Care
The eye-catching strawberry Crab is known from the shallow rocky reefs of Hawaii, French Polynesia, and Mauritius. This small, bright pink crab often has numerous irregular whitish spots on the carapace, and these tend to become more prominent with age. Most specimens are peaceful and should be relatively reef safe, but do observe very carefully as there are reports of occasional rogue individuals; they should not be trusted with tiny, docile fish or very small ornamental shrimps. However, these crabs are less likely to be problematic in aquaria with a plentiful and varied supply of food so they do not have to look elsewhere to find nutrition. Ideally, the tank will be mature with an abundance of live rock for this nocturnal crab to hide amongst during the day. At night, it will venture out to feed on various algae and any meaty fish foods that it comes across. You may like to add a small amount of food as the main lights switch off, so you are able to observe your Strawberry Crab going about its business under subdued blue moon lighting. More than one specimen may be kept in the same providing it is spacious and there is an abundance of food and hidey holes. Some stores may label this species as the Red Boxing Crab. Do check that the crabs you wish to purchase is definitely N.pubescens, as several other small red/pink crabs are seen in the trade, and not all are as reef-friendly. *Never use copper-based treatments in the invertebrate aquarium.*
Feeding
Omnivorous. Feeds on most aquarium fare such as vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, Mysis shrimp, krill, chopped prawns/mussel meat etc, along with seaweed and many types of algae and other greenfoods.
Breeding
Strawberry Crabs have spawned in the home aquarium, however, the resultant minuscule larvae are extremely sensitive and difficult to feed - there are currently no successful reports of them being raised to adulthood in captivity.
