Mexican Red-Leg Hermit Crab

Clibanarius digueti

Also known as Cortez Red Leg Hermit, Red Tip Hermit Crab, Dwarf Red Tip Hermit, Bluespotted Hermit

SaltwaterCrab

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–81°F (22–27°C)
pH: 8.1–8.4
Adult size: 1 in (2.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Very common
Reef safe: Reef safe
Origin: Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Mexico, on shallow rocky and sandy shores.
Family: Diogenidae

Overview

Keep them in tanks of 40 litres or more at 22 to 27 C and pH 8.1 to 8.4, adding a few per aquarium as part of a cleanup crew. They graze hair algae and cyanobacteria and scavenge leftover food and detritus in tight spots. Provide a range of empty shells or they may kill snails to steal a better one, and they will occasionally knock over loose coral frags.

In the wild

This is a small dwarf hermit with bright red legs tipped in white and a body tucked into a borrowed snail shell. It is one of the cheapest and most common cleanup crew hermits in the hobby. Because it stays under about 2.5 cm it fits nano tanks as well as large reefs.

Good to know

Clibanarius digueti comes from the Gulf of California, a cooler and more seasonal sea than the tropical Indo-Pacific, so it tolerates a wide temperature range. Like all hermits it has a soft twisted abdomen and must swap into larger empty shells as it grows.