Ooh there's a thread for these guys! I just got 2 for Valentine's Day. The larger one's female, smaller one's male.


I suck at taking tank pictures, but here's the best one so far.


I love how active they are! I saw some white things swirling around in the corner yesterday morning and thought I had a little whirlpool for some reason. But nope, it was one of the crabs waving his nems in circles, right out in the open.

Awesome!

Guys do you know if they can live in a tank with other fish and shrimp...like a couple of Stenopus Hispidus ?
Thanks... couze i've added 1...but i don't see him from days...

My tank is 50g

should be fine as tankmates. I had 2 for about a year and a half with cleaner shrimp, several fish and many hermit crabs. I did just lose one but couldn't find any reason, could have just been his time to go. My other one I won't see for a while then all of a sudden we will see him when I am feeding.

Caught mine at night. Thought this was a cool shot.

I've had it for 8-10 months now.



-Dave

mine. male or female?

Can you keep a pom-pom with an emerald in the tank?

My new lil buddy. Last nite I watched him catch and eat a small bristleworm. It was teh radical.

Click to view attachment

I just picked one of these guys up today! Was at the store getting water and they had one. I had been wanting one for a while so I grabbed him since he was only 10 bucks. Looked like he only has one anemone, and it didn't look in real great shape but I was ok with that.

I feel bad because I had to acclimate and run. I put him in the tank and he took off and hid, hopefully he'll still be ok when we get home next week. I'll be home off and on between then to feed and take care of the tank, but won't get to sit and watch it.

Great inhabitants! I got 2 females in my tank and if they enough food, they tend to lay eggs once in a while. Trying to find a male. I have mine with 6 bumble bee shrimp. So far no battles.

It's been two weeks since I put mine in my 20g long, and I hadn't seen it since the day I put it in. Last week I put a peppermint shrimp in and he disappeared 2 days after putting him in. I feared the worst, that something was eating my small crustaceans, even though my skunk cleaner has been fine.

Then tonight when I was feeding the tank I just happened to look down between some rocks and saw a funny shape. It was my pom pom hanging out in there. Wooo! Thought he was a gonner after the shrimp disappeared. Now if I can just coax the thing to come out into the open....

I'd love to show pics of mine... but unfortunately, it was never seen again after I put it in the tank!

I read every single post in this thread, sadly I was unable to house 2 pom pom crabs in a 6 gallon tank.
Possible reasons of failure:
-They were introduce at different times. The first pom pom was the biggest and was introduced about 3 weeks before the second pom pom that was smaller.
-They were both males? I would think males would be more aggressive, but I have not try to gender ID them
-The first pom pom had already mark its territory.

Quick summary: Pom Pom's are reef-safe, People are able to keep more than one, and they can be kept with other invertebrates such as sexy shrimps, parceling crabs, emerald crabs, and as well as some fishes such as a goby and other small nano fishes. Some Pom Pom like to hide while others roam freely. You can target feed pom poms with Cyclopeeze, and other small particle foods as well as tiny portions of mysis shrimp . Their little anemones are used as "mops" to collect food and they also use them in self-defense. They can share their anemones with other pom pom crabs if the other does not have one, as they are able to split their anemones. If they do not have anemones they will use and pick up other corals as substitutes. They molt like other crabs and shrimps as they grow.
Aggression toward other pom pom crabs can happen (see above picture.) For best results I would suggest to introduce all the pom pom crabs that you are planing in having at the same time. If there is a substantial size difference I suggest introduce the little ones first so that they can familiarize themselves with the area and they can find a safe placed to hide. Otherwise, you might want to keep them separated in different tanks. From what I've read some pom poms will attack another pom pom for their anemones if it doesn't have any. Some pom poms are just evil and will attack other critters in your tank as some people have reported pom pom attacking and eating sexy shrimps and other shrimps, attacks towards gobies, and other crabs such as emeralds, porcelain, and other pom pom crabs.

Now that is an awesome post!!!!!!!! ^^^

Sorry to hear about the loss

I took like 50 shots, and here are the best of them....

Anyone know of a place in the Phoenix area that carries these? I really want to get one for my tank but can't find a decent LFS that ever has them in.

This is a snapshot of my inpregnated pom pom.

I have a Pom Pom for the last two months, see him all the time, love him when i bought him he only had one nem yesterday noticed a Aip popped up on a rock, was going to zap it today only to find it gone so fed the crew only to see pom pom out with guess what! the Aip on his other claw!!! what worries me now will i have Aips spreading over the tank with him carrying it around?

