Purple Spotted Coral Crab ?
- Thread starter don103
- Start date
LeslieH
Premium Member
A picture or a scientific name would sure help. I suspect what they're selling is a species of Trapezia. These are obligate symbionts of corals. They feed primarily on the mucus secreted by the corals and will eat tissue as well. Despite any tissue loss, corals hosting crabs have been shown to grown faster & be healthier than corals without them. That's because the crabs keep particulates from settling on the corals & inhibiting growth. They're also active defenders, immediately rushing over to attack predatory starfish like crown of thorns or butterfly fish. Rare? Not at all. I've often found multiple pairs of Trapezia on a single colony in the field and judging by posts they're very common hitchhikers.
