FRESHWATER POM POM CRAB

FRESHWATER POM POM CRAB is an extremely rare freshwater crab that has proven to be a very endearing, interesting, and durable candidate for the freshwater community aquarium. Very little information is available for this crab, but we have done an extensive research to determine proper husbandry for this crab at our in-house facility.

Like most crabs, the Freshwater Pom Pom Crab is an omnivorous scavenger and an opportunistic hunter on occasion. In addition to eating food items that collect on the patches of hair (“pom poms”) that grow on its claws, it feeds on filamentous algae and detritus in the aquarium and will also readily accept high-quality dry foods that are rich in plant matter. We also occasionally feed these crabs protein-rich frozen foods such as bloodworms, but only sparingly.

The Freshwater Pom Pom Crab reportedly has pockets of the population throughout many tropical and sub-tropical regions in Africa, Asia, and Australia, particularly Madagascar, Taiwan, and New Caledonia. It inhabits both brackish and fully freshwater areas and it is suspected that this crab spawns in brackish water and its fry go through a larval stage similar to many amphidromous crustaceans that live in freshwater as adults but spawn in brackish areas. To our knowledge, spawning in the aquarium has not yet been reported. Unlike most “freshwater” crabs, this crab is truly fully aquatic. However, we recommend keeping your water line relatively low or keeping a lid on your aquarium, as these crabs are occasional escape artists.

This crab is generally peaceful towards snails and most fish from what we have experienced but it may go after dwarf shrimp, very small snails, and slow-moving fish that are very small. As stated above, like almost all crabs, it is an opportunistic omnivore. It is much heftier, more active, and more outgoing than the peaceful Thai Micro Crab (Limnopilos naiyanetri), and for the most part, it shares the same disposition. There have been instances where certain individuals have shown aggression towards dwarf shrimp, so they may not be safe to keep with dwarf shrimp all of the time, particularly in the confines of a very small aquarium. Overall, this crab will make for a completely ideal, exciting candidate in most nano, community, or planted aquariums.