purple lobster

[cardstars]

Will a purple lobster harm other invertes in my tank? I have a 75 gallon and I just ordered hermits, snails, cleaner shrimp, decaorator crab, porcelin crabs, peppermint chrimp, camel back shrimp and a couple other crabs and I was just wondering if a purple lobster would harm any of these or gobies? any info would be greatly appreciated

 

[jja]

I do not have one but my lfs had one that I was interested in but they said it hides most of the time. I don't recall them saying it would harm anything but said you will hardly ever see it.

 

[saltyshark]

Lobsters are opportunistic feeders...and will (in most cases) eat whatever it they get their claws on. They are not "Reef Safe" and may make a meal of a snoozing goby. They are really beautiful, but like jja said...they are rarely seen.
HTH
SaltyShark

 

[hairtrigger]

I posted the same question about two weeks ago. I got several responses so try a search. Might offer some good info.
But, I ditto what everyone has said so far.
My old post, and what I have researched, seems to say they wont bother inverts or fish. Now, if they are starved and such, they might make a meal of a sleeping goby or similar small fish. But, almost everyone I ask says they are never ever seen. So, to me, it doesnt seem worth the money if there is any risk involved. Especially when you'll never see the culprit if something happens. Just what I hear.

 

[jennarienne]

salty shark, a question...does "anything" include hermits, shrimp, snails, etc...? i ordered a cleanup package from swf, and the purple lobster was included with all of these - should i worry?

 

[teetee]

I had a purple lobster for over a year in my reef tank. It was never a problem. I ended up giving it away to a friend. The downfall to this critter is that you rarely see it. It is very reclusive. Not worth spending your money and increasing your bio load on this invert.

 

[saltyshark]

Have you added the lobster to the tank yet? If so, do you know where it made it's burrow?
There is always a risk involved with lobsters. It may make a quick meal of small inverts like a snail, hermit, or a shrimp(although I would think shrimp are fast enough to get away in case of a confrontation with a lobster) but as long as you keep it fed you shouldn't have many/any casualties. Unfortunatly it will be hard to feed the lobster if you can't see it, and that may be an issue making the lobster resort to finding it's own meals. Some people have had luck with them, but it's really your choice...do you think having a lobster is worth the risk?
HTH
SaltyShark