Lobster, anyone?

[Judith]

I've heard anecdotal stories that lobsters are quite smart, and are fun to keep in an aquarium. I would like one for a pet. However, when I google lobsters and aquariums, all I find is information on lobster as a food source. Has anyone kept a lobster as a pet? What was your experience? Are lobsters soley marine, or are there any freshwater species? What are their ideal tank mates?

[who45]

The only time I've ever had lobster is with butter.:D Sorry, couldn't resist. I'm curious to hear if anyone has ever had a pet lobster, then again I may never want to eat another one,lol.

[Selena]

I'venever had a lobster as a pet but I do know that they are utterly delicious with hot butter and a dash of lemon.

[zelbinion]

Originally posted by Judith_Shakespeare
Are lobsters soley marine, or are there any freshwater species?


Are'nt crawfish in the same family as lobsters. Just a freshwater, miniature version??

[zelbinion]

I do have to ask though, what made you want a lobster as a pet?

[MJS]

I once had similar bug ( it wasn´t actual lobster) in aquarium but it ate all the fish :O

[Judith]

Originally posted by zelbinion
I do have to ask though, what made you want a lobster as a pet?

Two reasons:

1. I'm an aquarium hobbyist. I have two tanks so far and my best friend's parents have promised me some extra aquariums that they no longer want, and are cluttering up the garage. That's under the assumption that they are able to find the tanks amidst all the other clutter. But I'm becoming more and more interested in all sorts of under water life.

2. Lobsters can be really smart. I've heard that those who do the lobster trapping thing for a living can run into problems when they set their traps anywhere near an area with a master lobster. A master lobster is a lobster who, as most lobsters do, tend towards cannibalism. Furthermore, they have learned to get, not only into, but out of the lobster traps. Which means they find their trapped buddies, have a nice snack, and the poor trapper is out of luck. In fact, the only recourse a trapper has once he's in an area with a master lobster is to relocate the traps. Okay, I realize that this isn't making them endearing to anyone else, but you've gotta admit...it's an impressive amount of intelligence for an invertabrate. I'd like to have an aquatic animal with that level of intelligence.

[Madre Farbot]

I'm sorry, but the only people that I know of that keep lobsters in aquariums are restaurants.

[LadyCrais]

I think you'd find an octopus to be more entertaining. From the research I've read, they're the ones that are supposed to be incredibly smart and just watching their morphing tricks to pass through small tubes would be entertaining in and of itself. Of course I haven't a clue if it's legal to have octopi as pets or not.

[Judith]

Originally posted by LadyCrais
I think you'd find an octopus to be more entertaining. From the research I've read, they're the ones that are supposed to be incredibly smart and just watching their morphing tricks to pass through small tubes would be entertaining in and of itself. Of course I haven't a clue if it's legal to have octopi as pets or not.

I believe that it is legal, however, I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping an octopus is such a confined space because of HOW smart they are. There's dispute right now that octopusses may be more intelligent than chimps.

[LadyCrais]

Well yeah, there is that issue. I commend your response.

[zelbinion]

hmmmm, now I am curious. Does the above post mean that it is fair to keep dumb animals as pets???
(this comin from the guy with the 2 smartest dogs in the world)

[grinner]

what if you have like a 200 gallon tank? My brother has a 150 gallon tank and his shark is really big. I wonder if that is big enough for an octopus?

[Saajak]

The summer before last my dad got a couple of crayfish in with his bait from the baitstore. Instead of using them thusly, he decided to throw them in our fishtank. One of them died after a few days (I think the other one killed it), but the other one, well, he was another story. He decided he would like to be free of the fishtank and escaped. We were alerted to this by my 9-year old cousin screaming bloody murder when he saw the crayfish on the kitchen floor. After rechecking the tanks for escape routes and blocking all exits, we thought we were okay. However, a couple weeks later the crayfish turned up missing. We scoured the house looking for the bugger, to no avail. We finally gave up, thinking the cat had got to it. Sometime the following December, my mom was cleaning out the pantry, and low and behold, there was the dried up exoskeleton of the dearly departed crayfish. We still don't know how it got in there!

