Crayfish in community tank?

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sallyjano

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My son came home from school with a crayfish. I was reading about if I can put him in my fish tank. Seems the answer is that it depends on what kind he is and I have no clue.

Can anyone tell me if this kind of cray would be ok in my community tank?ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1460088186.996062.jpgImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1460088204.401802.jpg


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I can't tell its size from the pic but it does not appear to be a dwarf variety. I would be cautious in any tank that contains live plants. Depending on the livestock it may or may not be a hazard to them.
You could try putting it into a floating plastic breeder tank (with lid!) and put that in the tank. However, I am paranoid about introducing anything into my tank without proper quarantine. You could setup a small tank for it instead.


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I can't tell its size from the pic but it does not appear to be a dwarf variety. I would be cautious in any tank that contains live plants. Depending on the livestock it may or may not be a hazard to them.
You could try putting it into a floating plastic breeder tank (with lid!) and put that in the tank. However, I am paranoid about introducing anything into my tank without proper quarantine. You could setup a small tank for it instead.


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He's around 2 inches long. So if he's not a dwarf then he'll get big enough to eat my fish right?

Thanks the breeder tank is a good idea, maybe I'll do that. Or maybe I'll try and find him a new home........
 
he does not look like a marbled cray, what is in your tank and how big is it? a separate tank would be great for him, 10 gallons is a good minimum. how did your son get a cray from school? i find the story a little funny.
 
he does not look like a marbled cray, what is in your tank and how big is it? a separate tank would be great for him, 10 gallons is a good minimum. how did your son get a cray from school? i find the story a little funny.

I have 2 tanks. A 10g with cories, a guppy and a few neons (soon I'm going to remove the guppy to my main tank and plan to add a betta). I also have a 60g with an angel, australian rainbows, neons, guppies, a molly, a swordtail and some cories.

My son's class were studying crayfish and so they had a tank of them to observe them. After they were done they let the kids take them home. I had to sign a permission slip to agree that they could put his name in a hat to potentially win one. I didn't expect him to win but of course he did......:facepalm:

I really don't want to get another tank for a critter that truthfully I don't even want. My son lost interest in him (or at least the taking care of him) after about 2 minutes! If there's a way to easily look after him then I'll keep him otherwise I'll have to figure something else out. I definitely don't want him in my tank if he's going to start swiping at my guppies' long tails.....!!
 
neiter of those tanks sound good for him.

ask if your son actualy wants it.

you could find anotor tank for him

or (ive done this a few times) put him in a bigish Tupperware and give him a buble filter and call it good.
 
neiter of those tanks sound good for him.

ask if your son actualy wants it.

you could find anotor tank for him

or (ive done this a few times) put him in a bigish Tupperware and give him a buble filter and call it good.

Ok thanks. He doesn't want him and neither do I! Poor Mr Crawfish, he's not wanted....... He's in a plastic tupperware like container now it's just that it means I have one more thing I have to take care of plus he's taking up space.

I'll ask around his friends and try and find a new home for him.

Thanks for the help!!
 
glad i could help. no need in keeping him if he is unwanted. maybe another student at school would want it, if it was a drawing, someone must not have got one.
 
I personally would ask the teacher where the crayfish were "harvested" (lack of a better word :X) from. I have never seen an aquarium crayfish that resembles this little guy. Now it could just be the lighting (or lack there of) that's drowning out his colors. Do you live in a southern region with natural lakes/streams/rivers? It could be they were collected locally from the wild. I went to middle school in Southwest Florida and in science/biology class our teacher was ALWAYS pulling all kinds of critters out of the waterways and bringing them into the class. I fondly remember being in charge of feeding "Tilly" the Tilapia at one point ;D. If they were and they could provide the EXACT location of where they were harvested I would release the little guy back into the wild where he belongs. If he is NOT wild however (and I'm sure you already know this but I HAVE to add a disclaimer) DO NOT EVER RELEASE A NON-NATIVE SPECIES INTO LOCAL WATERS! I know sometimes it's tempting, especially when you cannot find a home for a "burden" aquatic animal. Also, you could always ask if the teacher would take it back? Maybe make it into a class pet? I hope you do find a home for the critter :( I know from experience how frustrating an "uninvited" guest can be, trust me. I remember being a child and bringing a Comet Goldfish home from school, and the only fish tank we had was my father's pride and joy 250g Cichlid/Oscar community tank. Let's just say I cried for a couple of days after that one...

Hope you find a good home for him!

P.S I know this is probably none of my business, but forum rules states I HAVE to put my two cents into it, how many crayfish did the teacher give out? I know you have to sign a permission slip to be put into the running but how many children/parents/siblings/legal guardians sign that form knowing NOTHING about taking care of aquatic life? As I recall crayfish are pretty difficult to take care of. They do not eat flake food and I am pretty sure some (if not all) need a live source of food to survive. All I can think about is how many children/parents will take this little guy home and (without knowing) plop him into their small Goldfish/Betta/Guppy/Community tank and being devastated once this guy shreds small fish limb from limb. I'm sure you are one of the few who are educated enough in fish keeping to know that a crayfish isn't a community fish and to ask questions before haphazardly placing him wherever. Maybe mention to the teacher that in the future Crayfish aren't great critters to give to children as pets? Or maybe include on the permission form that these animals should NOT be housed with slow moving, non-aggressive, community fish and they do better either on their own or with larger, faster, short-finned fish in a LARGE (55g+) setting. Also maybe include some care instructions such as what they eat, simple water parameters, etc.?

