Blue Lobster Moult Fail

[Kraten]

Hello,

Recently my Blue Lobster moulted and was unable to completely remove the old shell. After 12-15 hours of being stuck I had to step in and placed him in a shallow pan and removed the old shell VERY carefully with 2 tweezers myself. I think his new shell was already getting hard while he was stuck and now his antennae are mangled and both front large arms are deformed and rotated to the underside of his body hampering movement. Both "upper arms" where they attach to the body are folded frozen in a right angle like a kink in a rubber hose.

Just before this I tested PH (7.2) temp mid 70s Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate were all nil. He's in a 55 Gal. tropical community tank with smaller fish that know to avoid him. This is his fourth moulting since purchase and no prior problems.

He still seems able to eat but the large arms forced to the underside of the body restricts his forward movement and he can really only walk backwards. Is there anything that can be done? I have read that lobsters can regrow claws if lost but I don't know if that would apply to the entire arm. I fear that when the next moulting comes there is no way he will be able to escape that one. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance

My link

 

[roadmaster]

Have read somewhere,, That iodine ,the kind used in some saltwater tanks at HALF dose,, can help with the moulting process. Might also consider food such as Crab quisine. Forgot who makes it but it contains calcium. Maybe also offer algae wafers at night when crayfish and lobsters are most active for although crayfish are opportunistic feeders,plant matter is substantial part of their diet.

 

[raptorrex]

a few drops of iodine will help bring on a moult. not help a failing one! but its worth a try.

there is no need to feed crayfish food with calcium. they dont need it. all they do is poop it out, adding more, unnecessary muck to the tank.

your cray will re grow its damaged claws. though it may take two moults, to see them back to normal.

could you tell me the time between moults, ATM? its well worth adding the iodine at about the same time interval. (iodine triggers moult).

as noted. cray are, for the most part, vegies. (in truth they are an omnivores leaning to veg). its important to make sure they get enough Veg matter. fresh uncooked peas, cucumber, well any veg thats past its best is fine (tinned works well) please avoid CRAB food.

finally. can you state your stock? failed moults like this are, often, caused by the cray feeling threatened. (thats often not always).
there is an excellent profile of the Blue Lobster/Australian redclaw here, written by one of our members. also do a search using my name, you will find tonnes of posts on the subject. most of your questions may be answered if you read many of these.
but if you wish, i can review for you again.

BE WARNED. WE HAD A MODERATOR HERE WHO, CONSISTENTLY, USED A PROFILE OF THE WRONG CRAY, WHILST DEALING WITH REDCLAW QUESTION. DON'T GET DIVERTED BY HIS POSTS

 

[Kraten]

We have been feeding him Crab Cuisine, silver sides and the fish flakes that hit the bottom. We have not done any true veggies but sounds like we'll be starting that. The tank mates include several platy, 4" bala, 2 2" angle, 3 3" mollys and 2 5" Koi. If the concern is scaring the lobster during moult, I don't think it was the fish. We recently got a new cat that likes to pounce at the tank that is 2 feet off the floor.

The last moults have varied #4 was the failed one, #3 was four months ago and #1 and #2 were a month apart.

I guess my concern is the deformed front arms, will they straighten out and become useful again? will the next moult be a death sentence or will the damaged arms need to be removed to prevent these problems?

Thanks again

 

[roadmaster]

a few drops of iodine will help bring on a moult. not help a failing one! but its worth a try.

there is no need to feed crayfish food with calcium. they dont need it. all they do is poop it out, adding more, unnecessary muck to the tank.

your cray will re grow its damaged claws. though it may take two moults, to see them back to normal.

could you tell me the time between moults, ATM? its well worth adding the iodine at about the same time interval. (iodine triggers moult).

as noted. cray are, for the most part, vegies. (in truth they are an omnivores leaning to veg). its important to make sure they get enough Veg matter. fresh uncooked peas, cucumber, well any veg thats past its best is fine (tinned works well) please avoid CRAB food.

finally. can you state your stock? failed moults like this are, often, caused by the cray feeling threatened. (thats often not always).
there is an excellent profile of the Blue Lobster/Australian redclaw here, written by one of our members. also do a search using my name, you will find tonnes of posts on the subject. most of your questions may be answered if you read many of these.
but if you wish, i can review for you again.

BE WARNED. WE HAD A MODERATOR HERE WHO, CONSISTENTLY, USED A PROFILE OF THE WRONG CRAY, WHILST DEALING WITH REDCLAW QUESTION. DON'T GET DIVERTED BY HIS POSTS

My apologies to original poster with regards to calcium found in the Crab Cuisine. I sold crayfish to local bait shop one summer during my younger days and was under the impression that it provided a benefit but that was many moons ago. Google search now,, "do crayfish need calcium?" And nearly all results indicate that they do . What gives?

 

[raptorrex]

My apologies to original poster with regards to calcium found in the Crab Cuisine. I sold crayfish to local bait shop one summer during my younger days and was under the impression that it provided a benefit but that was many moons ago. Google search now,, "do crayfish need calcium?" And nearly all results indicate that they do . What gives?

