# What fish can go with blue lobster?



## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

Hope you can help


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## Patto96 (Apr 18, 2013)

I take it you mean the freshwater blue lobster which is actually a crayfish.

Ideally keep it with freeswimming (i.e. no small catfish) largish fish which do not eat invertebrates.

So no puffers, smaller catfish, tetras, smaller angels, small gouramis, or anything else which is either slowmoving, or <5'' (which are the most commonly kept fish). 

Doing the above will mean you can play safe.

You could add some small free swimming fish, but they might be at risk of predation if they come to rest or eat in a piece of drift wood where the lobster is at.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

I was thinking mollies or Guppies or neon tetra looks wise. But I was told that these were good fish for tank rainbow fish and Can't remember the name but it was a striped looking fish. I have a juwel trigon 190l


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Nothing.


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

Being predatory they really shouldn't be kept with fish.


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

as above pretty much anything you can fit in 190l is gunna get eaten. it's like keeping fish with turtles, it'll just grab them when theyre not looking


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

If I provide enough hides would that make a difference? It's zebra barbs the other one I was thinking of.

Also I quite like balloon Mollie.


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## Patto96 (Apr 18, 2013)

Probably not. It is predatory. So will eat anything if it has the chance to. Choosing large free swimming fish seems to be the only option as any fish which sleeps or hides in the aquarium decorations will be eaten if the crayfish is hungry (which will be most of the time).


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

The cray will still have a go at larger fish when they're resting. They're definately only suited for a species only tank.


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

I used to keep my Redclaws with Endlers but ended up moving them to their own tank. Not because the fish were getting nipped or killed, but because their feeding regimes are not compatible.

Crays tend to end up going hungry in fish tanks. They do best on their own in well fed groups in my experience.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

robstaine said:


> I was thinking mollies or Guppies or neon tetra looks wise. But I was told that these were good fish for tank rainbow fish and Can't remember the name but it was a striped looking fish. I have a juwel trigon 190l


nope! a book i have on oscars says crays are ideal scavengers for an oscar tank- but oscars need a tank much bigger than yours. all the fish you're thinking of would get eaten.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

I was told to keep flakes for fish and pellets that sank to bottom for crayfish so everyone ate.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

tiger barb
killifish
pygmy hatchetfish
cherry barb
glass catfish
dwarf neon rainbowfis
guramires
silver shark

Any of these?

An aquatics place told me they are ok.


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## sharpstrain (May 24, 2008)

only if you dont mind them getting eaten


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

robstaine said:


> tiger barb
> killifish
> pygmy hatchetfish
> cherry barb
> ...


If that aquatics shop is recommending (or even selling) a silver shark I would take any advice they give with an enormous pinch of salt.

Balantiocheilos melanopterus (Silver Shark) — Seriously Fish

Even if you *must* put fish in with crays the glass cats, rainbow fish and silver shark are still particularly poor choices.


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

Ony said:


> If that aquatics shop is recommending (or even selling) a silver shark I would take any advice they give with an enormous pinch of salt.
> 
> Balantiocheilos melanopterus (Silver Shark) — Seriously Fish


eh? almost all aquatic shops sell silver sharks.


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

wilkinss77 said:


> eh? almost all aquatic shops sell silver sharks.


i think what's he's getting at is that they shouldn't sell them:whistling2:


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## wilkinss77 (Sep 23, 2008)

FelixM said:


> i think what's he's getting at is that they shouldn't sell them:whistling2:


he seems to be saying that only a bad shop would sell them- but that would mean there are no good shops.


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## benh (Sep 12, 2011)

I sadly lost my much loved Cray a couple of weeks ago, after 3.5 years with him, after i saved him from getting flushed.
He started off in a community tank, while i set up one for him, he gave my angel fish a haircut, and the angel was 3 times his size, lol.
The only fish that actually got on in his tank was a chinese algae eater, who was large and a little bit mental, lol.

He will get large, people dont seem to realise this. 
When mine died, (probably old age, lifespan 3-5yrs from what i could find out) his body was 8" long, and his claws stuck out another 4" in front of him when extended forward. 
Mine did better on a mixed diet, rather than a pellet, being fed varying amounts of fresh fish (tesco fish counter for the win), cockles, prawns, bloodworm, earthworm, live plants and moss, peas, carrots, cucumber, allsorts really.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

I know they get big so size isn't a problem.


