Buying Lobsters & Crabs

[Lobster Enthusiast]

Hey, I really want to buy a lobster and a crab and have them as pets.

I am from the UK and I was wondering do you know the best pet store to buy lobsters/crabs from in the UK?

Also I have some pretty basic questions to ask because I am new to this stuff

[btw, I'm referring to red lobster and any crab other than a hermit]

Is it possible to house a lobster and crab together in the same tank?
How big of a tank would I need for them? (If 2, how big for each?)
What do you suggest to buy to live alongside (in harmony) with a lobster/crab?
Are they easy to keep as a pet? Also, what about diseases? Are they clean?
How much, would you estimate, it'd cost to buy a lobster, crab, tank(s), material for tank(s) and other materials?
I have a few concerns over price/my ability to be able to treat them well/keep them alive so any help is VERY greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

I am especially keen on purchasing a lobster - any info on this from your vast and superior knowledge is appreciated big time.

Thanks

 

[SirMinion]

Are you talking about freshwater lobsters & crabs?

If you do mean freshwater species, then as you are in the UK, your choice of lobster is limited to just one, the red-claw crayfish also known as the blue lobster or the Quad -Cherax quadricarinatus

Crab-wise, your choice is a little wider with the three most common species being the Rainbow Crab, the Fiddler Crab and the Redclaw Crab.

The Fiddler Crab is really a brackish species and the Redclaw does better in brackish water even though it can be kept in fresh.
The Rainbow Crab gets rather large and would most likely eat the lobster.

 

[Lobster Enthusiast]

Are you talking about freshwater lobsters & crabs?

If you do mean freshwater species, then as you are in the UK, your choice of lobster is limited to just one, the red-claw crayfish also known as the blue lobster or the Quad -Cherax quadricarinatus

Crab-wise, your choice is a little wider with the three most common species being the Rainbow Crab, the Fiddler Crab and the Redclaw Crab.

The Fiddler Crab is really a brackish species and the Redclaw does better in brackish water even though it can be kept in fresh.
The Rainbow Crab gets rather large and would most likely eat the lobster.

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Thanks very much for your help, SirMinion.

I am talking about freshwater, yeah.

Which crab species do you recommend? .

How much would a red-claw crayfish cost along with a tank and stuff like pebbles?

Do big pet store chains (eg. Pets@Home sell the above crayfish?)

Your help is greatly appreciated

EDIT:
I think I'll need more info on crabs before I choose.

 

[inflexion]

ive never seen a cray fish for sale in any chain store, only seen fiddlers for sale in a lfs

 

[SirMinion]

Yes, you're unlikely to find crays or crabs in somewhere like Pets at Home, you'll need a more specialist place.

I'd suggest a lobster may be simpler to start with as they are fully aquatic and don't need to be able to climb out of the water like most crabs do.

Lobsters are also much less likely to escape. Crabs are escape experts!

In a store near me, they have Cherax quadricarinatus
for £14.

Giving very approximate numbers based on chain-store prices:
About £100 for a tank with light, filter and heater, another £30 for a stand (if you need one) then another £30-£50 for odds-and-sods like gravel, decor, food, water conditioner etc.

The tank will need to be cycled before you buy the beastie, just like with fish.

For beginner advice on new tanks, read your way through this lot

 

[shell4375]

I to have never seen a crayfish in a chain store . Normally u find them in small aquatic centres or even garden centres with an aquatic section.

 

[lisa_perry75]

From my experience, a rainbow crab would never eat a lobster, unless it was dead. Generally either of them only eat already dead stuff. Unless you have live plants, they will eat these. Make sure they have places to hide away from each other, and both MUST have a cave type place to shed (molt) in. They generally eat all meaty things like mussels, bloodworm etc. They have been known to eat kipper! They need something like hakaris packet food 'crab cuisine', this will give them the calciium they need to develop their shell. Each will need a pinch of this food a day. Meat should be the 'treat'. Rainbows are semi-aquatic and need a way to get out of the water. Porton pet and aquatics near salisbury sell blue lobsters from £3.95. Bargain from what I've seen. Lobbys are much more secretive, and are partly nocturnal I think. I have kept several species of fiddler crab in freshwater, and have had sucess only with one. If, and this is IF they did fight (which they might if in too small a tank together), limbs lost will be re-grown in sections once a molt. Every few weeks they should shed and get a section of leg, for example, back.
Look up the species on google, from different people, and you'll get a nice balanced idea of the species.
Hope this helps,
Lise

