Painted spiny lobster (Panulirus versicolor) care guide

Group

Other invertebrates

Other names

Painted lobster, Painted rock lobster, Blue spiny lobster, Bamboo lobster, Palinurus versicolor

Family

Palinuridae

Origin

Indian Ocean and western Pacific, from East Africa and the Red Sea to Japan, Polynesia and northern Australia; reefs to 15 m

Water

saltwater

Maximum size

40 cm

Temperature

22–26°C

pH

8.1–8.4

Hardness

dKH 8–12, SG 1.023–1.025

Care level

intermediate

Temperament

semi_aggressive

Reef safe

with_caution

Care

The painted spiny lobster is one of the most colourful lobsters in the sea. It has no claws; instead it has a spiny, cylindrical shell, two horns above the eyes and two pairs of long antennae, usually white. Adults are banded white, pink and black, with a green abdomen crossed by black-and-white bands, dark blue to black legs striped in white and a blue-green tail. Juveniles, which are what is usually sold, are bright blue with white lines. It grows to 30 cm and occasionally 40 cm, not counting the antennae. It lives on shallow reefs and reef edges down to 15 m, hiding by day in caves and crevices and coming out at night, alone, to feed. In the aquarium it needs a very large tank with sturdy, well-anchored rock and a large cave it can back into, ideally a fish-only or predator system. Our sources give no tank size; plan for it to reach adult size, which means a tank of several hundred litres. Water figures are standard reef conditions (general guidance). It moults as it grows and should be left alone in its cave until the new shell hardens. It is heavily fished for food in the wild. Copper-based medicines and some plant fertilisers are toxic to shrimp, snails and most invertebrates. Sources: Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panulirusversicolor). Checked October 2026.

Diet

A nocturnal carnivore and scavenger. In the wild it eats carrion, crustaceans, other arthropods and occasionally small fish. Feed meaty foods such as prawn, mussel, clam, squid and fish, plus sinking pellets, a few times a week, placing food near its cave at lights-out.

Breeding

Breeding is usually in summer. After a courtship parade the pair mate belly to belly and the male's sperm packet stays stuck to the female's underside for weeks. Females carry several hundred thousand eggs under the tail. The larvae spend a long time drifting in the open ocean, moulting many times, and are not raised in home aquaria.

Compatibility and tank mates

With caution in reefs. It leaves corals alone but will eat shrimp, crabs, snails, clams and small or sleeping fish as it grows, and can topple loose rockwork. Suits large, robust fish that will not pick at it; avoid triggers, puffers and large wrasses that prey on crustaceans, and do not keep two in one tank.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.