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Is the purple reef lobster really safe?


Jan

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So as usually I do my homework and read, read, read about something I like before I buy it. Most Of what I read about purple lobsters is that they're reef safe as long as they're kept fed. So I buy one. He immediately fines the perfect spot under a rock in the corner of my tank where I can't get to it. It's already too smart for me. Anyways, I haven't seen it until today. Lights are on low and what do I see? I see him trying to eat a blue legged crab. He's got it on it's back. I take the crab away and he goes after my long tweezers. So I decide to watch him. I find him leaping at a fish. Okay, so it must not be getting enough food. I cut a small piece of silverside and try to hand it to him. Nope, he wont have it. He pushes it away and lays low waiting for the live ones to come by. What the heck? I read that they were safe. I was told that they were safe. The sign said "Reef safe" Purple lobster??? So what do i do now. He's never going to let me catch him. Any ideas? How about sharing your experience?

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(edited)

We've met before so you know I'm not a mean guy, but where are you doing your research?

 

Here's an idea on how to catch him. Get a plastic bottle with a wide mouth like a gatorade bottle. Tie a fishing line or nylon string to the mouth and punch some holes in the bottle. Put a crab in the bottle and drop it in front of the lobster's area. Once he goes in (which may take a while) pull up on the string and fish him out.

 

If you want to take it a step further you could cut halfway down the curve at the top of the bottle and invert the mouth so it points in and creates a plastic bottle trap.

 

Good luck!

Edited by luceneck
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So as usually I do my homework and read, read, read about something I like before I buy it. Most Of what I read about purple lobsters is that they're reef safe as long as they're kept fed. So I buy one. He immediately fines the perfect spot under a rock in the corner of my tank where I can't get to it. It's already too smart for me. Anyways, I haven't seen it until today. Lights are on low and what do I see? I see him trying to eat a blue legged crab. He's got it on it's back. I take the crab away and he goes after my long tweezers. So I decide to watch him. I find him leaping at a fish. Okay, so it must not be getting enough food. I cut a small piece of silverside and try to hand it to him. Nope, he wont have it. He pushes it away and lays low waiting for the live ones to come by. What the heck? I read that they were safe. I was told that they were safe. The sign said "Reef safe" Purple lobster??? So what do i do now. He's never going to let me catch him. Any ideas? How about sharing your experience?

 

 

Jan, I believe reefsafe is relating to corals- not fish, etc. That lobster will eat all the meat it can catch - period :-(

He will not eat corals, so it is reefsafe.

 

Get yourself a small 10 cent goldfish. Pit it on a small hook and fish away. The lobster may hold on until you can get it in a net.......... The trap is a great idea - just have to be patient. I fished out my snow flake eel 2 years ago :-)

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My gf had a purple lobster in our reef. We kept him well fed and he would still hunt anything that came into his area.

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I have had two, one currently in a school tank, and have never had an issue with them eating anything other than pellets. Of course, a lobster is a lobster, but I have not had them ever go after fish. If you need it out, stick some PVC in there and put some food into it. It'll crawl right in and once you know it's in there, just lift it out. Not as visible as the bottle trick, but it works, just leave it in for a couple of days if it doesn't work at first. I caught a blenny out of my system using this trick. Oh, and let me know if it needs a new home!

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We were at a party

His ear lobe fell in the deep

Someone reached in and grabbed it

It was a rock lobster

 

We were at the beach

Everybody had matching towels

Somebody went under a dock

And there they saw a rock

It wasn't a rock

It was a rock lobster

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We've met before so you know I'm not a mean guy, but where are you doing your research?

 

Here's an idea on how to catch him. Get a plastic bottle with a wide mouth like a gatorade bottle. Tie a fishing line or nylon string to the mouth and punch some holes in the bottle. Put a crab in the bottle and drop it in front of the lobster's area. Once he goes in (which may take a while) pull up on the string and fish him out.

 

If you want to take it a step further you could cut halfway down the curve at the top of the bottle and invert the mouth so it points in and creates a plastic bottle trap.

 

Good luck!

 

I did my research on the internet and I spoke with the person at the LFS that sold it to me. I specifically asked if it was safe to have this lobster around fish. I know lobsters don't eat corals. I also had a purple lobster in my tank 20 years ago. He never bothered any of my fish. He'd come out during the day to eat whenever I fed my fish.

 

These places, to list a few, is where I got my information.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/Pu...310_63_4_4.html

http://www.freshmarine.com/purple-orange-lobster.html

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/47/

http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expand.asp...uctCode=02-2010

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Thanks everyone. I'll try to catch him. Then I'll decide what to do with him once he's caught.

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i had one for months and never lost a thing. it was a great creature and very interesting. i have an eel so cant get one now but if urs is a problem you know what to do.

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(edited)
I did my research on the internet and I spoke with the person at the LFS that sold it to me. I specifically asked if it was safe to have this lobster around fish. I know lobsters don't eat corals. I also had a purple lobster in my tank 20 years ago. He never bothered any of my fish. He'd come out during the day to eat whenever I fed my fish.

 

These places, to list a few, is where I got my information.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/Pu...310_63_4_4.html

http://www.freshmarine.com/purple-orange-lobster.html

http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/47/

http://www.vividaquariums.com/10Expand.asp...uctCode=02-2010

 

 

Hey Jan, 3 of your 4 links say they will eat small and passive fish.

Edited by queloque
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