Tropical Lobster Thing.....

[queenie1990]

Hi, my boyfriend n me have a tropical fish tank i fink its bout 93L or something (im not sure he bought it), we've had it since february and have a nice mixed tank of mainly smaller fish species and recently we got a crab and a lobster from a member of my boyfriend's family. He kept both of them in a tank with fish and said they were fine,we put them in ours about three days ago n today the crab was dead and the lobster has started leaning onto its side and occasionally lying completely on its side. We always check that its okay and it gets back up but it is slightly worrying so i'd really just like to know if this is a normal kind of behaviour or if its something that more serious. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks xxxxx

 

[Corleone]

Most crabs require brackish water and land access (more land than water in general), which could explain the crab's death, though they generally last longer than that.

Most invertebrates are also quite sensitive to ammonia - do you have a test kit?

 

[Davo86]

How many fish do you have and what species? would you say the tank is overstocked?
can you post any water stats?

 

[rocknurworld2006]

yes i agree we need your full water stats before we can determine anything .

 

[peter22UK]

as well as giving us your stats, i would advise a good water change...immediately to eliminate try and stabalise the lobster

 

[Spishkey]

what kind of 'lobster' is it do you have a picture? different ones require different care. the only time my crayfish lies on its side is when its about to shed. then this is rarely for more than a few minutes.

 

[raptorrex]

what kind of 'lobster' is it do you have a picture? different ones require different care. the only time my crayfish lies on its side is when its about to shed. then this is rarely for more than a few minutes.

not really true! only the temp changes, and then there is only one tropical Crayfish, the rest are temperate. they all eat the same. they all need high O2 environment, they live in much the same way. some are not that good in groups, but apart from that and the temp, you can take what goes for one as being common amongst all Cray. i hate to disagree again, but it can take up to several hours for a cray to moult, size and health dependent, and they can spend quite a time liying on their sides. if it is moulting, it will try to hide.

could really do with a picture here.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

also it could be old tank sydrome, if the tank they were in before they came to you had been poorly maintained and had poor water conditions and they were moved into a tank with good water conditions, even though it's an improvement the shock of the sudden change can often kill fish.

can you give us some more info on where you got them from?

 

[Spishkey]

what kind of 'lobster' is it do you have a picture? different ones require different care. the only time my crayfish lies on its side is when its about to shed. then this is rarely for more than a few minutes.

not really true! only the temp changes, and then there is only one tropical Crayfish, the rest are temperate. they all eat the same. they all need high O2 environment, they live in much the same way. some are not that good in groups, but apart from that and the temp, you can take what goes for one as being common amongst all Cray. i hate to disagree again, but it can take up to several hours for a cray to moult, size and health dependent, and they can spend quite a time liying on their sides. if it is moulting, it will try to hide.

could really do with a picture here.

they dont actually say its a tropical crayfish though? would that not be a problem if they have coldwater crays in a tropical enviroment? i know my marbled didnt fair so well in a tropical tank hence why i moved them.

 

[raptorrex]

what kind of 'lobster' is it do you have a picture? different ones require different care. the only time my crayfish lies on its side is when its about to shed. then this is rarely for more than a few minutes.

not really true! only the temp changes, and then there is only one tropical Crayfish, the rest are temperate. they all eat the same. they all need high O2 environment, they live in much the same way. some are not that good in groups, but apart from that and the temp, you can take what goes for one as being common amongst all Cray. i hate to disagree again, but it can take up to several hours for a cray to moult, size and health dependent, and they can spend quite a time liying on their sides. if it is moulting, it will try to hide.

could really do with a picture here.

they dont actually say its a tropical crayfish though? would that not be a problem if they have coldwater crays in a tropical enviroment? i know my marbled didnt fair so well in a tropical tank hence why i moved them.

a very good point. but only low O2 and the increased chance of bacterial infection, are the real differences.

Cant speak for marbles, as in my opinion they should be kept at just above boiling point. the most worthless and dangerous Cray that ever moulted.

 

[Spishkey]

what kind of 'lobster' is it do you have a picture? different ones require different care. the only time my crayfish lies on its side is when its about to shed. then this is rarely for more than a few minutes.

not really true! only the temp changes, and then there is only one tropical Crayfish, the rest are temperate. they all eat the same. they all need high O2 environment, they live in much the same way. some are not that good in groups, but apart from that and the temp, you can take what goes for one as being common amongst all Cray. i hate to disagree again, but it can take up to several hours for a cray to moult, size and health dependent, and they can spend quite a time liying on their sides. if it is moulting, it will try to hide.

could really do with a picture here.

they dont actually say its a tropical crayfish though? would that not be a problem if they have coldwater crays in a tropical enviroment? i know my marbled didnt fair so well in a tropical tank hence why i moved them.

a very good point. but only low O2 and the increased chance of bacterial infection, are the real differences.

Cant speak for marbles, as in my opinion they should be kept at just above boiling point. the most worthless and dangerous Cray that ever moulted.

i know, hence why mine have been brought back inside, for fear of a bird carrying them off and dropping them into the enviroment, i didnt know what they were when i first got them, they were just labelled crayfish my bad but these will not escape!

 

[Spishkey]

boboboy while you're around may i ask you do you know if it is possible to keep male red clawed crayfish together, or would i be better getting females as companions for my male?

 

[raptorrex]

boboboy while you're around may i ask you do you know if it is possible to keep male red clawed crayfish together, or would i be better getting females as companions for my male?

given room say 40gallons plus, yes. two males would be ok. same would go for two females. equality in size for two of the same sex may be helpful, but not a prerequisite. masses and masses of hides/caves would be a must though.

 

[Spishkey]

its a two metre long tank nearly 500L houses my lone crayfish and some fish. have been asked to take on a couple more of the same crayfish as they have outgrown the persons tank, he has a mixture of both so just wondered which was better. thanks for that

 

[raptorrex]

keeping redclaw of different sexes is fraught with problems. its not so much aggression, though it can be a factor, as hormones! males in a tank, give off hormones. the help trigger the breeding cycle of the female. if she comes into season, she returns the complement and the males will come looking. so now we have one or more males and females, in a small area after one thing. it does not take much to see how problems could arrise. but given the size of your tank, it may well work out fine. you will need, however, a tank for when the female is in berry, and you will need one take my word.