight lid. It is a fast climber that finds every gap.

Fill a shallow pool with brackish water, mixed with marine salt to a specific gravity of 1.005 to 1.015. Keep the crab warm, at 75 to 86°F (24 to 30°C), with a pH of 7.5 to 8.4.

It is an omnivore. Feed frozen foods in the water, and vegetables, leaves and dried foods on land. Give it cuttlebone for the molt.

It is aggressive and catches fish, shrimp, snails and smaller crabs, so choose any tank mates with caution. Males fight, so keep one crab, or one male with a female or two in a very large paludarium with plenty of hides. Its larvae develop in the sea, which makes breeding it in captivity hard.

Good to know

Goniopsis pelii is a shore crab in the family Grapsidae, described by Herklots in 1851 and first placed in Grapsus. It has a squarish carapace and a dark purple body, with orange and blue claws. The legs are hairy, with white bands across the joints. Nigerian fishery studies measure adults at 2.5 to 4.9 cm carapace length and 11 to 37 g. Every crab in the trade is wild collected.

In the wild

The African mangrove crab lives in the mangrove swamps and brackish lagoons of West Africa, from Senegal to Angola. It is found on muddy to sandy ground among the roots and reeds.

Common questions

What size tank does an African mangrove crab need?

An African mangrove crab needs at least 24 gal (90 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does an African mangrove crab need?

An African mangrove crab is comfortable at 75–86°F (24–30°C) with a pH of 7.5–8.4.

What does an African mangrove crab eat?

An African mangrove crab is an omnivore. It takes frozen foods in the water, and vegetables, leaves and dried foods on land, with cuttlebone for the molt.

How big does an African mangrove crab get?

An adult African mangrove crab reaches about 2.4 in (6 cm).

How does an African mangrove crab breed?

The African mangrove crab's larvae develop in the sea, so breeding it in captivity is hard.

Related species