[Marcus Watts]

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Here's a quick pick of my lobster when he was out in the open

[ben]

nice one. wont he get big and destructive?

[Marcus Watts]

ben, on Jun 27 2009, 03:37 PM, said:

nice one. wont he get big and destructive?

here's a bit of info I found about this one. Its the blue ones that get very big. Some people have lost the odd fish to them it seems but a lobster is more interesting haha. The trick seems to be feeding him (its a him), I'm sure it'll come out when i'm feeding the sun corals


Enoplometopus occidentalis is referred to as the Red Hawaiian Reef Lobster, Hawaiian Reef Lobster, and Hairy Reef Lobster. It is similar in appearance to freshwater crayfish.

An ideal environment should have a thick gravel bed for burrowing, and rocks for hiding, as well as live rock on which to hunt. After molting, the Reef Lobster will need a secure hiding place, such as a cave, while it waits for its new exoskeleton to harden. The cave can be designed so that the lobster can be seen during the day, but it usually will spend most of the daylight hours hiding from the light. It prefers to scavenge and hunt at night. The Reef Lobster is described as peaceful, and it will ignore sleeping Wrasses or healthy fish within the aquarium. It may harm small fish and invertebrates. All Reef Lobsters are very territorial and aggressive towards each other, so only one specimen, or a mated pair should be kept per tank. It is sensitive to high levels of copper-based medications.

Most of the diet will consist of food it scavenges, but supplementing with iodine-rich foods will help ensure proper molting.

Approximate Purchase Size: Small: 1" to 2"; Medium: 2" to 3"; Large: 3" to 5"

[Social D]

He's a beauty tempted to get one now .. i love the sense of danger in a Reef tank

[karnivor]

Ive owned them before, they are fairly harmless and rarely seen in my experience. Nice lookers though, and cheap as chips.

[tommo]

Isn't that a Enoplometopus debelius?, they stay smaller than the reds, never exceeding four inches normally and are even less likely to become piscivores. they are also less shy than the reds and you do see them occasionally. They are useful detritivores and a great addition to any cleanup crew!

Tom

[karnivor]

Thats what I know it as, or Purple Reef Lobster, more commonly.
As you say, they stay quite small and dont tend to move stuff around, but they are very shy indeed.

[Marcus Watts]

It's hard to tell im mine is a red or a purple, from this picture of a purple from another post I'd say mine was the red one. But I was at the padstow lobster hatchery the other day and they have white ones, orange & yellow ones, black and the usual blue- all are the same native species so I guess you cant identify by colour. Either one seems to be pretty safe though, and I've seen him a couple of times this morning on the underside of some overhanging rockwork but its nice to have a few mystery creatures that you dont see every minute of the day.

[tommo]

I will guarantee you that that is a debelius M8!!! had a closer look at the photos.