[LadyCrais]

Originally posted by zelbinion
hmmmm, now I am curious. Does the above post mean that it is fair to keep dumb animals as pets???
(this comin from the guy with the 2 smartest dogs in the world)

I think it has more to do with normal habitat space in the wild versus how much living space you can provide in captivity. I don't think it would be fair to keep a wide ranging dumb animal cooped up in a cage either. The other biggest problems with the really smart animals, or probably any animal but especially the really smart ones, is to figure out how to provide an environment that's interesting and stimulating enough for them. Were you around when I posted the article on the living conditions for mice in laboratory research literally driving them insane? Even little bitty mice need a nice enough environment to not totally frell their mental health, such as it is.

[fermicat]

Originally posted by Saajak
The summer before last my dad got a couple of crayfish in with his bait from the baitstore. Instead of using them thusly, he decided to throw them in our fishtank. One of them died after a few days (I think the other one killed it), but the other one, well, he was another story. He decided he would like to be free of the fishtank and escaped. We were alerted to this by my 9-year old cousin screaming bloody murder when he saw the crayfish on the kitchen floor. After rechecking the tanks for escape routes and blocking all exits, we thought we were okay. However, a couple weeks later the crayfish turned up missing. We scoured the house looking for the bugger, to no avail. We finally gave up, thinking the cat had got to it. Sometime the following December, my mom was cleaning out the pantry, and low and behold, there was the dried up exoskeleton of the dearly departed crayfish. We still don't know how it got in there!

Hey, for a minute I thought I was in the "Weird Pet Stories" thread! :)

[AgentSun]

haha. lobster is good with butter and garlic. i'd be way too tempted to "disappear" the lobster though...

[Judith]

Originally posted by zelbinion
hmmmm, now I am curious. Does the above post mean that it is fair to keep dumb animals as pets???
(this comin from the guy with the 2 smartest dogs in the world)

No,,,and this is just my opinion...it's fair to keep a lot of animals as pets. Just make sure you have enough habitat for them, and enough time for them. Like a Border Collie. You can't keep one of those dogs unless you have a LOT of time to devote to them. Otherwise they get bored and go destructive. And it's just not fair to them if they're not getting the intelectual stimulation they require.

(This is spoken from a girl who had one of the smartest dogs in the world as her pet. He was our pet, because we had guidelines that he had to follow. Cause we were smarter. So we could say...no, you can't eat plastic. It's bad for you. But I respected him and loved him as the member of the family. But I do believe that it's important to give all pets the required habitat plus intellectual stimulation. I couldn't provide that for an octopus, so I shouldn't have them.)

[Judith]

Originally posted by grinner
what if you have like a 200 gallon tank? My brother has a 150 gallon tank and his shark is really big. I wonder if that is big enough for an octopus?

I don't know. It depends on the type of octopus. A 200 gallon tank may indeed be enough. But it's not just a factor of space...it's also a factor of time. Octopuses are VERY smart, so they require a lot of individual attention.

Grinner, what kind of shark does your brother have? I have several balas and two redtail sharks. They're my favorite fish.

[grinner]

I don't know what type of shark it is... I do know that it is almost a foot long now... the thing is amazing.

[LiLOrion]

Originally posted by who45
...I'm curious to hear if anyone has ever had a pet lobster...


Aside from Homer Simpson you mean? :)

Granted, he ended up eating the lobster in the end...wailing and chewing, wailing and chewing. :D



I would be hesistant to get an octopus as a pet. I would be afraid they would climb outta the damn aquarium, that or I would find my dog in there one day.

I had these black fancy fish one time (not really a fish person, so I dont know exactly what they were). They used to jump outta the tank. I guess they were suicidal fish, but I kept saving them and ruining their plans. :)
When I saw "Finding Nemo" with the fish tank in the dentist's office, I wondered if my fish were just trying to get back to the ocean.

[BlackThorn]

We had two silver barbs back when we had our ten gallon tank. They'd grown to be about five inches long each. One summer while we were giving the tank a thorough cleaning after a mishap with another fish, we put them both in a large bucket of water. Both barbs jumped out of the bucket onto the boiling hot bricks nearby (the bucket was in the shade.) We saw them and threw them back in the bucket before they died, but both were pretty burnt on one side. The end result was two barbs that lived for another two years, both looking like someone had thrown them in a pan with a little butter.

