Panther Crab (Parathelphusa pantherina)

Panther crabs are Sulawesi in origin and come from Lake Matano. Panther Crabs are relatively new to the aquarium hobby with many being kept by our German hobbyist friends and now catching on here in the US. Panther Crabs are awesome. and attractive orange color with black spots all over them. The markings are where their common name came from for obvious reasons. Panther Crabs will take out slow-moving fish or ones that are sick. Panther Crabs can safely be housed with Tetras, Guppies, Mollys, Bettas Catfish & much other tropical fish. Since some hobbyists believe these crabs like to come out of the water it’s a good idea to have a small landing place for them but is not necessary. As with most invertebrates, they do much better if they are in a tank that has clean water. Keep up on your water changes & bacteria additives. These little guys will eat all sorts of food like sinking shrimp pellets, and bloodworms and they will eat dead plant material, algae, and leaves. They should be supplemented with algae wafers and sinking pellets if there are no algae in your aquarium. Iodine supplements will keep shells healthy and promote good shell production. If you flip your crab over the female will have a shell that has a salmon-colored round area with a ‘tip’ at the top. On the males, the entire undershell is white/ivory but has lines that make it look like a butterfly has been drawn on its underside. Most crabs berry in a similar fashion to crayfish and the Panther Crab is thought to have a larval stage where the young stay very close as if attached to the female. These aren’t considered aggressive crabs however larger, slow-moving fish may become a target if you don’t keep them well fed.

In addition, it’s important to keep plenty of hiding places in your tank for your crabs. If you have several then you should have at least more dwellings than you have crabs. When they molt, they will be hungry, so leave their shed shell in the tank as they will eat these to salvage nutrients. Never release your pets into the wild as they can become invasive. Stocking info-These is a small colonizing crab. Using them as a single crab is okay, but they will do best in a colony. You can easily raise 5 in a 10-gallon tank without issue. Offering rocks or wood to crawl under will keep them happy.

Arizona Aquatic Gardens offers a wide variety of aquatic creatures including the Panther Crab.