Fighting Fish

[jpool10]

Dear all

Firstly hello - I'm new to the forum today and already I'm in need of some advise.

I have a biorb with normal cold water fish in that is fine and running perfectly.

Today I became the proud owner of a blue lobster and two red clawed crabs. The lobster is a very small, young one - plenty of time to grow. The bloke in the shop said it should be OK to have them all in the same tank - but having put them in the crabs are fighting between themselves.....but also picking on the lobster.

Is this normal?

Will they calm down after a couple of days?

Do I need to separate the lobster from the crabs?

Any help or advise would be much appreciated.

With thanks
Jo

 

[three-fingers]

Advice: take all of the animals back to the store and never get advice from there again.

If you are in the UK, the lobster is Cherax quadricarinatus, which is a tropical species which grows to very fast to just under a foot and requires a 20gal tank to itself. Biorbs are terrible for them due to the shape and not-so-good air-powered filter. It will also generally eat any fish/shrimp in the tank with them.

The crabs are Seserma bidens, a tropical brackish species which require the addition of marine sea salt (the kind used for reef aquariums) to the water if you want them to survive long term. They shouldn't really be kept with anything else, and most common things wont tolerate the brackish water anyway. They are also mainly land crabs, they require a pool of brackish water, but will drown unless given access to air and ideally should have 3/4 of the tank as a land area - not possible in a biorb.

 

[jpool10]

Apologies - I should have mentioned that I have a separate tank for the lobster and crabs - an oblong one. The lobster and crabs are totally separate from the fish. The guy in the store said it would be OK to put them together - he didn't mention anything about them fighting or the difference in water.

I'm happy to return the crabs to the store if this is going to be better for the lobster. The lobster was the original animal I wanted so he will stay.

Thank you in advance for your help with this.

Jo

 

[three-fingers]

In that case, yes, return the crabs before they die, or if you can, set up another proper tank for them (and 18"-24" tank would be suitable). This would save them from dying when they are just sold to someone else with incorrect information.

This is why it's always necessary to research animals before purchase .

 

[jpool10]

I have a 30 litre tank (43cm long x 30cm wide x 36cm tall). It has a filter box which the crabs happily seem to climb to if they need air or to getout of the water (a temporary fix at the moment).

I'm looking at these houses for them - have you ever heard of them? http/www.crabhomes.com/

I appreciate that some research should have been done - it is just unfortunate as I didn't originally go in the store looking for the crabs - I wanted the blue lobster. I am trying my best to ensure that all the animals in the tank are happy and trying my best to do what is best for them.

Apologies if my post has offended anyone due to lack of reseach.

 

[three-fingers]

I don't think you offended anyone in the slightest .

30L is far too small for the lobster long term, but is big enough for a couple of crabs .

That thing looks quite cool, but too gimmicky for me and is basically the opposite of what the crabs should have. They are more terrestrial than aquatic, they should have more land than water. The marine salt is the mist important thing though.

 

[jpool10]

Many thanks. The tank is just a stop gap for the lobster - when we move (next year) we'll invest in a larger tank for him. Currently he seems happy enough (apart from the crabs keep stealing his food!)

The home is literally just until we re-home the lobster then we can change the tank around for the crabs.

They all seem to be living in harmony(ish) at the moment.....fingers crossed they stay like it for the next 6 months or so.

Many thanks
J

 

[three-fingers]

Nope, 6 months is too much of a stretch for the crabs, risking their lives a lot.

A few weeks would be acceptable, but 6 months is too long, you should re-home them or they will die during a shed (not nearly enough minerals for them in freshwater, and they crayfish is a big risk).

Even a £9.99 plastic "critter-keeper" tank with some cheap marine salt added to a few inches of water and a cheap filter would do for 6 months.

Total costs would be £25-30 for a temporary crab set up. A long term one would be £50-£55 for the tank, salt, filter, sand, rocks and heater.

 

[jpool10]

Ok many thanks - will have a look into it this weekend.

Jo