Also like to know if i can add another one? getting a new tank next week and will be changing all the stock over to this one should i add it then? if i can

nellups, I know this is probably way late of an answer but you could always try and catch your Pom if you see it pick up Aip and just confiscate it from her.


So I wanted to add in my 2 cents here. Or more like $1.02 because I feel I have too gained experience from the caring of these beautiful creatures.

My take on selection and lifespan:

Lifespan: Most Poms live under 6 years (if housed in an aquarium containing lots of competition) in fact most live under 2 years due to higher competition, which is why it is recommended for smaller aquariums to boost it's chance or survival.

*personal story* My first Pom was a TRUE boxer and fighter she lived to be 4 years (under my care, and she was mid sized when I purchased her which meant she was at least 4-6 months old) and this was quite a feat due to the fact that I introduced her into a 46gal bowfront that was pre-stocked with a full CUC and various larger animals that could have attacker her but did NOT. I had a Tiger Pistol/YWG combo and they never posed a problem to my Pom, I had a porcelain crab with anemone and the porcelain never left his anemone so no problem there. I had a Valentini Puffer and he did not bother my Pom. A few other creatures were present and when I downgraded from a 46 to a 30 my Pom survived. 4 years. More info to come

Pom Pom Selection: and as far as selection goes. Purchase from a reputable LFS with either both original Anemones , or purchase one with a single anemone to introduce into your aquarium. IF you decide to purchase a pom with 1 of it's original anemones, then make sure the your house aquarium contains NO AIPTASIA and also make sure the LFS you purchase from is relatively aiptasia free OR is housing their inverts in Aiptasia free containers (this lessens the chances your lil guy will pick up aiptasia in liu of a missing anemone) another crucial detail which you may not consider is, IF you want to have your Pom for years to come select SMALLER crabs with both anemones. Reason for this is that IF you purchase the largest Pom due to wanting to increase it's chance of survival in your tank you may be selecting one with a shorter lifespan. Since Pom Pom crabs only live so long, why not purchase one who will grow with your tank and live longer than that other BIGGER crab?

Male or Female? IMO I have found male poms to be slightly more aggressive than females, however the aggressive tendencies may turn out if the crab had been previously bullied. Be aware that female crabs WILL go into reproduction cycles (and that means eggs) just because your crab has/OR you select a Pom Pom crab with eggs does not mean they are fertile eggs... all it means is she is a female AND she had her menses (hahaha) Sorry, I'm a girl too. Just as many people in this thread have explained, check the lower abdomen of your Pom to sex them, females have a bigger belly plate than males do.

Molting this is the most dangerous time for any invert of this type. It is important to provide your Pom with plenty of hiding space in your tank/rock work (if you have any animal that may prey on the soft crab) as the crab ages, molting becomes more and more of a difficult feat to pull off, so if you purchase a larger crab it may be too weak to fend off larger predators OR it may run out of energy during the molt which makes them more vulnerable to creatures you would otherwise not have considered a threat before.



I think these Boxer crabs can hold their own very well in larger aquariums, but for the enjoyment of observation I opt for the smaller tanks now like I said... my first Pom pom survived a varied aquarium lifestyle. Here are the conditions my first Pom survived

CASE 1: Lived in these conditions for 2.5 years
46 gal bow front
150 lbs liverock
2 inch sand/livesand
1 pair YWG/Tiger Pistol (both were young and under 1" when purchased, by 2.5 yr had maxed their size)
1 anemone with Porcelain crab combo
2 Emerald crabs (no larger than 1")
10 Hermits (evil things)
Plenty of snails variation of margarita, turbo, fighting conch
1 firefish (purchased under 1.25")
1 fireshrimp (small)
1 cleaner shrimp (small)
1 Valentini Puffer (purchased under 1.25" in length, by 2.5 was 2")
1 neon cleaner goby (blue)

CASE 2: Lived in these conditions for 1 year
30 gal nano
75 lbs liverock
1 inch sandbed
Porcelain combo from above
Valentini Puffer from above
8 hermits
all the old snails
all the shrimp

all other life for that aquarium was downgraded... then we sold that setup and I downgraded to

CASE 3: lived here the rest of her life which was about a little over half a year
3 gal mini
2 lb liverock
.5" sandbed
(most of the life in this tank was tiny soft corals and frogspawn.. I had tons of this stuff in my larger setup but never felt it posed any danger to my pom so I didn't list it) essentially she lived out her life in this tiny tank and eventually died of what I assume to be old age, the parameters in this small tank were fine, she was the only creature living there and I hand fed her daily. RIP crab

So anyway that was my side of the story.

