Freshwater Lobster :)

[Fish Obsession]

Does anyone know if the lobster will eat less if it is preparing to molt? My lobster is growing it's legs back... which is supposed to be a sign of his preparation to molt... the buds are pale colored still though and they are supposed to get darker the sooner he is prepared to molt... anyone know about the food situation though? He always eats right away but the past two days he hasn't been so excited about it... he hasn't eaten yet today.
Thanks

 

[TimmyB42386]

I did not see my blue crayfish eat for about a week and a half. I thought he may have been ill, but then he molted, and ate a skunk cory immediately after. He had been ok in there for a few months, but then he molted, and turned into a killing machine. I moved him to another tank, and chopped the tail of an african knife fish. Keep an eye on him/her, mine was ok until he molted after the second time, then become completely unsuitable for a tank with fish, anything big enough for him not to damage will probably damage him, again just my experience, I hope yours is less belligerent than mine becuase I am needing to get rid of him becuase I will not be setting up a tank for him alone. Good luck.

 

[Fish Obsession]

Thanks for the info. My boyfriend and I actually went out for the night and came back and... well, he has shed! I was very suprised that it happened so quickly. He looks great! I hope we don't have a lot of problems with him... I can give him his own tank if he will need it but hopefully he won't so soon... though I am not aware exactly how old he is. Do you know if the red are more aggressive than the blue?

 

[TimmyB42386]

I think they are about the same. But if you dont see him actually attempting to catch any fish than I think he will be ok. I watched mine hunting for the corys and decided it was time to go. I hope it works for you!

 

[Madcrawdad]

I think they are about the same. But if you dont see him actually attempting to catch any fish than I think he will be ok.

Maybe, maybe not....when I was a kid we dropped a common pond crayfish in his 55 gallon tank. Things were ok for a couple of days, but one morning we awoke to find him partying with half of a red brick swortail. Needless to say, back to the pond for him.

 

[Fish Obsession]

Well, we haven't actually seen him go after anyone... we think he ate 2 neon tetras but we were aware they were too small and lethargic to be in the tank with him... we have one left that we put in a separate area at night, seeing as it seems the crayfish likes to hunt at night... the rest of the fish seem to do fine with him - just to let you both know (and thanks for the input) he molted last night!!! We came home and he had already shed... he looks much bigger than I would have thought after one molting... do either of you know, or anyone else, how to determine how old he is based on size or something? I'd like to know seeing as that should correspond with how many times he will be molting yearly. Thanks for the help!

 

[Madcrawdad]

do either of you know, or anyone else, how to determine how old he is based on size or something? I'd like to know seeing as that should correspond with how many times he will be molting yearly. Thanks for the help!

not sure how to tell age and am only really familiar with the common pond crayfish... maybe this link will help a little w/ regard to frequency of molting. http://www.anapsid.org/crayfish.html