Nutrition

Much like humans, the Clibanarius tricolor is an omnivore. It will eat both meat and vegetation. Unfortunately, this small creature does not get the opportunity to sit down to feast upon a nice steak or a salad of its choosing. The good thing about that is that the Clibanarius tricolor is not a picky eater. If it was it would not survive very long and may not be in existence today. It can almost be described as a vacuum cleaner of the sea despite its small size. It will literally eat anything it can find from green algae to other animals waste products including cyanobacteria, seaweed, green-hair algae, exoskeleton shedding, and literally anything it finds that is edible (Fishprofiles 2014).

"To be even more specific, this hermit crab can classified as a detritivore meaning that they will consume decomposing parts of plants or animals. With this outrageous quality to eat anything it comes across, this makes it a perfect organism to have in its environment (Hazlette 1984). It plays a huge role in help keeping the coral reefs and the sandy bottoms of the sea clean and clear of as much waste product as it can. The Clibanarius tricolor is nature’s little cleaner. Designed to “pick up” after other organisms around it. Imagine if these creatures, or organisms like this, did not exist. The beautiful reefs that attract thousands of people every year would slowly degrade as they become lambasted by filth.

Another great aspect to the wonderful cleaning abilities of the Clibanarius tricolor is that it makes for a phenomenal household pet. What makes it so great is that it keeps its tank really clean which makes tank maintenance so easy (Fishprofiles 2014).