Picked up my pompom late last week (about 7 days ago) and so far she has been doing great. Immediatly went for cover and started to build a home/nest

When i feed she will come out, especially if i shoot some food into her "hole"

At night before bed i can see her come out and wave her anemones... very fun create to watch, wish it was out more.

Side Question, If the aneomones are able to survive is it a good sign that I should be able to house a real anemone?

that depends on the type of anemone. Many anemones require bright lighting and stronger currents than those for smaller tanks. Just do a little research before getting anemones. AND remember that the anemone decides where it wants to be so be sure to be ready to deal with it's decision and don't go planning out where you want it to be unless you are prepared for disappointment

Heres my pompom....

Came out during feeding and used his anemones to keep everyone else at bay.

Neatest guy in the tank. Wish he was less timid and came out more

Finally saw my pom pom for a decent amount of time with a camera present..here she is, eggs and all!

Peekaboo!


I see you!

That's awesome here's my male. My female caries often as well. It's great coral food!

HI all, I just picked up two of these beauties. They are drip acclimating right now. Should I quarantine them for a while with my Rainford's Goby in a small tank? Did you guys add them to the tank right away? I'm worried that the nems will die off if I quarantine them since the water volume is less and more susceptible to changes in parameters and pollution.

What are your guy's past methods for introducing them to a new tank? Also how can I sex them? The girl at the store was closing down and told me to check this thread specifically. Is this discussed anywhere here? Id love to have a male and female but won't mind either way since

Female = larger abdomen, found it in the last few posts!

They are prob the coolest things in the tank (or will be in the tank)!

I personally would add them directly to the tank. Here's a pic of three of mine.

The first two are males the last one is a female. You can see the female has a slightly larger abdomen. Sooooo, if I remember right(yes, it's me from the store ) yours both had the smaller abdomen so I mixed that gender up and they are probably actually male?

Hey noirsphynx, thanks for the last minute help at the store before closing up! You must be the same noirsphynx from Canreef? Its nice to put faces to the people online, its kinda neat. I have them in the QT but if you thinks its okay I will add them to the main tank tonight. They started boxing each other last night so I put them on opposite ends of the tank and it seemed like they stayed in their own corners until this morning. I think they are both male as well but Ill post some closeup pics from underneath and maybe you can give another look for me.

What do you guys feed them at the store? I tried target feeding them (and the Rainford's Goby) some frozen brine shrimp, reef roids with a little garlic extract. I think one of them ate some brine shrimp.

The Rainford's Goby just swam past the food so I cleaned it all out and will try feeding him tonight again.

Yup, same person . They will probably feel more comfortable and less stressed in your main tank since there is probably more space and places to hide amoungst the live rock in your DT.

At the moment we feed a mix of mysis, brine and a few different blends from Ocean Nutrition(Formula 1, Formula 2 & Pygmy Angel).

The rainford may just be stressed. It's normal for fish not to eat for the first day or two in there new environment. If you have a piece of rock in your DT with some hair algae on it you could put that in with him.They are also a sifting type goby so some sand for them is also needed. It might also be a good idea to add some live copepod's to the QT.

Hey thats good to hear. I had the same problem with my other SW fish not eating the first few days. Its really stressful waiting for that first bite! Ill add in a piece of LR with some hair algae on it and some sand from the DT. Cross fingers!

BTW great nano tank you have there! I saw the thread and I am definitely going to get a Tailspot Blenny. Where can you find barnacles for them to hide in? I think I may just make my tank into a nano-fish type tank as well since its only a 40G. That way I can fit more small fish in it, I love having lots of activity and things going on in the tank as well. If anything you are probably the person to help me make this happen!

Heres some pics of the undersides of the two pom poms. Im thinking it looks like they're both male and the fact that they were boxing in the QT last night. Too much crustacean testosterone in that small tank.

What do you all think:

Crab 1


Crab 2

I just purchased two today, should be in with other goodies early next week

Yeah, I would guess males too.



That's awesome Steve. Can't wait to see them

Yes, I would say both males too. Mine is a female and there is a pretty clear difference between the sexes. The abdomen on the female is very wide and like a semicircle.

Love seeing all the pom poms!

