Royal Blue Lobster?

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Jhens737

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Mar 15, 2004
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I was at a fishplace this weekend and saw a Royal Blue Lobster that looked cool, but I can't find any info on them. I am wondering if it will be a good fit in my tank and what the specs are for it.

Any info is appreciated.

My tank is 20gal, fish include (one of each) red tailed shark, upside down catfish, albino pleco, ram, swordtail.

JHens737
 
Under various names, these are all crayfish. Some are American, others are Australian, and there are numerous names for the color morph. Behavior--bottom dwelling detrivore, will catch and eat fish if it can. Often bull doze through plants and other decorations. Escape artists that will go for walks in the absence of a secure and weighted lid.

I don't recommend them for community tanks--they tend to turn them into species tanks.
 
If it is an Australian blue, I regret to inform you probably don't want it. They are beautiful, I bought one once, and put him in a tank with two 5" oscars, a 4" blue gourami, a 6 inch pictus, and a 9 inch irredescent and 2 giant Danio's. The lobster ripped my fish to ribbons in a matter of a few days. I had to get rid of him and it took months for my fish to heal and regrow fins, the oscars had some permanent scars that were always visible. I would suggest if you really want one that you get a tank just for him. even the 5" oscars didn't stand a chance, and anytime a fish got within a few inches he would grab on and ride them untill they finally scraped him off.
 
At least adorn it with a little napkin so it can dine with some dignity!:laugh:
 
Most likely a P. alleni, aka Florida Electric blue, as it is the most commonly seen in the trade. Will reach 7 inches in optimum conditions. Australian species can exceed a foot.

The alleni can be kept in a community tank, but they must be well-fed and the only bottom dwellers. They are omnivores and will take opportunities for fish catching where they can, so any fish that routinely snooze or graze at the bottom are in peril. Top swimmers are your best bet. I've lost several otos to my crays. They'll clean up snail problems, but should be fed sinking shrimp pellets as a staple.

I've had 2 adults (and now 1 juvenile) in a 30 long with a variety of community fish for a nearly a year. Haven't lost any danios or paradise fish, just the otos and a white cloud or two.

They like 70 to 75 farenheit, additional aeration, and hidey holes. They'll dig up substrate, tear up plants and eat them. They crawl up and out, tanks lids should be tight and any opeings covered up with foil, etc.

visit bluecrayfish.com for more detailed information.www.bluecrayfish.com
 
But why would anyone put a critter like the Australian Blue with fish anyway?
Click to expand...

RTR,
Not knowing for certain, I am unable to say with any degree of accuracy.

Seriously though, I was told at the LFS that it would be fine, I don't even know for sure that it was an Austrailian blue, They said it was, and it was about 4" long, and really pretty. I just thought it was cool, and all of the answers I got said it would be a great addition to my Oscar tank. I only did it once though.
 
Another tale of the LFS!

Any cichlid tank would maintain way too high of a temperature for a cray. The Australian is even more agressive than our more local species, and as it gets so big it has even more bulk to back it up.

One of the biggest problems (as you discovered) is the damage to fins and other body parts. A couple of weeks ago one of my crays ripped the belly out of an oto. To my extreme shock, it survived. I wouldn't ever put any expensive fish or beloved fish in with my crays. Strangely though, all of my fish (with the exception of the otos) are long finned varieties and they've never had fin damage from the crays.

Strange.
 
Don't you just love the info given by folks who have only housed specimens for sale and never kept them or even bothered to look them up? Australian blue crays are really really neat critters, but tend to be quite chunky compared to our domestics - you really do see "FW lobster" when you look at their tank. Here they also tend to be costly.

I like the napkin (lobster bib?) idea, but might make walking difficult. :p
 
Yeah, I've learned way more than I want to admit from the LFS's. Even when they are wrong, you learn from them. I guess I shouldn't feel bad because when I was young, the only source of info I really had was the LFS. As I got older, and started reading more, I learned why my fish always died. Now with the WWW, it seems like there is more info than I ever imagined. The experiences of other successfull hobbyist's are far more valuable than anything else. I try to learn something new everyday.
 
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