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the purple reef lobster is a beutiful specimen indeed, it has a white to lavender body with orange and purple or violet spots. it has long flat clasws for defense which may be purple as well.
they need a thicksubstrate to burrow in and live rock to hiding and hunting. they grow by molting their old shell and once they are done they will need a cave to hide out in until their new shell hardens.
they are nocturnal coming out at night to hunt, eat, and scavenge but will spend most of their time (especially during daylight or lights on) hiding.
the reef lobster is peaceful and will ignore sleeping wrasses and healthy fish inside the aquarium. depending on where you get your information from they are classified as reef safe to reef safe with caution, i personally have one of these in my reef tank and i have never had an issue, the only complaint i have and word of info for those planning on keeping one of these magnificent creatures is if you are getting it to look at don't. i have had mine for over a year and the only time i EVER see it is if it happens to poke his head out to grab some food after feeding, or if i remove all of the rock in my tank, in fact there was a period of like 6 months when i was so sure it had died that i had considered emptying the tank only to go to the tank to begin that unpleasent task to find that it had molted a few minutes earlier.
all reef lobsters are agressive and territorial to their own kind meaning you should not keep more than one lobster or one mated pair in your tank.
reef lobsters are also VERY sensative to copper based medications and should be avoided or used with caution.
most of the purple lobsters diet is from scavenging but feeding with iodine rich foods will help to ensure proper molting.
Care Level: easy
temperment: peaceful
reef safe: yes (or with caution depending on your source)
temperature: 72F to 78F
alkalinity: 8 to 12
Ph: 8.1 to 8.4
salinity: 1.023 to 1.025
max size: 5"
color: orang/purple/white
diet: omnivore
supplements: calcium, magnesium, iodine, and trace elements
Origin: indo-pacific
the purple reef lobster is a beutiful specimen indeed, it has a white to lavender body with orange and purple or violet spots. it has long flat clasws for defense which may be purple as well.
they need a thicksubstrate to burrow in and live rock to hiding and hunting. they grow by molting their old shell and once they are done they will need a cave to hide out in until their new shell hardens.
they are nocturnal coming out at night to hunt, eat, and scavenge but will spend most of their time (especially during daylight or lights on) hiding.
the reef lobster is peaceful and will ignore sleeping wrasses and healthy fish inside the aquarium. depending on where you get your information from they are classified as reef safe to reef safe with caution, i personally have one of these in my reef tank and i have never had an issue, the only complaint i have and word of info for those planning on keeping one of these magnificent creatures is if you are getting it to look at don't. i have had mine for over a year and the only time i EVER see it is if it happens to poke his head out to grab some food after feeding, or if i remove all of the rock in my tank, in fact there was a period of like 6 months when i was so sure it had died that i had considered emptying the tank only to go to the tank to begin that unpleasent task to find that it had molted a few minutes earlier.
all reef lobsters are agressive and territorial to their own kind meaning you should not keep more than one lobster or one mated pair in your tank.
reef lobsters are also VERY sensative to copper based medications and should be avoided or used with caution.
most of the purple lobsters diet is from scavenging but feeding with iodine rich foods will help to ensure proper molting.
Care Level: easy
temperment: peaceful
reef safe: yes (or with caution depending on your source)
temperature: 72F to 78F
alkalinity: 8 to 12
Ph: 8.1 to 8.4
salinity: 1.023 to 1.025
max size: 5"
color: orang/purple/white
diet: omnivore
supplements: calcium, magnesium, iodine, and trace elements
Origin: indo-pacific