Stupid fish.

I guess this could go in the pet story thread, but hey, this thread works.

[talyn3]

How about this-

Lobsters. If you think they’re only good for eating, then you’re definitely mistaken. Lobsters also make great pets, and are one of the easiest to take care of.

“In the Philippines, Fortune lobsters are the most common type kept as pets, since they do not grow too big,” says Bio Research Makati supervisor Ronie Sallutal.

The cost depends on the lobster’s size (Bio Research sells lobsters at wholesale prices—2 to 5.5-inch lobsters each at P15 to P25). For its dwelling place, just provide a small rectangular aquarium or fish bowl with sand and place it in a sunlight safe area.

If you wish to fill the aquarium with tap water treated with chlorine, make sure to allow one day for the chemicals to evaporate before placing the lobster in its new home. Chlorine is toxic for lobsters and aquarium fishes in general.

Sallutal also advises lobster owners to provide a basking area in the tank where the lobster can take a break after long periods in the water. “Lobsters are not entirely underwater animals. They also need to go out of the water from time to time,” he said.

Furthermore, since lobsters are unsociable creatures (to co-lobsters and other aquarium pets), you can only have one in each aquarium. For its food, your lobster can eat snails, fish pellets (available in pet supplies stores), and green leafy vegetables (since lobsters are vegetarians). It doesn’t require daily feeding though—only once every three or four days.

So what do you get from taking care of lobsters? “It can live for years if properly taken care of,” says Sallutal. What’s more, this type of crustacean is clean, safe, non-intrusive, and of course, very cute (remember Little Mermaid’s Sebastian?).

You might want to read the entire thing.
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/jan/13/weekend/20020113wek8.html

[Judith]

Originally posted by grinner
I don't know what type of shark it is... I do know that it is almost a foot long now... the thing is amazing.

Let me know if you find out, cause I'm curious.

And thank you for the article, Grinner.

[Judith]

Originally posted by LiLOrion
Aside from Homer Simpson you mean? :)

Granted, he ended up eating the lobster in the end...wailing and chewing, wailing and chewing. :D





Yes, I have already decided that if I get one I will either name it Pinchy or Rock (for Rock Lobster). But I will not give it a bath.

[talyn3]

Originally posted by Judith_Shakespeare

And thank you for the article, Grinner.


??????????

[Judith]

Originally posted by talyn3
??????????

I'm sorry...I didn't intend that. Thanks talyn.

I'm used to Grinner posting articles...I'm sorry...that's embarrassing.

[talyn3]

forgiven, this time. :):)

[Scarran Raptor]

lobsters and octopus, three more aquatic invertebrates and we've got Paella

[Judith]

Originally posted by Scarran Raptor
lobsters and octopus, three more aquatic invertebrates and we've got Paella

I do have two bamboo shrimp in one of my aquariums. My boyfriend's been threatening to eat them.

[Third EYe]

People have Lobsters as pets. I know a guy in Surabaya that has one, and he told me of a girl in Manila that has one.

So, with that information I was able to come up with the following:

http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/jan/13/weekend/20020113wek8.html

http://www.centralpets.com/pages/critterpages/fish/saltwater_inverts/SWI1788.shtml

http://www.oceanariums.com/


I use to go and catch my own lobster. Not legally of course, I don't suggest it, the guys that own the traps are known to shoot at people. I was stupid. I never considered keeping one as a pet. Some family friends are fisherman out in the Shediac Bay and Northumberland Straight, and they keep lobsters alive for a long time in what I think are tidal tanks. I'm not sure about that. But I've gotten live lobster from them in June before.

Let me know how it works out. There are freshwater lobsters.

http://www.dpiwe.tas.gov.au/inter.nsf/WebPages/RPIO-4YC3VU?open

http://www.deh.gov.au/biodiversity/threatened/information/factsheets/lobster.html

I don't know that Octopi are intelligent, but they are pretty cool. I'd love to have one as a pet. I've had sea horses before, at a friends house. I beleive he still has some. They don't live long, but if you have more than one tank, and you get breeding pairs, you can always replenish them. They are very delicate and require a great deal of care. You don't want to have fast moving water, it could kill them.

I'm going on, again...