# Got a new tank mate!



## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

This is my new addition to my tank. i thought he was a crayfish, but the lfs says he's a lobster,

Who can identifie him for me?

Im hoping he will help keep the tank clean, im also hoping he will live for a long while.
Ive read previous posts about them escaping and injuring your other fish, but this guy is about 3-4", and my piranhas are 7" and 8-9", so as long as he keeps hidden during the day he should be fine.

So who knows exactly what he is?

And who likes/dislikes him?


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## Mack (Oct 31, 2004)

Crayfish and freshwater/blue lobsters are the same thing.

Don't worry about him escaping, crabs escape, lobsters [generally] don't.

He's going to get pwn3d by your Ps though.


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## Phtstrat (Sep 15, 2004)

I like him a lot







!

I have no idea what he is but make sure he has enough places to hide cause he'd be a good help cleaning up the tank.


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Cheers, yeah he has good places to hide so fingers crossed.


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## jiaguy (Jan 28, 2005)

He looks like a blue lobster. The real blue lobsters are from Aussieland and pretty hard to find here because the fake ones look alot like them. Cray fish generally get more wide. But don't take my word on it.

But yeah at even 3' hes probably gonna be piranha food unless you give him some good places to hide. Crayfish will kill little fish, but i think its gonna be vice versa with him....


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## ads910 (May 26, 2004)

hes wicked how long you had him im thinking of getting a blue crayfish for my tank i think it make the tank look so much more interesting having more than just p's.


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## moeplz (Feb 21, 2005)

Pretty cool. I want one, but it would get dominated by my P's.


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

ads910 said:


> hes wicked how long you had him im thinking of getting a blue crayfish for my tank i think it make the tank look so much more interesting having more than just p's.
> [snapback]902491[/snapback]​


I got him just today, he has buried himself under some driftwood at the mo.

My remaining one neon will now surely be polished off i think.


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## FrontMan (Feb 7, 2005)

My LFS in Ontario Canada currently has 2 of these guys in stock. I want to put one in, but at $30 each, it is way to expensive an experiment to try out. Luckly I have a connection with someone who has a crayfish pond. I am going to get 1 or 2 out of the pond and try adding them to my tank. If they go, oh well... I like all the shelled creatures, but one of the downsides to the predatory fish is that you cant have any... it sucks.

I dont know if they are the same, but the 2 in stock are BLUE LOBSTERS.


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## ads910 (May 26, 2004)

can they be put straight in the tank or do you need to change anything and does it eat the same as what the p's do.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Lobsters are saltwater, the term "blue lobster" is a common name for a type of crayfish, such is my understanding at any rate.

I hate crayfish but good luck with yours. Hopefully he doesn't cause any big issues for you and gets eaten without incident


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

i like those blue crawdads for some reason , i think there kinda neat, but id never

be able to try one in my tank


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Well ive just read up on crayfish and i found out they love to munch on your plants, especially java moss, and guess what?....... I just brought loads of the stuff. Its all gonna get eaten, damn.

ads910, they eat nearly everything. Thats why i brought it, to clean my tank a little bit extra.

elTwitcho, i read about your fish and lost eye last night, not good, but my P's are much larger than yours were at the time so i thought i'd give it a go.

I am half expecting to be posting a 'it lasted one day thread 2moro', but we will see.


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## bmpower007 (Feb 11, 2005)

Niceee those things are pretty big I used to have a blue lobster it lived for 2-3 months fine and then it died out of nowhere so i fed it to my Piranhas they ate alll the inside parts except,shell and claws but yah I love lobsters or crayfish.


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## ads910 (May 26, 2004)

yeah im defo gunna get one then


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Ive tried a couple of these guys before but they allways get destroyed by my Ps.


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## Umbilical Syllables (Dec 16, 2004)

Blue crayfish are such a rip-off. I caught some regular one's in a stream and threw them in my tank as a treat for my lone P at the time. He didn't touch them and they ended up breeding. I got about 20 to surivive in the tank, and about 6 were blue. I left them in and one blue one survived to become an adult, but got eaten. My point? Paying $30 for a blue crawfish is bs, get some brown ones and breed them if you really want some.