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

wilkinss77 said:


> he seems to be saying that only a bad shop would sell them- but that would mean there are no good shops.


well there are a lot of shops which sell them to people who are completely unable to care for them in any sense of a long term which would make them bad shops (by most peoples standards right?).


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## Ony (Oct 19, 2012)

There are circumstances where shops can sell potentially large fish responsibly but I question whether any shop can reasonably keep such demanding species as bread and butter stock. I'm lucky enough to have access to a couple of very good local shops but Ive also heard some shocking advice from less scrupulous branches.


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

Ony said:


> There are circumstances where shops can sell potentially large fish responsibly but I question whether any shop can reasonably keep such demanding species as bread and butter stock. I'm lucky enough to have access to a couple of very good local shops but Ive also heard some shocking advice from less scrupulous branches.


in my opinion i think shops shouldn't keep such fish stocked in their tanks but should offer to order them in with the next lot of stock. as that way only people who have researched it and are dedicated and know what they're doing will do that. of course you may get the odd person who would still lie to get hold of a 'big fish' but i reckon a system like that would filter out a lot of ignorant or un-knowing people


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## rigsby (Jan 11, 2008)

crays are primerally scavengers so any mid water fish should be fine


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## RepDave (May 15, 2013)

They should be kept alone.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

Would it depend on the personality of the crayfish? There are some where my friend works that keep 4 together,one has shed so is massive compared to the others and he bullies them. One in particular has had its claws bitten off and has a nipped tail so he was moved into a tank with two parrot fish but as soon as he was the parrots went to see what he was and he freaked out and hid under the rock and went dark so they moved him again with smaller fish. Seems to b ok now, but im thinking of taking this little guy as he seems submissive and shy compared to the others.


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

Are they old enough to sex?.


Get a female if you want smaller and slightly more timid.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

How would you sex them? The one im thinking of is about 3 inches


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

Only males mature to have the red markings on the claws.

It's possible to sex juveniles but it takes a trained eye.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

electric blue crayfish? I thought the red claw was a different species


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

Yeah, those are different species. Am assuming redclaw because redclaws are the only crayfish species yr legally allowed to keep in the UK these days.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

If I take a pic would you be able to tell?


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

No tank says electric blue cray. I was told its illegal to import them but of bred here its legal to own one.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)




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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)




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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

They look like young redclaws to me, Rob.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

Oh ok Do they colour up more as they get older?


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## Jack the kipper (Aug 26, 2008)

Yep, they'll get darker as they get older.


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

Darker as in more blue or brown? As ive seen somr brown/blackish looking ones


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

Bump....


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

Picture of my tank


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## dannypacu (Jul 29, 2013)

only fish you will only keep with blue crays is BIG FISH,i have one around 7" but hes with a 15"plec and a 12"clown knife fish.the fish you are looking at will be eaten in days.


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## lionfish (Jul 15, 2009)

dannypacu said:


> only fish you will only keep with blue crays is BIG FISH,QUOTE]
> 
> Then the tables get turned and the blue cray becomes the food item - if you put it with any large cichlid e.g Oscars etc then your cray is toast .


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

My lobster is currently 8 inches long and lives with severums, mollies, angel fish, dwarf gouramies two bristle nose plecos and a jack dempsey and hes not touched them


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## FelixM (Jun 26, 2012)

a jack dempsy in with mollies and gouramis?


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## robstaine (May 7, 2009)

I have 
3 mollies
2 jack dempseys
2 severums
2 bristle nose
2angels
2 rainbow fish
1sward tail
1blue Accra
1 fire belly
1 blue ram
4 gouramies
1 tetra ( was given him and he was by himself)

They all get on absolutely fine together and with the crayfish as they are growing together and are well fed.


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## DefoeCurtis (Sep 18, 2013)

i have
3x harlequins
2x glass fish
6x golden barb
5x adult guppys
40+ baby guppys
3x platy
4x sterba's cory
3x adult molly
10+ baby molly
5x kuhli loach
2x kirbensis breeding pair
13x baby kirbensis (in seprate tank)
1x blue ram
1x blue lobster
1x bristlenose catfish
1x black nifefish
2x snails

all live happely together black nife and lobster will be going into a 8f tank in the future


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