Bluestman
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello everyone, over the last 6 months or so I've been trying to find as much info as I could about Blue Lobsters (Cherax quadricarinatus) as I bought my tank with the intention of buying one. I have read quite a few articles saying that they are not suitable for a community tank because they will eat fish but I have read just as many articles saying they are OK. Then there are the fencesitters who say it depends on the lobsters personality, some are good and some are bad. As there is relatively little information around, I decided to try and log my experiences and a little to the knowledge base. I hope that doesn't sound conceited.
I have deliberately picked fish that are quick off the mark as most of the information I have read says that lobsters can only catch quite slow moving prey. Again this is contradicted in other articles. Most of the information I have read suggests feeding them live fish occasionally. It's not something I wish to do willingly but if he catches one of the Danios or a Molly then at least he is getting his dietary requirements. I am not too attached to any of the fish as I am aware that at some point they maybe become lunch for the lobster. It is also stated in a lot of articles that the lobster will decimate any plants that are in the aquarium so I have bought a shedload of Java Fern which will hopefully grow quicker than it gets eaten.
I must at this point let everyone know that I am by no means an experienced aquarist. The only relevant experience I have is with regards to reptiles which I have kept for around 10 years. A lot of the skills from that hobby transfer quite well into aquaria. I have had my tank up and running for 7 months and have yet to have a fish die. All my levels are spot on and all the fish and plants are apparently healthy.
I ordered my lobster online and it arrived boxed yesterday. It is around 3 1/2 inches long and isn't actually blue rather a green/brown colour. As it ages it will turn blue apparently.
So after 3 hours of drip acclimatisation I added my lobster yesterday. remembering to put him into the tank upside down to release any air that gets trapped under his shell. I spent the next couple of hours watching for signs of aggression towards his tankmates, there was none. The mollies showed him a lot of interest and seemed to annoy him but that was about it. He did a tour of the tank and decided to settle right under the filter next to a cave (one of four) that I had provided for him. He spent a few hours last night moving stones around, as if he was constructing a wall to block himself in.
The next day it seemed he had disappeared, I just left him to it then in late afternoon I saw what looked like a dead lobster. He had moulted and was busy eating his old shell. They are particularly vulnerable whilst their new shell is soft so that is probably why he was constructing the "wall" the previous evening.
So far the only sign of aggression I have seen is when a fish goes near the shrimp pellet in his cave he scares them away by waving his claws around. The biggest problem so far has been the Apple Snail. It doesn't scare away easily and was trying to eat the lobster's old shell. Lobster threw a tantrum and the snail retreated at warp speed (for a snail that is anyway lol).
Well that's all there is to say so far, as and when anything of interest occurs I will endeavour to update this post. If anyone has anything to add then please do so.
Clive
I have deliberately picked fish that are quick off the mark as most of the information I have read says that lobsters can only catch quite slow moving prey. Again this is contradicted in other articles. Most of the information I have read suggests feeding them live fish occasionally. It's not something I wish to do willingly but if he catches one of the Danios or a Molly then at least he is getting his dietary requirements. I am not too attached to any of the fish as I am aware that at some point they maybe become lunch for the lobster. It is also stated in a lot of articles that the lobster will decimate any plants that are in the aquarium so I have bought a shedload of Java Fern which will hopefully grow quicker than it gets eaten.
I must at this point let everyone know that I am by no means an experienced aquarist. The only relevant experience I have is with regards to reptiles which I have kept for around 10 years. A lot of the skills from that hobby transfer quite well into aquaria. I have had my tank up and running for 7 months and have yet to have a fish die. All my levels are spot on and all the fish and plants are apparently healthy.
I ordered my lobster online and it arrived boxed yesterday. It is around 3 1/2 inches long and isn't actually blue rather a green/brown colour. As it ages it will turn blue apparently.
So after 3 hours of drip acclimatisation I added my lobster yesterday. remembering to put him into the tank upside down to release any air that gets trapped under his shell. I spent the next couple of hours watching for signs of aggression towards his tankmates, there was none. The mollies showed him a lot of interest and seemed to annoy him but that was about it. He did a tour of the tank and decided to settle right under the filter next to a cave (one of four) that I had provided for him. He spent a few hours last night moving stones around, as if he was constructing a wall to block himself in.
The next day it seemed he had disappeared, I just left him to it then in late afternoon I saw what looked like a dead lobster. He had moulted and was busy eating his old shell. They are particularly vulnerable whilst their new shell is soft so that is probably why he was constructing the "wall" the previous evening.
So far the only sign of aggression I have seen is when a fish goes near the shrimp pellet in his cave he scares them away by waving his claws around. The biggest problem so far has been the Apple Snail. It doesn't scare away easily and was trying to eat the lobster's old shell. Lobster threw a tantrum and the snail retreated at warp speed (for a snail that is anyway lol).
Well that's all there is to say so far, as and when anything of interest occurs I will endeavour to update this post. If anyone has anything to add then please do so.
Clive