 

[dugdug03]

Hiya all ive been keeping red claw crabs now for about 8 months,
i have a 4ft tank, i started off with 5 crabs with no experience on how to keep them, one passed away shortly after purchases , and the other 4 seemed to be happy and went through 2-3 skin sheds, unfortunately 1 escaped though a hole in the roof of the tank when the filter goes into tank ( now been covered so they cant escape ) and I found him dead under the dinning table downstairs

So that left me with 3 crabs

I had someone come over to my house to take a look at my tank and recommended that I should have air access so the crabs can get air when needed, (he works at pets at home) and also some more rocks,

So ive got ocean rock in one corner of my tank and it balanced on top of each other with 2 access points above water level (this can be seen in pics below) and the crabs love it up there, they also like to climb up my water heater to get on top the gravel filter (this can be seen in pics below)

Everything was going fine so i asked my friend who looked at the tank how many more crabs I could have in the tank, he said no more than 8 so I brought another 5 from ebay and they was fine for about 4months then I got water poisoning again a few weeks back and they have been dropping off 1 by 1

I think ive managed to get it under control again now and i have 3 left

But I would like to add something about my experience, *They don’t ALWAYS grow legs or claws back after a skin shed*

So just a lil warning and they are very territorial so don’t have 2 many! And make sure there are lots of hiding places

my tank is fresh water

 

[moray]

Crabs and Crayfish are totally incompatible and both have totally different needs. They are also best kept in species only tanks.

Sir minion is correct in what he is saying, apart form cherax quads don't need a heater, they do much better without one. I certainly agree that they are probably the one to start with, they are fascinating creatures and well worth keeping (alone).


all the crabs below need a heater, they are the ones you are most likely to see in the uk.

red claw crabs need brackish water to stay happy, healthy and live to their proper life expectancy. They need a place to get out of the water, though they spend most of their time in the water.

rainbow crabs are mainly land crabs, just needing (brackish) water to go into every now and then.

Fiddlers are brackish and need a large land area to keep them happy.

go with the crayfish, mine is lovely and very enjoyable, our crab is to be honest a little bit boring.

 

[raptorrex]

From my experience, a rainbow crab would never eat a lobster, unless it was dead. Generally either of them only eat already dead stuff. Unless you have live plants, they will eat these. Make sure they have places to hide away from each other, and both MUST have a cave type place to shed (molt) in. They generally eat all meaty things like mussels, bloodworm etc. They have been known to eat kipper! They need something like hakaris packet food 'crab cuisine', this will give them the calciium they need to develop their shell. Each will need a pinch of this food a day. Meat should be the 'treat'. Rainbows are semi-aquatic and need a way to get out of the water. Porton pet and aquatics near salisbury sell blue lobsters from �3.95. Bargain from what I've seen. Lobbys are much more secretive, and are partly nocturnal I think. I have kept several species of fiddler crab in freshwater, and have had sucess only with one. If, and this is IF they did fight (which they might if in too small a tank together), limbs lost will be re-grown in sections once a molt. Every few weeks they should shed and get a section of leg, for example, back.
Look up the species on google, from different people, and you'll get a nice balanced idea of the species.
Hope this helps,
Lise

well said sir

red claw crabs need brackish water to stay happy, healthy and live to their proper life expectancy. They need a place to get out of the water, though they spend most of their time in the water.

rainbow crabs are mainly land crabs, just needing (brackish) water to go into every now and then.

Fiddlers are brackish and need a large land area to keep them happy.

go with the crayfish, mine is lovely and very enjoyable, our crab is to be honest a little bit boring.

indeed Fiddler crabs are a LAND crab for chri$t sake!!! ive seen them advertised as 'totaly aquatic'