Species Highlights: Viola (Coenobita violascens)

This is the third Species Highlights post, following the trend of attempting to get all of the species finished eventually! If you forgot or don’t know what Species Highlights is, take a look under the “Labels” for the very first blog post on Species Highlights.

Viola (Coenobita violascens) hermit crabs are most commonly found in Indonesia and the surrounding tropical islands. They are known to be mixed in with other species such as Indos (Coenobita brevimanus), Ruggies (Coenobita rugosus) and Straws (Coenobita perlatus).

The Viola hermit crab is accustomed to temperatures higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit and a higher humidity level (around 85%) than the Purple Pincher hermit crab. Because of the need for more tropical conditions, one must be a more experienced crab keeper to take care of Viola hermit crabs properly.

The violascens species is most known for their bashfulness, as they commonly hide during the day and are more active at night. They are also known for their unique shell choices. While most crabs prefer turbo (round openings), Violas usually prefer oblong and cone shaped shells.

Violas are a popular species among crab hobbyists because of their intense blue and purple colors. While the juvenile Viola is usually a fiery red or orange, it slowly matures into a blue or purple crab during adulthood. It’s these colors that crabbers love!

Saltwater and other staples that any other land hermit crab is recommended to have should be in a tank with Violas. They are not hard to take care of when you have good crab conditions. Because of their shyness, they do not enjoy being handled.

These crabs are easily identified by their purple colors as adults or their red colors as juveniles.
Additionally, the eyestalks are always black and the bottom antennae are always red. They are one of the more easy species to identify, but be careful not to mix them up with Ruggies or Indos.

Finally, I’ve owned one Viola land hermit crab for a little over a year. He’s doing great with me and has molted at least twice. He seems very healthy, but prefers to be active at night. I also recently purchased four Violas from Hermit Crab Vendor, but they are all currently molting. Molting seems to be quite easy for Viola land hermit crabs, as I’ve never had a problem with any of them.