Is this a blue legged hermit?

kitti-fish · 2026-08-29T16:19:27-0400

Recently went to the fish store to get more CUC and I got this guy. Is this a molted blue legged crab? He has white and black banded eyes and his body looked grayish and fuzzy unlike his counterparts.

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Tahoe61 · 2026-08-29T16:25:02-0400

No not your common Blue Leg. Looks like it might be a bigger variety.

kitti-fish · 2026-08-29T16:47:50-0400

Tahoe61 said:
No not your common Blue Leg. Looks like it might be a bigger variety.

Oh cool! It must have been an accident because I specifically wanted blue legged. I can’t find any info on this dude either. Will he get aggressive? I have a variety of new shells so hoping war stops breaking out.

Tahoe61 · 2026-08-29T18:10:42-0400

kitti-fish said:
Oh cool! It must have been an accident because I specifically wanted blue legged. I can’t find any info on this dude either. Will he get aggressive? I have a variety of new shells so hoping war stops breaking out.

No idea sorry.

I would look at vendor sites like Reefcleaners.org for a possible ID.

IMO the smaller the variety the better. I really don't keep many because they are murderous heathens.

I will look around for an ID.

kitti-fish · 2026-08-29T18:14:08-0400

Tahoe61 said:
kitti-fish said:

Oh cool! It must have been an accident because I specifically wanted blue legged. I can’t find any info on this dude either. Will he get aggressive? I have a variety of new shells so hoping war stops breaking out.

Click to expand...

No idea sorry.

I would look at vendor sites like Reefcleaners.org for a possible ID.

IMO the smaller the variety the better. I really don't keep many because they are murderous heathens.

I will look around for an ID.

I only keep a murderous Halloween crab but I love her so she stays. I’ll take a look. Thanks!

Tahoe61 · 2026-08-29T18:30:52-0400

Saltwater.com has a number of varieties that look similar. Check it out.
The Anemone hermit looks similar.

kitti-fish · 2026-08-29T18:58:24-0400

Tahoe61 said:
Saltwater.com has a number of varieties that look similar. Check it out.
The Anemone hermit looks similar.

Yes it does look like this guy!

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Mickle · 2026-08-29T19:02:04-0400

If you can upload a better picture I can try IDing it. Looks like It has red hairs on the inner claw and the base of antennae are banded, so not the same as the species pictured above

kitti-fish · 2026-08-29T19:05:14-0400

Mickle said:
If you can upload a better picture I can try IDing it. Looks like It has red hairs on the inner claw and the base of antennae are banded, so not the same as the species pictured above

It’s very tiny so this is the best I can do hope it helps

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overhead · 2026-08-29T19:37:51-0400

Tahoe61 said:
No idea sorry.

I would look at vendor sites like Reefcleaners.org for a possible ID.

IMO the smaller the variety the better. I really don't keep many because they are murderous heathens.

I will look around for an ID.

You say "murderous heathens" like that is a bad thing! I love my little murderous heathens, they are little problem solvers....well....also little problem creators....but crabs are gonna crab.

More seriously, and to the questions asked, all my blue legs have blue legs even right after they molt.

Mickle · 2026-08-29T20:29:08-0400

kitti-fish said:
It’s very tiny so this is the best I can do hope it helps

Okay so, these do occur in the same area as blue legs, hence being mixed in. This species is most likely "Paguristes karenae". There is an extremely similar species, "Paguristes tortugae" but those ones should have less red on them. I think your images match P. karenae very well. See list of photos