Joker741
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I also have a blue lobster. Fun to watch, but I put it in his own tank so he didn't eat the fish in my 90 gallon tank.
Blue Lobster in a Community Tank
- Thread starter Bluestman
- Start date
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
strokinbyeu
Aquarium Advice Freak
ok. . . what r the signs of a female vs a male mine now is a real bright blue and has been sence i got him/her about 6months ago
BillD
Aquarium Advice Addict
The picture above is a female Cherax quadricarinatus.There is no orange on the side of the claw. it is quite easy to distinguish the difference between female and male because of the orange on the male's claws. The so called "Electric Blue" is a selectively bred colour morph of an American species, which doesn't get nearly as large as the Cherax species.
Joker741
Aquarium Advice FINatic
What is the biggest anyone has seen one of these get? Mine is only about 5" long right now.
Joker741
Aquarium Advice FINatic
I know what they are, I was just wondering how big they get. So, my crayfish is big, cool. I thought I heard somewhere 8", that is why I asked.
BillD
Aquarium Advice Addict
My female was a little over 8" when she escaped. They will get to 11" or perhaps a little more. It is small wonder they are a popular food item, and are grown for such.
Joker741
Aquarium Advice FINatic
WOW, that is big. I can't wait to see how big mine grows to. Thanks for the input.
Bluestman
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Just thought I'd update on this topic, it's been a while, sorry
Now he is round about a year old. He is now moulting only every couple of months. In the last few months he hasn't eaten any fish other than a molly which died during/after giving birth. In the tank at the moment I have 6 mollies (original adult and 5 babies) and 2 golden algae eaters. they seem to co-exist very well. I was slightly uneasy when I got the algae eaters but they seem to get on, the algae eaters are often resting inside the lobsters cave even when he is in it. The mollies just avoid him. I wouldn't have any more fish in there as the bio load is pretty big. Lobsters crap a lot.
He has tried to escape a few times, as a previous poster said, he will climb up just an airline to get out. Indeed once at 3am I was running around my lounge barefoot trying to catch what is in effect a walking pair of bolt-cutters! This only happens the night when I remove rocks from the tank during a clean up obviously stresses him out somewhat. So that night I put a weight on the tank lid. He has grown quite a lot, he is now around 9" long. I feed him mainly on live giant Morio worms. I have a pet gecko so it's quite convenient. I also give him the occasional prawn. He is quite picky as to what he will eat. If I give him the same food everyday he very quickly decides not to eat until I give him something different. Although he will always jump around trying to catch flaked fish food. He is very active during the day and night except when he is about to shed when he becomes very shy and doesn't eat for a couple of days.
I do have one question if anyone can help. He currently has what look like hairs growing out of his main claw "arms". I have read that they are a parasite but harmless but have been unable to find out how to get rid of them. The place I read about them was a cookery website and the only way they had to get rid of them was to brush them off with a stiff brush after cooking lol
Bluestman
Now he is round about a year old. He is now moulting only every couple of months. In the last few months he hasn't eaten any fish other than a molly which died during/after giving birth. In the tank at the moment I have 6 mollies (original adult and 5 babies) and 2 golden algae eaters. they seem to co-exist very well. I was slightly uneasy when I got the algae eaters but they seem to get on, the algae eaters are often resting inside the lobsters cave even when he is in it. The mollies just avoid him. I wouldn't have any more fish in there as the bio load is pretty big. Lobsters crap a lot.
He has tried to escape a few times, as a previous poster said, he will climb up just an airline to get out. Indeed once at 3am I was running around my lounge barefoot trying to catch what is in effect a walking pair of bolt-cutters! This only happens the night when I remove rocks from the tank during a clean up obviously stresses him out somewhat. So that night I put a weight on the tank lid. He has grown quite a lot, he is now around 9" long. I feed him mainly on live giant Morio worms. I have a pet gecko so it's quite convenient. I also give him the occasional prawn. He is quite picky as to what he will eat. If I give him the same food everyday he very quickly decides not to eat until I give him something different. Although he will always jump around trying to catch flaked fish food. He is very active during the day and night except when he is about to shed when he becomes very shy and doesn't eat for a couple of days.
I do have one question if anyone can help. He currently has what look like hairs growing out of his main claw "arms". I have read that they are a parasite but harmless but have been unable to find out how to get rid of them. The place I read about them was a cookery website and the only way they had to get rid of them was to brush them off with a stiff brush after cooking lol
Bluestman
They can get parasites (worms) attached to their claws that may appear to be hairs, but many species also have hair there, so make sure you take a good look before attempting manual removal. It doesn't seem likely to me that you got a parasite after he's been isolated for so long.
They do need some vegetable matter to eat. I've found Spirulina wafers to be convenient, but dead tree leaves work too.
They do need some vegetable matter to eat. I've found Spirulina wafers to be convenient, but dead tree leaves work too.
dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
WOW! What a cool looking crayfish/lobster whatever lol! He/she looks a lot different than when you first got him/her! I am guessing it is male since it has the orange on his claws (as stated in an earlier post). Good job!
