TankBud

Strawberry crab

Neoliomera pubescens

Also known as Red boxing crab, Hawaiian strawberry crab

SaltwaterCrab

Care at a glance

Temperature
72–81°F
22–27°C
pH
8.1–8.4
Adult size
1.2 in
3 cm
Minimum tank
20 gal
75 L
Temperament
Mostly peaceful
Social behavior
Solitary
Tankmates
With caution
Swim level
Bottom
Diet
Omnivore
Difficulty
Easy
Breeding
Hard
Rarity
Common
Reef safe
Reef safe with caution
Family
Xanthidae
Origin
Hawaii and the tropical Indo-Pacific, including French Polynesia and Mauritius

Overview

The strawberry crab is a small, shy, mostly nocturnal crab for a reef tank with plenty of rock to hide in. It is easy to keep.

Did you know

LiveAquaria sells the strawberry crab as the red boxing crab, but it is not a boxing crab and carries no anemones in its claws. WoRMS says only Mauritius specimens can be identified as Neoliomera pubescens with certainty. In 2014 Ho and Ng described a lookalike Neoliomera from Guam, Taiwan and Hawaii, so your crab may be another species.

Caring for the strawberry crab

Give a strawberry crab a mature tank of at least 20 gal (75 L), with plenty of live rock and caves. Leave a film of algae for it to pick at. More than one can share a large tank with enough hides, at roughly one crab per 20 gal (75 L).

Keep the water at 72 to 81°F (22 to 27°C), with a pH of 8.1 to 8.4 and a specific gravity of 1.023 to 1.025. Never treat the tank with copper.

Offer dried seaweed plus meaty foods such as mysis, krill or chopped prawn a few times a week, rather than relying on algae alone. A well-fed strawberry crab rarely causes trouble.

It is mostly peaceful and ignores fish. A hungry one can pick at polyps and take a small shrimp, which is why it is reef safe only with caution. It has spawned in aquariums, but the planktonic larvae have not been raised.

Good to know

Neoliomera pubescens is a xanthid crab, in the same family as the pom pom crab. Henri Milne Edwards first described it in 1834 as Zozymus pubescens. The 5 cm size that retailers quote is measured across the legs. It is bright pink to red with small white bumps. Its blunt, flat claws are shaped for scraping algae off rock rather than cutting. The Hawaiian animals in the trade may also be the very similar N. demani.

In the wild

Strawberry crabs are collected on shallow rocky reefs and coral rubble, mostly in Hawaii. The species is also recorded from French Polynesia and Mauritius. They hide in holes in the rock by day and come out at night to graze.

Common questions

What size tank does a strawberry crab need?

A strawberry crab needs at least 20 gal (75 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.

What temperature and pH does a strawberry crab need?

A strawberry crab is comfortable at 72–81°F (22–27°C) with a pH of 8.1–8.4.

What does a strawberry crab eat?

A strawberry crab eats dried seaweed plus meaty foods such as mysis, krill or chopped prawn. Feed it a few times a week rather than relying on algae alone.

How big does a strawberry crab get?

An adult strawberry crab reaches about 1.2 in (3 cm).

How does a strawberry crab breed?

Strawberry crabs have spawned in aquariums, but the planktonic larvae have not been raised.

Related species