The sally lightfoot crab looks similar to a spider and has two pairs of antennae, three body parts and five pairs of legs. The carapace is bright red in color with yellow and orange rings on its appendages. The sally lightfoot is a great ambush predator and is covered with hard covering called as carapace under which its tail and abdomen are hidden. The sally lightfoot crab undergoes molting wherein it sheds off its exoskeleton to replace it with a new one. The sally lightfoot crab thrives well in a temperature range of 72-78 Fahrenheit, and pH of 8.1. It requires strong water current and corals, rock and sand in which the crab can hide. It is therefore recommended to keep live rocks and corals to bring a real habitat environment in the aquarium. Due to the presence of the flat carapace, it allows the Sally Lightfoot to maneuver into any tight places or in crevices of rocks to escape the predation. It is a scavenging crab that prefers to live on rocks and loves to graze over it. If there is not much to scavenge, the Sally Lightfoot can be given dried seaweed as an additional food. The sally lightfoot crab is easy to maintain.
The Sally Lightfoot is a very popular crab species for the home aquarium. They are very active crabs, picking at algae constantly. Their body is flat and brown in color. Both their body and legs are marked with yellow. The Sally Lightfoot is lighting quick and are voracious algae eaters. These crabs live along rocky shorelines in the Caribbean and vary in size depending on the season; sometimes not being available at all. Sally Lightfoots will often times lose some of their legs, but regenerate them quickly. These crabs love to work and are a great addition to any tank. More than one can be kept in the same aquarium.Crabs belong to the Class Crustacea and Order Decapoda, which is characterized by two pair of antennae, three body parts, and five pairs of legs. The head of a Crab is connected to the thorax and covered by a shell called carapace. They have a smaller abdomen and tail compared to Shrimp and they keep this tucked beneath the carapace. The first pair of their legs are usually developed claws which they use to gather food, use as protection, and to move objects. In order for Crabs to grow they need to shed their exoskeleton, a process called "molting", which allows them to remove their restricting shell and begin a new one. Often times in the home aquarium Crabs will leave this translucent shell in full view so it can serve as a distraction while the Crab finds a hiding place and allows its new shell to harden.