Afternoon Snack
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Blue Crayfish
I have a blue crayfish (indeed not a lobster, blue lobsters are marine animals and extremely rare- aquarium stores often incorrectly market them as lobsters because it sounds more exotic than just a common creek dweller, mine was a "lobster" when I bought it) in my 55 gallon tank. When I bought him (in March '09) he was about 2 inches long and has molted 5 times and grown to about 5 inches and a brilliant blue, however he was never even close to the color of Bluestman's crayfish at the beginning of this thread.
Several people have posted comments about how crayfish will kill and eat all of your fish. I would say this is an exaggeration, but there is some truth behind it. When I first introduced my crayfish literally within minutes it caught and killed my senegal bichir (an eel). The senegal was 3 inches long and the crayfish managed to eat the entire thing-earning him the name Pulpot after a tyrannical dictator. I think, though, that the only reason the eel was killed is because of its poor swimming ability and it was sort of a bully and always harassed the other fish; I think Pulpot decided he was not going to be harassed. Over the next couple of months it ate a few other fish (a couple of tetras and a guppy maybe something else too, can't remember) but I didn't see these kills and I believe they were mostly already dead before he ate them. Over the past 6 months or so no fish have gone missing and the crayfish has become very tolerant of the fish. My rainbow shark often shares Pulpot's cave and even rests on top of him. In the picture you can see my pink kisser sharing a meal of pellets with Pulpot and it survived just fine.
Overall Pulpot is probably my favorite tank inhabitant and well worth the loss of a couple of fish. Any time I have guests over they are fascinated by his bright color and love to watch his many appendages search for food and he's always a good conversation topic. People will have to choose for themselves whether or not to add a crayfish to a community tank, but for me it has worked just fine.
A bit more about Pulpot. He likes to dig so I recommend fine sediment and hardy plants as he often uproots plants with his big clumsy pincers. Also, as already stated in this thread, crayfish are escape artists and will try to climb anything in an attempt to escape so keep your tank sealed up tight. Another good characteristic is they are easy to keep. Their exoskeleton makes them nearly invulnerable to external parasites and less sensitive to changes in water quality.
Anyway you have a very cool crayfish, Bluestman, I hope mine gets that large.
I have a blue crayfish (indeed not a lobster, blue lobsters are marine animals and extremely rare- aquarium stores often incorrectly market them as lobsters because it sounds more exotic than just a common creek dweller, mine was a "lobster" when I bought it) in my 55 gallon tank. When I bought him (in March '09) he was about 2 inches long and has molted 5 times and grown to about 5 inches and a brilliant blue, however he was never even close to the color of Bluestman's crayfish at the beginning of this thread.
Several people have posted comments about how crayfish will kill and eat all of your fish. I would say this is an exaggeration, but there is some truth behind it. When I first introduced my crayfish literally within minutes it caught and killed my senegal bichir (an eel). The senegal was 3 inches long and the crayfish managed to eat the entire thing-earning him the name Pulpot after a tyrannical dictator. I think, though, that the only reason the eel was killed is because of its poor swimming ability and it was sort of a bully and always harassed the other fish; I think Pulpot decided he was not going to be harassed. Over the next couple of months it ate a few other fish (a couple of tetras and a guppy maybe something else too, can't remember) but I didn't see these kills and I believe they were mostly already dead before he ate them. Over the past 6 months or so no fish have gone missing and the crayfish has become very tolerant of the fish. My rainbow shark often shares Pulpot's cave and even rests on top of him. In the picture you can see my pink kisser sharing a meal of pellets with Pulpot and it survived just fine.
Overall Pulpot is probably my favorite tank inhabitant and well worth the loss of a couple of fish. Any time I have guests over they are fascinated by his bright color and love to watch his many appendages search for food and he's always a good conversation topic. People will have to choose for themselves whether or not to add a crayfish to a community tank, but for me it has worked just fine.
A bit more about Pulpot. He likes to dig so I recommend fine sediment and hardy plants as he often uproots plants with his big clumsy pincers. Also, as already stated in this thread, crayfish are escape artists and will try to climb anything in an attempt to escape so keep your tank sealed up tight. Another good characteristic is they are easy to keep. Their exoskeleton makes them nearly invulnerable to external parasites and less sensitive to changes in water quality.
Anyway you have a very cool crayfish, Bluestman, I hope mine gets that large.
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dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
WOW! Your's is beautiful too! And I enjoyed reading your story, it made me laugh! My BGK is a digger too....hard to keep plants planted lol.
Afternoon Snack
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Thanks, dkpate. I took those pictures with my cell phone. I'll try to get a better shot of him and post it up here.
Bluestman
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hi Afternoon Snack, your crayfish is gorgeous. That was the colour I thought mine would be but I bought him online and didn't see him until he arrived. He has changed colour quite a lot but is still not completely blue. He has decimated most of my tank now, I only have 4 fish left at the moment. 3 black mollies and a golden algae eater. As for plants, I had a grassy type plant (can't remember which exactly) that was in the tank when he arrived and he tolerated it up until I moved it. Then he pretty much shredded it 
. I am going to put some Stargrass in there over the next couple of days and see how he gets on with it. He is very greedy and will attempt to eat anything I put in the tank so I don't hold out much hope for it. He only tries to escape if he's hungry or if I clean the tank out. It is quite remarkable how well they can climb. I feed him worms and occasionally they float rather than sink. On one of these occasions I have seen him climb to the top of the tank and "scuttle" along the rim of the tank to get to the floating worm!!
