Fish Store Shows off a Crab With a Shell Like a Leopard
If you are an ocean lover and love everything in it, then you know are all kinds of different animals living under the sea that are pretty incredible...some of which you might not even believe are real. Colson's Critters shares TikToks of many of the animals that he collects. His focus seems to be on his saltwater aquariums and everything that lives in them. He shared a video in mid-January 2024 of a cool looking crab that he got to add to his collection.
The video is short, but it's definitely worth watching. It shows Colson lifting a crab out of a bucket and showing us its unique shell...it has a pattern that looks like it has leopard's spots! He then gently lowers it into the fish tank. I've never seen anything like it before!
Pretty cool, huh?! It's such a unique pattern. My husband and I are avid scuba divers and I've seen a lot of interesting things while diving over the years, but I've never seen a crab like this one! @Colson left a few different comments about the crab. He laughed, "I’m surprised it didn’t pinch me!!" Commenters had concerns that the tank looked too small. He addressed that by saying, "This is at a fish store, so he is here temporarily".
Related: Fascinating Video Showing a Crab Molting Is a True Sight to Behold
Type of Crab In the Video: Calico Crab
Like me, many of the commenters wondered what kind of crab Colson showed us. It's actually called a Calico crab, native to the western Atlantic Ocean. It's known by a few other names as well: box crab, leopard crab, shy-face crab, and the shame-faced crab. Why so many names? When it comes to calling it a shy or shame-faced crab it has to do with one of their habits during the day. They bury themselves completely in the sand, with nothing but the eyes visible. The names make a lot more sense once you know that!
Calico crabs grow up to about three inches long, and you can find them offshore and often on sandy beaches. They eat fish, clams, worms, and small invertebrates. They are shy and timid creatures who prefer to be left alone. They communicate by clicking together their claws and legs.
Many of the commenters mentioned having these types of crabs in their fish tanks. They are picky, and do not big swings in temperatures and prefer a clean aquarium environment, so if you get one, you'll need to make sure to have cleaner fish and snails to keep it free from algae, parasites, and other things that dirty the tank.
Calico crabs are definitely cool to look at, and if I had a saltwater tank, it's one that I would want to have in it!
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