Blue vs White Porcelain Crabs - What is the difference??

[SauceyReef]

Blue vs White Porcelain Crabs - What is the difference?

Is there much of a difference at all? Do the blues get bigger? More aggressive? I'm not sure they form symbiotic relationships with corals/anemones? I thought my LFS was getting the spotted anemone porcelains but instead got a bunch of the blue ones which I am nervous to add to my reef tank.

 

[blaxsun]

Blue or purple? Any images?

 

[SauceyReef]

Blue or purple? Any images?

There are purple ones?? I was reffering to these guys. I was supposed to get a spotted anemone porcelain, but these came into the LFS instead. Ive heard mixed opinions on the temperament differences of both. Personally I want to be sure they are just as "reef safe" with small inverts + nano fish as the white ones. I know they will likely be a bit more reclusive.

 

[vetteguy53081]

There are purple ones?? I was reffering to these guys. I was supposed to get a spotted anemone porcelain, but these came into the LFS instead. Ive heard mixed opinions on the temperament differences of both. Personally I want to be sure they are just as "reef safe" with small inverts + nano fish as the white ones. I know they will likely be a bit more reclusive.

Blue is actually peaceful and the standard ones under certain spectrums look purple but are not and are happy with pieces of shrimp, crab and strips of squid to eat

 

[blaxsun]

Purpleish-blue, yeah. They're not as bold as the white ones and will often spend most of the time hiding.

 

[shcrimps]

There are purple ones?? I was reffering to these guys. I was supposed to get a spotted anemone porcelain, but these came into the LFS instead. Ive heard mixed opinions on the temperament differences of both. Personally I want to be sure they are just as "reef safe" with small inverts + nano fish as the white ones. I know they will likely be a bit more reclusive.

i had one for a couple weeks before it died
in that time i saw it “punch” snails that were bothering it while it was just chilling
not sure why it died but after the first day or so i didn’t see it until the last day when i found it dead

 

[JoJosReef]

There are purple ones?? I was reffering to these guys. I was supposed to get a spotted anemone porcelain, but these came into the LFS instead. Ive heard mixed opinions on the temperament differences of both. Personally I want to be sure they are just as "reef safe" with small inverts + nano fish as the white ones. I know they will likely be a bit more reclusive.

Is that an internet photo or one you took? Gorgeous specimen!

For you question, no they pose no threat to anything else in your tank that isn't bothering them. They filter feed and gladly accept any type of food you shoot at them. Mine loves pieces of flake food to go along with the Reef Nutrition liquid foods I broadcast.

I have a blue, a white spotted and a green porcelain. They each make their own spots and generally respect each other's places--they likely established a pecking order that I didn't witness. Sexy shrimp ignore them and they ignore the sexy shrimp. Cleaner shrimp is also completely ignored. I can't say for sure with the emerald crabs, because there have been some deaths, but I was never able to tell who dunnit--might have ventured too much in the porcelain's space. Might have been a territorial/food dispute between emeralds.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They don't mess with corals, but they sometimes hang out on them. The white spotted nem crab is the worst of the three in my experience, sitting right on top of my baby black widow BTA. Grrr...

 

[blaxsun]

The white porcelain ones do love their anemones... (including rockflowers).

 

[SauceyReef]

Is that an internet photo or one you took? Gorgeous specimen!

For you question, no they pose no threat to anything else in your tank that isn't bothering them. They filter feed and gladly accept any type of food you shoot at them. Mine loves pieces of flake food to go along with the Reef Nutrition liquid foods I broadcast.

I have a blue, a white spotted and a green porcelain. They each make their own spots and generally respect each other's places--they likely established a pecking order that I didn't witness. Sexy shrimp ignore them and they ignore the sexy shrimp. Cleaner shrimp is also completely ignored. I can't say for sure with the emerald crabs, because there have been some deaths, but I was never able to tell who dunnit--might have ventured too much in the porcelain's space. Might have been a territorial/food dispute between emeralds.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

They don't mess with corals, but they sometimes hang out on them. The white spotted nem crab is the worst of the three in my experience, sitting right on top of my baby black widow BTA. Grrr...

Great info! Thank you

 

[SauceyReef]

I always thought just the white ones formed symbiotic relationships with coral/anemones. I also thought I once heard the blue/green porcelains get bigger and more mean. Glad to know that's not the case for others here. I am thinking of picking up one of the blues.

 

[happyhourhero]

IME they are all reef safe. The whites are likely to find a coral or anemone home and stay there. Mine is on a mini maxi and hasn’t moved in a year. The green and blue are gulf/Caribbean species and they are more likely to post up on the underside of rocks. They all ultimately just stay in their spots and fan for food.

 

[SauceyReef]

IME they are all reef safe. The whites are likely to find a coral or anemone home and stay there. Mine is on a mini maxi and hasn’t moved in a year. The green and blue are gulf/Caribbean species and they are more likely to post up on the underside of rocks. They all ultimately just stay in their spots and fan for food.

Thank you! I am most likely going to get one for the tank. Not sure which system I should put it in.

 

[Stomatopods17]

They do no harm, never heard of them being 'aggressive' cause they physically aren't capable of it.

Their claws are mostly for show and easily drop them if threatened, they don't even open wide. They may push something away but that's it.

Both versions are filter feeders, just one lives in anemones/coral. The anemone ones are easy to see cause they stick to their anemones, but the other ones all have been very reclusive IME, you never see them but maybe the fans sticking out of an overhang or from under a rock.

 

[SauceyReef]

Sounds like a good addition for the 5 gallon bowl I have going. It has a couple Pom Poms and an emerald though. With a porcelain it would turn into crab city haha (although I know porcelains arent "real crabs")

 

[OrionN]

There are multiple species of porcelain crabs. Some even are free living. There is a species in Corpus Christi Bay (thus Gulf of Mexico) that is green/brown that live on the rock without anemone.
IME they all grow to about 1.5 inches or so.

 

[SauceyReef]

There are multiple species of porcelain crabs. Some even are free lifting. There is a species in Corpus Christi Bay (thus Gulf of Mexico) that is green/brown that live on the rock without anemone.
IME they all grow to about 1.5 inches or so.

I ended up snagging two of the blues for my evo! Its been over 2 months and I've seen them once in a 10 gallon lol.