General information
The rainbow crab belongs to the order Decapods. Exotic beauty has other names. Because of his strong attachment to his home, he is also called a patriot, and he received the name indigo due to the corresponding color.
Caring for crabs is quite simple, but the owner must know the basic rules of keeping them.
The rainbow crab spends most of its life on land. He needs water for breeding and during molting. Therefore, the aquaterrarium should be equipped in accordance with the needs of the pet.
In their natural habitat, rainbow crabs live in burrows up to 1 m deep. If there is no food on their territory, they can easily overcome a long distance to get to the center of the mangrove forests. They find their way home quickly.
Types of Rainbow Crabs
This species includes the following representatives of crustaceans:
- Atlantic ghost crab. Lives in coastal waters of the United States. When a crab's gills dry out, he must get into water to moisten them.
- Harlequin crab (or white-spotted, moon) crab. Indigenous to the mangrove forests of South America. The body length is small, only 5 cm.
- Land hermit crab. It is also called "palm thief" or "coconut crab". This representative of arthropods is the largest of all relatives. The height of an adult individual is over 40 cm, and one claw reaches 90 cm in length. With its powerful “arms” the crab can hold luggage weighing 30 kg. In nature, it can be found on the coast of the Pacific and Indian oceans.
Appearance
The rainbow crab has a round body covered with a carapace - a durable shell. On both sides of the shell there are legs - 5 pairs, the first of which eventually changed into claws. The front pair of legs have different sizes. One leg serves for protection from predators, the other for obtaining food. The mouth is located in the front of the body, just above there are 2 eyes on movable small stalks.