I came home earlier last week and saw what I thought was a molt, laying lifeless near the edge of my tank. The nems were still on it, so I figured that my little pom-pom had just molted before I got in and scurried off into the rockwork.

Now, I'm certain that my little pom is gone. I had him for a little over a year. He was super big (about 1.5-2 toe-to-toe), so I'm attributing it to old age. All my params are stable and no one else in the tank was pestering him.

The interesting this is that I kind of assumed his nems would die off too. But, now I've found them wandering within the tank, constantly moving to a different rock (or even the back wall). They are real tiny in the day, and expand nearly 3x its size when lights are off.

Anyone had experience with these little nems (sans crab)? And, how long can you expect them to live? I've been feeding them small amounts of mysis at night.

Well, i just read this whole thread and made up my mind..... Definately getting a couple for my 5g nano. The search button on here works great!

I just got my first pom pom yesterday for my 2.5gallon maxi mini anemone tank. I plan on another when the store gets more. I believe mine to be a male. He hasnt moved from where he first settled since I put him in (well other than when I poked him to make sure he was alive). I know he prob just needs to settle in as I got him hours after he got to the store.

Edit to add: disappeared after second day and can't find him now, but I was expecting that. Does a any one know if they are really social or just tolerant? If I added another I hear they will share pom pom or is it really one taking it from another? Does having multiples make them more acive and bold or am I just going to have two crabs that hide behind the rocks all the time?

I haven't seen him for five days now, should I be concerned since I haven't seen him even after feeding tank?

@ Seamonkey

I have three- I can tell the difference between them by their pom-pom colors. For about a month I assumed they were all dead, because I saw no trace of them at all. Then gradually, each poked out once in a while. It's been a few months (I don't know exactly how long) but only one has come out for me to see frequently. The others prefer darkness between the rocks.

Mine typically hides all the time.... until food hits the water... If i look in the back of the tank I can see her waving their pom poms hoping to catch something....

Same with my porcelain crab, always in the back waving his fans

recieved mine last week. i placed it on its own rock island where it hung out for a few days, and now it has moved to the main island and is very reclusive. right at last light before they lights kick off I can sometimes catch a glimpse. We call him ATC for air traffic control, waving his arms to and fro directing the airplanes left and right very cool addition

I just got another one last night and as of this morning he hasnt gone into hiding yet. He didn't have any pom poms so I'm hoping he finds the other and they share as the first one has both and are kinda large.

Oh add that I did get to see the first one the other night when I said I hadn't seen it for a week. so I know he has both anemones.

Caught in the act. They are in the middle of mating.


This is my original male with a new female. I lost the old girl to a power head she got sucked in to during a molt. The new girl came with no pom poms but the male happily shared with her. I didn't witness the actual handing off of a nem to her but I did witness him trying to. He would sit really close to her extending his arm and staying very still trying to offer it to her.

sexy...

The crab I got last week Is alot bolder than the first. I noticed he the other day that he had something in a claw, I think its a frag off one of the other crab's nems. Looked like a few whit tentacles. The other one I haven't seen in the open, but one of his nems looks like it's "damaged"

Hello guys,

Where is everyone getting their pom pom crabs? I have been looking for quite a while and have never seen any local stores carrying them. I'm afraid of ordering live stock online.

My lfs usually has them, just ask and they can usually get them.

Hi all!

I've had a pair of Poms for about a month in my 28G carpet/maxi-mini biotope. The female has been carrying eggs, and the larvae were released into the water tonight. I pipetted some into a holding container, and put in some zooplankton/photoplankton, but I don't have high hopes for this batch. Anyone had any luck with raising any babies? I don't see any online anywhere.

Here are some pics:

Gravid





Larvae

woogiekids, that is so cool. Nice pics. Wish you luck with the larva.

this might seem like a dumb question but my friend's pom lost an arm....like the whole arm, and the other arm seemed to be find it had its anemone and everything. We're wondering if it'll every grow back after a molt? or if its gone for good. Does anyone have any insight? also his pom is HUGE compared to mine, are they different types or are they different genders? or is it just that his might be older then mine and as such alot bigger? the difference is pretty staggering when we compare photos.

You mean are there different sexes, not genders. Gender is a culturally constructed identity, whereas sex is considered a natural maleness or femaleness based on hormones and physical characteristics.

To answer your question, the arm will come back after a molt or two. The pom-poms are anemones that the crabs hold in their arms. They will grow at different rates. Mine has one that is slightly bigger than the other.

Hope this helps.