Percnon gibbesi

(H. Milne Edwards, 1853)

Sally Lightfoot Crab, Nimble Crab

Range: Tropical East & West Atlantic Ocean: Azores to Cape of Good Hope and from North Carolina to Brazil, and also, the Eastern Pacific Ocean from Baja California to Chile.

Size: 4 inches (10 cm)

Natural Environment: This flat-bodied species is usually found living on rocky coastlines where the rock surfaces and rubble are algae covered. Younger members feed upon algae, whereas more mature members also feed upon small fish and various crustaceans and other small invertebrate.

General Husbandry: This fast moving crab, are predatory creatures and besides eating algae, will eat small crustaceans, fishes, hermit crabs, and may injure some corals, and quite possibly also decorative anemones while attempting to gain access to the materials in the gut.

Not totally a reef safe animal, and even if kept in a fish only aquarium, thought must be given to what size and type fish and invertebrates are in the system.

As for feeding, they are not fussy eaters, as small members will scavenge various forms of algae, but more mature ones are a predatory hazard. There are no special feeding requirements for this crab.

Taxonomy:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca

Subclass: Eumalacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Superfamily: Grapsoidea

Family: Percnidae

Genus: Percnon

FYI: Actually, an Omnivore, even though sometimes sold as an Herbivore.

Advise rethinking this species if desired for a reef aquarium.

Not fussy about water quality.

Experience Level: Beginner

Diet: Omnivore/Mainly algae

Temperament: Semi-aggressive

Aquarium Environment: Fish-only aquarium

Coral Safe: With caution

Fish Safe: With caution

Invertebrate Safe: With caution

Temperature Range: 68 - 83°F (20 - 28°C)