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## Dasmopar (Jan 22, 2005)

Thats a tank busting mantise shrimp man!!! Might be a peacock mantise but I can't tell unless he is mating. HAHA


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## thePACK (Jan 3, 2003)

moved to the non-p pix section


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

He only cost £7-$12.

ive been watching him and he's eating all the loose bits of moss on the tank bottom and the piranha crap too.

I love this little guy!


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Dasmopar said:


> Thats a tank busting mantise shrimp man!!! Might be a peacock mantise but I can't tell unless he is mating. HAHA
> [snapback]902879[/snapback]​


HaHa sorry mate, just looked up mantis shrimp and it is nothing like it!








(thankgod! it's 'thumper' has the power of a .22 bullet/pellet)

Just compared it to an Australian Yabbie Lobster, and i got a perfect match. It has the same spots on its body, and its the same colour.

The blue lobster is bright blue from all the pictures ive seen so dont think its one of them.


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## yorkshire (Jul 27, 2004)

Its an Australian blue yabby, I've got one whos nearly 7 inch the length of his body, 13 inch if you include his tentacle things









They are probably the gamest crustacean (or whatever the proper term is) you could put in and will most certainly have a go at your piranhas at some point.
I bought mine with the intention of him living with my rhom, but as soon as i put him in the tank he tried to attack the piranha. I've even got pics of him trying to reach the rhom








He also shredded every plant in the tank, mostly just munching on the roots.
Dont want to put you off having one, mine was such a character i ended up geting him his own little tank :laugh: Very interesting pets, and they will escape given the chance









On the other hand, i believe TheSaint has one with his p's and he hasn't had a problem.


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## pamonster (Jun 26, 2003)

he will be eaten, atleast all mine were


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## rchan11 (May 6, 2004)

That's a redclaw crayfish.


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## Bloodbelly (Jun 15, 2004)

Yesterday I bought a crayfish too







(again)

Mine is a red swamp crayfish, i guess.


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Thx Yorkshire, yeah i know now its defo an australian blue yabbie lobster.

I have these nice banana plants in my tank which have loads of lily like leaves, i love these plants. I wake up today to find the sod has pruned half of them and eaten the stalks. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Bloodbelly, he's a cool little guy!

Nice claw on him,id keep me fingers away from that!!


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## Bloodbelly (Jun 15, 2004)

hughie said:


> Thx Yorkshire, yeah i know now its defo an australian blue yabbie lobster.
> 
> I have these nice banana plants in my tank which have loads of lily like leaves, i love these plants. I wake up today to find the sod has pruned half of them and eaten the stalks. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr
> [snapback]903878[/snapback]​


If your crayfish eats plants, you should feed him more often.
If he's not hungry he'll leave your plants alone.


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## Bloodbelly (Jun 15, 2004)

hughie said:


> Bloodbelly, he's a cool little guy!
> 
> Nice claw on him,id keep me fingers away from that!!
> [snapback]903880[/snapback]​


Thanks









His claws were the main reason I bought him.
He has good defense against my rbp, and the tree root he lives under is an excelent hiding place.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Dasmopar said:


> Thats a tank busting mantise shrimp man!!! Might be a peacock mantise but I can't tell unless he is mating. HAHA
> [snapback]902879[/snapback]​


Mantis shrimp can usually be identified by their more upright posture and different body shape than crayfish. This most certainly is a crayfish


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Bloodbelly said:


> If your crayfish eats plants, you should feed him more often.
> If he's not hungry he'll leave your plants alone.
> 
> 
> ...


Ok thx for that, hope thats true for my plants sake.

i only got him yesterday, so didnt feed him so he could adjust. He had a fish tail that was left from my piranha feeding though.


