Blue Lobster In A Bad Way After Shedding Skim

[Hypnotoad]

Hey Im after a bit of advice on my blue lobster.

Shes just over a year old, I came home today and found it laid upside down in the centre of the tank and Id noticed it had just shed its shell and its old shell is at the otherside of the tank. She seems to be in a bad way, sometimes she lays sideways or upside down but shes just not responding to anything, the other fish in the tank are coming right up to her letting them do anything to her and when I tried to turn her over with a net she didnt do anything it just felt like there was no response.

I know they need to eat part of their old shell so I have moved it next to her and her claws and some of her legs have just starting moving slowly but I dont know what else to do so I just put a net slightly over her to stop the other fish getting at her.

Has anybody got any ideas?

 

[Hypnotoad]

This is a picture of her

You can see the old shell and the net I have slightly put over to give it some cover until it can get to one of its caves (it has a cave I made with rocks at one side of the tank and it made its own little cave at the other side).

 

[FishBlast]

aww, the poor thing must be exhausted from shedding... I hope she'll be ok.

 

[Hypnotoad]

aww, the poor thing must be exhausted from shedding... I hope she'll be ok.

I checked later on and shes sadly died, im gutted.

When I took her out of the tank I noticed quite a few legs missing so Im guessing she has been spooken while shedding her shell and dome some serious damage.

 

[raptorrex]

aww, the poor thing must be exhausted from shedding... I hope she'll be ok.

I checked later on and shes sadly died, im gutted.

When I took her out of the tank I noticed quite a few legs missing so Im guessing she has been spooken while shedding her shell and dome some serious damage.

I am sorry, truly.

but these things happen when keeping cray. more so as they age.

as to why? it can be one, or more, of many things.

can you tell me what is the:
tank size
water temperature
tank mates
date of last mould
water stats (if you have them)

one small point.
how often do you feed your cray?
cray moult to grow. but they have already grown to their next stage, prior to the moult. if the size difference is large, problem can occur during the cast.
if you see it start (split behind the head at the junction with the tail) adding some aquarium iodine can help.

 

[Hypnotoad]

aww, the poor thing must be exhausted from shedding... I hope she'll be ok.

I checked later on and shes sadly died, im gutted.

When I took her out of the tank I noticed quite a few legs missing so Im guessing she has been spooken while shedding her shell and dome some serious damage.

I am sorry, truly.

but these things happen when keeping cray. more so as they age.

as to why? it can be one, or more, of many things.

can you tell me what is the:
tank size
water temperature
tank mates
date of last mould
water stats (if you have them)

one small point.
how often do you feed your cray?
cray moult to grow. but they have already grown to their next stage, prior to the moult. if the size difference is large, problem can occur during the cast.
if you see it start (split behind the head at the junction with the tail) adding some aquarium iodine can help.

180L 3ft tank,
26 degrees,
its mates with a frontosa, a couple of small chiclids (never bothered each other), 2 clown loach and a plec
Last shed about October time
Dont have my stats at the moment but gave it a massive cleanout about a week and a half ago

I feed her once a day about 2/3 of the tetra multiwafers and she also takes some of the flakes that I feed the other fish.


She was the pride and joy in my tank and the "centrepiece", everybody that came round was amazed by her and shes going to be missed. The one thing I will say though is she shed her shell away from the 2 caves she has in the tank and quite close to when my plec lays during the day, every other time she shed she will get into one of her caves a stay there for a day but this time she was well away from them. Im guessing the plec moved and spooked her.

 

[raptorrex]

aww, the poor thing must be exhausted from shedding... I hope she'll be ok.

I checked later on and shes sadly died, im gutted.

When I took her out of the tank I noticed quite a few legs missing so Im guessing she has been spooken while shedding her shell and dome some serious damage.

I am sorry, truly.

but these things happen when keeping cray. more so as they age.

as to why? it can be one, or more, of many things.

can you tell me what is the:
tank size
water temperature
tank mates
date of last mould
water stats (if you have them)

one small point.
how often do you feed your cray?
cray moult to grow. but they have already grown to their next stage, prior to the moult. if the size difference is large, problem can occur during the cast.
if you see it start (split behind the head at the junction with the tail) adding some aquarium iodine can help.

180L 3ft tank,
26 degrees,
its mates with a frontosa, a couple of small chiclids (never bothered each other), 2 clown loach and a plec
Last shed about October time
Dont have my stats at the moment but gave it a massive cleanout about a week and a half ago

I feed her once a day about 2/3 of the tetra multiwafers and she also takes some of the flakes that I feed the other fish.


She was the pride and joy in my tank and the "centrepiece", everybody that came round was amazed by her and shes going to be missed. The one thing I will say though is she shed her shell away from the 2 caves she has in the tank and quite close to when my plec lays during the day, every other time she shed she will get into one of her caves a stay there for a day but this time she was well away from them. Im guessing the plec moved and spooked her.

yep, that may have been a problem. if the cray is disturbed, at any time, it will often halt the moult. if it struggles too much, to move, it will loose limbs.
this is, in my view, the main problem with keeping Cray in a community tank. failed moults/moult death, can happen.

it is unusual, as you say, for the cray to be s far from a cave or hide. my only other thought is, were the available caves big enough?

I'd also suggest, should you decide to get another cray, you reduce feeding to every other day. but still feed the same amount.
another, personal preference is, to lower temps to around 74f /23c. one of the main problems with a cray is bacteria. the lower you can keep the cray (above 70f/21c) the better.
reducing the temp, still lower, 65f/18.5c brings further gains in the longevity of the critter.
however, it also keeps the cray much smaller (4 inches nose to tail). and, to me, is a form of stunting.
even so, its practised by many keepers.
oh, they also do very well in brackish water (5ppm). this allows a raise in temperature, without the attendant bacterial risks. i know of one 900g redclaw, kept in brackish, i believe is over 8 years old. (kept in Australia)