Blue-Legged Hermit Crab

C. tricolor has blue legs with red banding between each segment, and reaches to 2 centimeters (0.79 in) in size. Males of this species as most other hermit crab species are bigger than the females.

C. tricolor is a detritivore, eating dead plants and animals that would otherwise clog the reef.

It also eats green hair algae, cyanobacteria and seaweed. It even sifts through sand looking for food, cleaning the sand in the process.

During the day the crabs move slowly or rest, feeding usually begins at dusk and continues through the night. They usually congregate in rocky areas with 30cm of water. Members of the same group usually move in one general direction when feeding, think of a group of grazing cattle. By 4:30 in the morning they are back to their congregation. It seems that most of the crabs stay with their same respective groups day after day.