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## Bloodbelly (Jun 15, 2004)

try feeding some algea tablets, mine just loves it :nod:


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

elTwitcho said:


> Dasmopar said:
> 
> 
> > Thats a tank busting mantise shrimp man!!! Might be a peacock mantise but I can't tell unless he is mating. HAHA
> ...


and i believe mantis is salt water.

on a side note i was watching "Killer Instinct" last night and Rob says that theres a difference

in crawdads from north america and australia in the tails. the aussies have a meatier

tail used for swimming more and the north americans are more walkers. i just thought

that was neat and worth shareing


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

It always helps to know these things mr.freez.


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## Dasmopar (Jan 22, 2005)

MR.FREEZ said:


> elTwitcho said:
> 
> 
> > Dasmopar said:
> ...


They mantis shrimp was a joke. lol


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## TheSaint (Apr 15, 2004)

That my friend is a beautiful female red claw crayfish!

The male would show red on the outer edge of his claw by the time he had got that big!

Dont worry about him getting nailed by your p's ...mine has lived with my three rbp's for nearly a year now and has never received any serious aggression from the boys. tonight he grabbed a piece of squid but the boys took it back off him ..it's amazing to watch







they are great bin men!

red claws are supposed to be the least aggressive crayfish but these guys are mean and take no sh*t from anything.. mine grabbed the tail of my alpha the other day and didnt let go until he had been towed half way around the tank!!


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

Ok saint, i have already established that i have a blue yabby, not a red claw.

Anyway, i just turned my tank lights on, to see two of them lying in his cave. (WHAT THE F**K!!) I only brought one of them :blink

So maybe the little bugger is sneking girls in at night i thought, but it turns out he has just shed his shell. I knew they did this but, i didnt know they shed their entire shell, i mean its claws, its eye sockets, it legs, everything.

I love this little dude!!


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## celticwarrior (Jul 18, 2004)

Mine shed his skin a few days after i got him,exact little replica of himself.I see those crayfish in my Lfs all the time but my p's ate him within a week so i won't risk it again.Although if you do come across a 'mantis shrimp' let me know as i've been looking for ages as they are mental!!!!!


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

celticwarrior said:


> Mine shed his skin a few days after i got him,exact little replica of himself.I see those crayfish in my Lfs all the time but my p's ate him within a week so i won't risk it again.Although if you do come across a 'mantis shrimp' let me know as i've been looking for ages as they are mental!!!!!
> [snapback]919387[/snapback]​


Give www.trimar.co.uk a look, they might be able to get you one.

They deliver too!


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## piranhaqueen (Nov 18, 2004)

hughie said:


> Well ive just read up on crayfish and i found out they love to munch on your plants, especially java moss, and guess what?....... I just brought loads of the stuff. Its all gonna get eaten, damn.
> 
> ads910, they eat nearly everything. Thats why i brought it, to clean my tank a little bit extra.
> 
> ...





yorkshire said:


> Its an Australian blue yabby, I've got one whos nearly 7 inch the length of his body, 13 inch if you include his tentacle things
> 
> 
> 
> ...





pamonster said:


> he will be eaten, atleast all mine were
> [snapback]903268[/snapback]​


Right to all.... he will probably be eaten, but before he does he will do a number to any live plants in your tank..... and you may notice your p's getting their fins cut up quite a bit.


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## TheSaint (Apr 15, 2004)

hughie said:


> Ok saint, i have already established that i have a blue yabby, not a red claw.


You do have a red claw but its the female of the species. Blue Yabby is just an Aussie slang word for the same thing!!


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## hughie (Sep 7, 2003)

TheSaint said:


> hughie said:
> 
> 
> > Ok saint, i have already established that i have a blue yabby, not a red claw.
> ...


My apoligies (bad spelling, im drunk) Saint, thx that is good to know.









She (see saint, i am taking notice) has been in their for... urm whenever i posted the first thread, and she wont go out into the open water, just stays in her cave and around the driftwood.

I have had no more cut up plants as yet, but i have a piranha with a cut up gill. It isnt very bad, and it is more than likely the other piranha who done it. But anyway i think i may move her to her own tank when i take delivery of some raphael catfish.

I shouldnt risk the piranhas being attacked, and i also want this little beauty(as aussies would say) to live for as long as she can.


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