How to Feed a Spiny Lobster

Caribbean spiny lobsters, like their relatives, the Chinese, Australian and California spiny lobsters lack large pinchers and rely on the spines that cover their shell for protection. These attractive lobsters, which swim backwards when disturbed, feed on sea urchins, bivalve mollusks, gastropods and carrion. The Caribbean lobster will also eat marine worms, various crustaceans and sea vegetation. Spiny lobsters in an aquarium can be fed a variety of meaty sea foods.

Things You'll Need

  • Marine aquarium
  • Knife
  • Mussel meat
  • Long-handled aquarium tongs
  • Clam
  • Shrimp meat
  • Prawn meat (optional)
  • Squid meat
  • Clam meat
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Instructions

    • 1

      Use a knife to pry open the shell of a mussel and break off the top shell. Rinse the bottom piece of shell, which contains the mussel flesh, under a running kitchen tap. Mussels, like other bivalves, contain a fluid within the shell that will eventually pollute the aquarium water if this flesh is fed on a regular basis.

    • 2

      Use long-handled aquarium tongs to place the shell containing the mussel meat onto the substrate. Place the food close to the cave or overhang where the spiny lobster rests.

    • 3

      Feed in the late afternoon, as spiny lobsters are nocturnal invertebrates by nature. Spiny lobsters acclimate to aquarium light and may be active during the day, but it is more natural for these creatures to scavenge for food at night. Late afternoon feeding is more important for recently acquired spiny lobsters, which will be stressed and unaccustomed to living in an aquarium.

    • 4

      Remove any mussel flesh that remains uneaten the following day. Meaty sea foods will pollute the aquarium water as they decompose and the toxins produced by the breakdown process can eventually kill not only the spiny lobster, but all other inhabitants of the aquarium as well.

    • 5

      Feed a variety of meaty sea foods to vary the diet of your spiny lobster. Clam, shrimp, prawn and squid flesh will all be readily taken by the spiny lobster.

    • 6

      Thaw all frozen sea foods before feeding them to your spiny lobster and cut large pieces of meat into thin strips. Calamari flesh in particular is tough and not as easy for the spiny lobster to tear as prawn or shrimp flesh.

    • 7

      Rinse all food items before feeding and remove the external shell from shrimps or prawns.