tweng
Non-member
Hi everyone, I keep a pet lobster named Frankie in a coldwater saltwater tank in Cambridge, MA.
Frankie is a female lobster from Tewksbury Rock, a subsurface rock pinnacle in the Boston harbor. I went scuba diving for lobsters with friends this summer with a lobster catching permit. We caught a few legal-sized lobsters, spared this one, and ate the rest (sorry).
We brought Frankie back to a tank I had been cycling. Since then, Frankie's been with me for about 90 days. The tank was partially cycled when she went in and is now fully cycled on an Oase Biomaster 2 250. For water temps, I run a JBJ Aquatica 1/15 hp chiller set to 59 deg F, which is about the upper limit of the summer water temps of the Boston harbor. I fashioned a cave for her to hide in out of two halves of a terracotta pot superglued together.
I primarily feed Frankie mussels, which are abundant in her home habitat. I've also fed her squid and pellets designed for crustaceans. I want to feed her shrimp but haven't tried yet.
In terms of temperament, Frankie has changed quite a lot over the months. In the very beginning she was really timid and always hiding. Now she's more comfortable and will venture out, especially when she sees me sitting further away from the tank. Being nocturnal, she's more active at night, with the lights out. I have a raspberry pi driven IR camera and light that I use to check in on her, but it's currently down. She spends a lot of time pushing sand around and bulldozing anything that gets put in the tank, so it's hard to keep macroalgae alive and the aquascape looking nice.
My parents had a freshwater aquarium, but this was my first tank and I jumped into the deep end, but so far so good. If people are interested I can share more details. I'm planning to build out a better cave soon, and can share updates on that too.
Frankie is a female lobster from Tewksbury Rock, a subsurface rock pinnacle in the Boston harbor. I went scuba diving for lobsters with friends this summer with a lobster catching permit. We caught a few legal-sized lobsters, spared this one, and ate the rest (sorry).
We brought Frankie back to a tank I had been cycling. Since then, Frankie's been with me for about 90 days. The tank was partially cycled when she went in and is now fully cycled on an Oase Biomaster 2 250. For water temps, I run a JBJ Aquatica 1/15 hp chiller set to 59 deg F, which is about the upper limit of the summer water temps of the Boston harbor. I fashioned a cave for her to hide in out of two halves of a terracotta pot superglued together.
I primarily feed Frankie mussels, which are abundant in her home habitat. I've also fed her squid and pellets designed for crustaceans. I want to feed her shrimp but haven't tried yet.
In terms of temperament, Frankie has changed quite a lot over the months. In the very beginning she was really timid and always hiding. Now she's more comfortable and will venture out, especially when she sees me sitting further away from the tank. Being nocturnal, she's more active at night, with the lights out. I have a raspberry pi driven IR camera and light that I use to check in on her, but it's currently down. She spends a lot of time pushing sand around and bulldozing anything that gets put in the tank, so it's hard to keep macroalgae alive and the aquascape looking nice.
My parents had a freshwater aquarium, but this was my first tank and I jumped into the deep end, but so far so good. If people are interested I can share more details. I'm planning to build out a better cave soon, and can share updates on that too.
