Purple Lobster.... did I make a mistake?

[Jon Fishman]

I impulse bought this little guy..... Now I am reading as much as I can, and searched a year’s worth of threads on it, and I see “My Purple lobster killed my Angel” etc etc.

At the store they said “Reef safe and too slow to catch fish”

Here is my problem, my Quoyi Parrot sleeps on the bottom, in a mucus cocoon...... The Lobster is nocturnal

My Cubicus Boxfish is not only VERY small, but not the strongest swimmer....... I have no idea where he sleeps though


After acclimation, he immediately went into hiding.

From other’s experiences, should I find/sump him asap, or take my chances?

 

[Purplelobst92]

I impulse bought this little guy..... Now I am reading as much as I can, and searched a year’s worth of threads on it, and I see “My Purple lobster killed my Angel” etc etc.

At the store they said “Reef safe and too slow to catch fish”

Here is my problem, my Quoyi Parrot sleeps on the bottom, in a mucus cocoon...... The Lobster is nocturnal

My Cubicus Boxfish is not only VERY small, but not the strongest swimmer....... I have no idea where he sleeps though


After acclimation, he immediately went into hiding.

From other’s experiences, should I find/sump him asap, or take my chances?

they like to move stuff around and yes they can sneak up on sleeping fish and ambush them apache style.

 

[KrisReef]

I've never kept a lobster except in boiling water, but I would probably listen to the consensus opinion just to be safe. They may only clean up fish after they are sick, but if they can catch it fresh I would expect anyone to eat lobster if they aren't following a kosher diet! Shalom.

 

[tehmadreefer]

if it has claws, then any fish is certainly at risk.

 

[C. Eymann]

Definitely a dice roll, I have had a few customers that have reef lobsters report them being model reef citizens, but for the most part it ends up being something people regret adding to their tank

Personally I would never put one in my reef or advise others to do so without mentioning potential problems they can cause

 

[Jon Fishman]

Ugh. Will see how difficult to catch in the next few days

 

[Purplelobst92]

Ugh. Will see how difficult to catch in the next few days

put food in a jar out at night and let him crawl into it

 

[Jon Fishman]

put food in a jar out at night and let him crawl into it

Ok. it’s in there!

 

[MERKEY]

Sounds like an interesting situation you get to watch unfold!

 

[Katrina71]

That was fast

 

[MERKEY]

NICE!

 

[Jon Fishman]

That was fast

Haha. The jar is in there... no lobster

 

[xaflatoonx]

if a pink/purple lobster was going to be out and about to see - i would say the risk was worth taking.
But the LFS should have told you - that at the very least - you wont ever see these guys... even at night they are pretty sneaky and roll around the rocks hunting for food.

so in my books these kinda creatures are not worth the risk. i.e - Even if he is a model citizen - you wont ever see him.

 

[Jon Fishman]

He is going in my Nem tank.... If I catch him

 

[Jon Fishman]

Sorry to bring this back up!

So I put various food in the jar, and he never touched it overnight. I took a couple days off from baiting him and tonight I put a scallop in tje jar, laid it on it’s side, and checked my tank with a flashlight and found him in the rocks, with the scallop!

Am I supposed to weigh down the food and have the jar upright, or??

Is there a trap I can make that will catch him where he won’t be able to walk right out? I was thinking I would catch him while he was eating it in the jar and just net the whole jar out of my tank, but he grabs and goes I guess

 

[Bret Brinkmann]

Put a string on the jar so you can pull it up when they are in it. Better yet get a jar with a lid attached with a hinge. Tie the string to the lid and when they go in, release the string so the lid closes. I have done this before but you only get one shot. Everything in the tank is going to remember.

 

[Jon Fishman]

Put a string on the jar so you can pull it up when they are in it. Better yet get a jar with a lid attached with a hinge. Tie the string to the lid and when they go in, release the string so the lid closes. I have done this before but you only get one shot. Everything in the tank is going to remember.

I guess I never sat and stared at the tank long enough. I could net the whole jar, if I ever saw him physically in it....... but it has been either “Not taking the bait” or finding the bait just gone completely