What gives?:
cray absorb calcium through their carapace, not through their stomach. its taken in, at a constant rate. providing the water has a ph of 6.6-7 minimum, the cray will have all the calcium it needs. adding, calcium rich food, or indeed calcium to the water, is no more than waste. Its, often, assumed because they have a shell they need extra calcium, incorrectly though. hence the Goggle result.

this first came to, my, notice. when i was reviewing, commercial Cray food, NO calcium. there is also, no, additives sold for the purpose, commercial, though even now some farmers stick to the practice.
as you point out,

that was many moons ago

, knowledge of the cray biology has improved.

 

[raptorrex]

We have been feeding him Crab Cuisine, silver sides and the fish flakes that hit the bottom. We have not done any true veggies but sounds like we'll be starting that. The tank mates include several platy, 4" bala, 2 2" angle, 3 3" mollys and 2 5" Koi. If the concern is scaring the lobster during moult, I don't think it was the fish. We recently got a new cat that likes to pounce at the tank that is 2 feet off the floor.

The last moults have varied #4 was the failed one, #3 was four months ago and #1 and #2 were a month apart.

I guess my concern is the deformed front arms, will they straighten out and become useful again? will the next moult be a death sentence or will the damaged arms need to be removed to prevent these problems?

Thanks again

your stocking looks ok, lol for the most part. but as the angels grow, if not now, they can get very aggressive. but i feel its only, possible they are causing the problem. my main problem, with your stocking, would be the Koi. firstly they are a temperate species, not really suited to tropical temperatures. they are, also, filthy, cray require clean high o2 water. finally they will eat a cray if given the chance. the Molly and platty, do best in brackish water. as such, in freshwater, they offer a bacterial threat, to them self and the cray.

sounds like this was your Crays first, mature moult. any chance of a picture? i would also suggest, if possible, you move the Cray to its own tank. it may well do nothing. but it will remove any none cray causes of the problem.
in, about, three months add some Aquarium iodine (see pack for dosage), this will force a moult. now if the Cray survives, return it to your community.
the feeding of veg is vital. only 30%(max) of it diet should be protein, when mature. funnily enough, cray have, broadly, the same dietary requirements to a common pleco. this one fact may well make people re think how they are feeding.

Ahh, good question. to remove deformed arm or not. well if they are getting in the way. or are so deformed as to be causing damage elsewhere, perhaps. but Cray, in community's, are open to bacterial infection. open wounds, as they will not heal till the next moult, could well be a problem. so my advice would be no. however if they are so deformed as to stop a proper moult next time, perhaps.
i will give you a link, by PM, this will give you more help. so you cant get PM's yet. check your email

 

[roadmaster]

My apologies to original poster with regards to calcium found in the Crab Cuisine. I sold crayfish to local bait shop one summer during my younger days and was under the impression that it provided a benefit but that was many moons ago. Google search now,, "do crayfish need calcium?" And nearly all results indicate that they do . What gives?

What gives?:
cray absorb calcium through their carapace, not through their stomach. its taken in, at a constant rate. providing the water has a ph of 6.6-7 minimum, the cray will have all the calcium it needs. adding, calcium rich food, or indeed calcium to the water, is no more than waste. Its, often, assumed because they have a shell they need extra calcium, incorrectly though. hence the Goggle result.

this first came to, my, notice. when i was reviewing, commercial Cray food, NO calcium. there is also, no, additives sold for the purpose, commercial, though even now some farmers stick to the practice.
as you point out,

that was many moons ago

, knowledge of the cray biology has improved.

Indeed, it appears. Always happy to learn something. After some research on the anatomy of crayfish. it does indeed seem that alkaline water can provide the needed calcium.Some biologists recommend pH no lower than 7.0 due to biological process which can over time cause water in aquariums to become more acidic.

 

[raptorrex]

My apologies to original poster with regards to calcium found in the Crab Cuisine. I sold crayfish to local bait shop one summer during my younger days and was under the impression that it provided a benefit but that was many moons ago. Google search now,, "do crayfish need calcium?" And nearly all results indicate that they do . What gives?

What gives?:
cray absorb calcium through their carapace, not through their stomach. its taken in, at a constant rate. providing the water has a ph of 6.6-7 minimum, the cray will have all the calcium it needs. adding, calcium rich food, or indeed calcium to the water, is no more than waste. Its, often, assumed because they have a shell they need extra calcium, incorrectly though. hence the Goggle result.

this first came to, my, notice. when i was reviewing, commercial Cray food, NO calcium. there is also, no, additives sold for the purpose, commercial, though even now some farmers stick to the practice.
as you point out,

that was many moons ago

, knowledge of the cray biology has improved.

Indeed, it appears. Always happy to learn something. After some research on the anatomy of crayfish. it does indeed seem that alkaline water can provide the needed calcium.Some biologists recommend pH no lower than 7.0 due to biological process which can over time cause water in aquariums to become more acidic.

indeed, Ph above 7 is ideal. but remember Whiteclaw Cray (Britain's only native cray) can be found in the soft water of the Lake district. though smaller than Redclaw, they still need to make their shells. (i do take on board your Tank comments though) ultimately, for the keeper, they will do fine in, almost, any tap water.