blue lobsters are in da house/tank :D

[Paul_MTS]

Well my LFS has the blue lobsters in and i got them, although he had asked what type they were the guy at the other end hadn't rang back, so next time i go in i should know what type they are.

But there only small at the moment (how many times do you see that on here in a day!!...) if there the 6" kind they'll be fine aother wise I'll have to get a bigger tank in the end for them.

Any pictures of the different sexes to try and ID them??

There both the same size but ones a bit darker than the other.

They polish off worms in a few seconds

 

[Sean_Buckley]

How do you feed them the worms? Do you just drop em in or what?
Sean

 

[StinaUIUC]

haha...sexing is extremely difficult....they have stuff about it on www.bluecrayfish.com though, including pics of differences. If you can get a pic of them, then they can tell you what they are too. As far as feeding, give them some veggies too Mine just LOVES carrots!

 

[Teelie]

How do you feed them the worms? Do you just drop em in or what?
Sean

They sort of filter feed the worms in. Probably they "inhale" water to cause a suction into their mouth area.

 

[FishDan]

They sort of filter feed the worms in. Probably they "inhale" water to cause a suction into their mouth area.

Lobsters are not filter feeders, they are omnivours and often hunt their food. They use their claws to bring food to their mouths, and I'd imagine worms are no different. I suppose some foods may be just "sucked" in but for the most part food is caught/grabbed and killed (as needed) with their claws and then eaten.

\Dan

 

[Teelie]

Crayfish are not lobsters though. I didn't mean they filter fed literally, but they can suck in their food like filter feeders do. They use their mouth parts to brreak down larger pieces of food to be sucked in.

 

[FishDan]

Crayfish are not lobsters though.

Most crayfish kept in the aquarium trade are not really crayfish. They are lobsters.

\Dan

 

[Teelie]

Umm, no you have it backwards. Lobsters are saltwater, crayfish are freshwater.

 

[StinaUIUC]

crayfish and lobsters are extremely similar...except that as Teelie said, crays are freshwater and lobsters are saltwater. And most "lobsters" kept in the aquarium trade are crays. Unless they are saltwater, they are crays.

 

[samthefishman]

haha...sexing is extremely difficult....they have stuff about it on www.bluecrayfish.com though, including pics of differences. If you can get a pic of them, then they can tell you what they are too. As far as feeding, give them some veggies too Mine just LOVES carrots!

ummm it is not difficult at all.
Females have 2 circles on the 3rd set of legs, they are actually holes but yeah. They are where the legs join to the body. Larger ones are easier to tell but small you can still do it.

Male have 2 "Bump" like things on their last pair of legs, also where the legs join to the body.

If that doesnt help you, go look at a pic, type in "sexing crayfish" and something should come up.

 

[Paul_MTS]

cheers samthefish, very helpful there.

The do the same as my crabs, grab and rip apart with thier claws then they just sort of swallowed it guilding it in with the front set of small pincers.

 

[Teelie]

crayfish and lobsters are extremely similar...except that as Teelie said, crays are freshwater and lobsters are saltwater. And most "lobsters" kept in the aquarium trade are crays. Unless they are saltwater, they are crays.

Yeah, they're very much identical in every respect except the obvious fresh/salt habitat difference and size but I'm not entirely sure on the reason they are seperated in their names like that. Something for me to look up when I get back from class I suppose.

 

[Paul_MTS]

I'ved just caught them both and I think i have a mae and a female.

I could deffinately see the female holes on the lighter coloured crayfish/lobster/ organism but didn't see anything particular on the darker one so i assumed it's a male.

The female has alot shorter "feelers" aswell.

I'll put some pics in the members pictures section.

 

[StinaUIUC]

Well it can be extremely difficult to tell sex...my little one is only about an inch long (tip of "nose" to base of tail), and it's legs are basically whitish and somewhat translucent...so its very hard to see any details on them.

 

[StinaUIUC]

Ah well...just figured something out...males of the north american species have fairly obvious appendages after their last pair of walking legs that females lack. Sam, you are describing Australian species again, Paul, if your crays have the sex features that Sam described...you have an australian species that will get quite large!