I have found he does require quite a lot of maintenance. He does produce a lot of waste which clogs the filters. I currently have 2 internal filters a 1700l/h and a 800lh running in order to keep water quality up and I do 50% water changes every week. They are well worth the effort though, he is very active during the day and night and as has been previously posted he is a good conversation piece.
Initially I started the tank with a few fish, but I wasn't too attached to them and saw them as nothing more than feeder fish. If you are attached to your fish r they have value I wouldn't advise you to get a crayfish. I have been told that hatchet fish and butterfly fish are ideal for sharing a tank with a crayfish as they tend to stay near the surface and out of range. I have yet to find a fish shop which stocks them though.
. I am going to put some Stargrass in there over the next couple of days and see how he gets on with it. He is very greedy and will attempt to eat anything I put in the tank so I don't hold out much hope for it. He only tries to escape if he's hungry or if I clean the tank out. It is quite remarkable how well they can climb. I feed him worms and occasionally they float rather than sink. On one of these occasions I have seen him climb to the top of the tank and "scuttle" along the rim of the tank to get to the floating worm!!I have found he does require quite a lot of maintenance. He does produce a lot of waste which clogs the filters. I currently have 2 internal filters a 1700l/h and a 800lh running in order to keep water quality up and I do 50% water changes every week. They are well worth the effort though, he is very active during the day and night and as has been previously posted he is a good conversation piece.
Initially I started the tank with a few fish, but I wasn't too attached to them and saw them as nothing more than feeder fish. If you are attached to your fish r they have value I wouldn't advise you to get a crayfish. I have been told that hatchet fish and butterfly fish are ideal for sharing a tank with a crayfish as they tend to stay near the surface and out of range. I have yet to find a fish shop which stocks them though.
sieski
Aquarium Advice Freak
PLECOS ....... SLOW? you got to be kidding right? My bristle nose is that fast he goes the length of my 4 ft tank with out me seeing him, dust a cloud of sand lol
Bluestman
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
To be honest I don't think speed really matters. So far he has caught and eaten, 3 varieties of danio, about 30 guppies including fry, a golden algae eater, 5 mollies, 6 tetra, 6 endlers guppies, and, most recently 25 Malaysian Trumpet snails within 10 minutes of me putting them in the tank. It's not as if he runs round the tank chasing the fish. He's an opportunist, if a fish comes within range and he's hungry he'll go for it. In my opinion out of all those fish he has killed the algae eater was the quickest and one of them has still been eaten.
The remaining algae eater is the longest lived of the fish in the tank but it is also the one that will swim under a rock at the slightest movement in or even outside of the tank. I think the fact it is so shy has helped it survive for so long. The algae eater can often be seen lying on the lobsters back but as soon as he moves it swims to the other end of the tank and hides. Even the quickest fish in the world is still pretty stupid. If they had enough sense to stay away from the crayfish, like my remaining algae eater, it is unlkely they would ever be eaten by it.
The remaining algae eater is the longest lived of the fish in the tank but it is also the one that will swim under a rock at the slightest movement in or even outside of the tank. I think the fact it is so shy has helped it survive for so long. The algae eater can often be seen lying on the lobsters back but as soon as he moves it swims to the other end of the tank and hides. Even the quickest fish in the world is still pretty stupid. If they had enough sense to stay away from the crayfish, like my remaining algae eater, it is unlkely they would ever be eaten by it.
confucious
Aquarium Advice Newbie
- Joined
- Dec 9, 2009
- Messages
- 7
Hey Blue -
What kind of Blue Lobster/crayfish is it... from my research it looks like there's either Electric Blue (Australian) or Hammers Cobalt Blue.
Great stories by the way
What kind of Blue Lobster/crayfish is it... from my research it looks like there's either Electric Blue (Australian) or Hammers Cobalt Blue.
Great stories by the way
Afternoon Snack
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
bigger pic
After reading that Bluestman feeds his crawfish worms I thought I'd give that a try. I want Pulpot to grow some more, plus the last time he molted the end of one of his claws had some kind of developmental problem or broke off inside the old exoskeleton and he emerged minus the tip of it. So i got some meal worms from the pet store. The first one I just dropped near his cave and he totally ignored it, so I took one and impaled it on a fondue fork of all things and just slid the worm into one of his claws. He violently attacked it and ate the whole thing. Guess he likes them.
After reading that Bluestman feeds his crawfish worms I thought I'd give that a try. I want Pulpot to grow some more, plus the last time he molted the end of one of his claws had some kind of developmental problem or broke off inside the old exoskeleton and he emerged minus the tip of it. So i got some meal worms from the pet store. The first one I just dropped near his cave and he totally ignored it, so I took one and impaled it on a fondue fork of all things and just slid the worm into one of his claws. He violently attacked it and ate the whole thing. Guess he likes them.
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dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
HAHA! That's good!
