Can I have any kind of lobster in my mixed cichlid tank?

[Geoffrey J]

True lobsters are salt water crustaceans and should be kept in salt water.

There are crayfish sold as "blue lobsters" and such, which you could have in a cichlid tank, but they would probably kill some of your fish from time to time.

A better option is to use wood/bamboo shrimp. They have a pretty high mortality rate, as they don't transfer tanks very well, but once you get them settled in, they will live for years. In Lake Malawi tanks, they tend to turn a bright red colour, but they will likely be brown when you buy them. Wood shrimp eat free floating algae and such, which they filter from the water. They don't actually graze on algae that is growing on surfaces, no matter what the pet stores may tell you.

There are also a few other large shrimp out there which can do well. The main issue with cichlids is that they can only be with shrimp that have very hard shells, or the shrimp will be killed, and you need plenty of hiding places so that when they molt, they are not instantly killed by the fish.

My own tank has Malawi cichlids, M. auratus, P. 'Acei', L. caerula 'Electric Yellow', and a dwarf species. I also have bamboo shrimp. Photos of my fish and the bright red bamboo shrimp (which are all about 2-4 inches long) are at
http://coe.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20...d=79700668