Anyways, sorry for the rant :p I hope everything works out for you!

Kentaaa
 
I personally would ask the teacher where the crayfish were "harvested" (lack of a better word :X) from. I have never seen an aquarium crayfish that resembles this little guy. Now it could just be the lighting (or lack there of) that's drowning out his colors. Do you live in a southern region with natural lakes/streams/rivers? It could be they were collected locally from the wild. I went to middle school in Southwest Florida and in science/biology class our teacher was ALWAYS pulling all kinds of critters out of the waterways and bringing them into the class. I fondly remember being in charge of feeding "Tilly" the Tilapia at one point ;D. If they were and they could provide the EXACT location of where they were harvested I would release the little guy back into the wild where he belongs. If he is NOT wild however (and I'm sure you already know this but I HAVE to add a disclaimer) DO NOT EVER RELEASE A NON-NATIVE SPECIES INTO LOCAL WATERS! I know sometimes it's tempting, especially when you cannot find a home for a "burden" aquatic animal. Also, you could always ask if the teacher would take it back? Maybe make it into a class pet? I hope you do find a home for the critter :( I know from experience how frustrating an "uninvited" guest can be, trust me. I remember being a child and bringing a Comet Goldfish home from school, and the only fish tank we had was my father's pride and joy 250g Cichlid/Oscar community tank. Let's just say I cried for a couple of days after that one...

Hope you find a good home for him!

P.S I know this is probably none of my business, but forum rules states I HAVE to put my two cents into it, how many crayfish did the teacher give out? I know you have to sign a permission slip to be put into the running but how many children/parents/siblings/legal guardians sign that form knowing NOTHING about taking care of aquatic life? As I recall crayfish are pretty difficult to take care of. They do not eat flake food and I am pretty sure some (if not all) need a live source of food to survive. All I can think about is how many children/parents will take this little guy home and (without knowing) plop him into their small Goldfish/Betta/Guppy/Community tank and being devastated once this guy shreds small fish limb from limb. I'm sure you are one of the few who are educated enough in fish keeping to know that a crayfish isn't a community fish and to ask questions before haphazardly placing him wherever. Maybe mention to the teacher that in the future Crayfish aren't great critters to give to children as pets? Or maybe include on the permission form that these animals should NOT be housed with slow moving, non-aggressive, community fish and they do better either on their own or with larger, faster, short-finned fish in a LARGE (55g+) setting. Also maybe include some care instructions such as what they eat, simple water parameters, etc.?

Anyways, sorry for the rant :p I hope everything works out for you!

Kentaaa

I live in Southern California. I have no clue if we have them here or not?! But great question - I'll ask the teacher where they came from.

Re taking care of him, when he came home I looked it up online and actually they are super easy to take care of as they actually eat anything. Veggies, flake food, pellets etc.... Ours devours anything crazy quick.

He actually did come home with a sheet of paper with instructions so they are at least trying to be responsible.
 
Hmmmm, I am not too versed in wild aquatic life except for the wildlife down here in South Florida,which was a state/county mandated class, but I would say it is a good possibility that there are wild crayfish (Al Roker voice) in your neck of the woods. Definitely worth an email or phone call. If you do ask, please let us know the teacher's response! I am curious to see if they do indeed live on the other coast.

Back to the care of your crayfish: That is so interesting that your crayfish is not a picky eater! My brother used to have a Cobalt Blue Crayfish back in the day and I remember it being a PAIN! First of all, the cost of it. He ended up paying around $75 total for ONE crayfish! He ordered it online from LiveAquaria for approx. $45, PLUS ~$30 for shipping! My mother (he was younger at the time) about flipped her lid when she found out! She would always joke that he could have gone to Red Lobster and gotten one for cheaper ;P. Anyways, I digress. He kept it in what I believe was a 15g hex (which is the WORST possible setup you can keep a crayfish in, they prefer long tanks which have more spacious ground room). The funniest part is, the only other fish in the tank with the crayfish was a Betta.....go figure. Surprisingly though, the arrangement actually worked out fine because the tank was tall (hex tanks are usually taller than they are wide) and due to the fact of Bettas being labyrinth breathers the crayfish stayed at the bottom, and the Betta stayed at the top. Feeding however was a different story. This crayfish was one of the pickiest eaters I had ever seen! More so than my Discus OR my Knife Fish put together! After the crayfish almost dying MULTIPLE times, we found that he would accept live Rosy Red feeder minnows, and a piece of either cucumber or zucchini (can't remember which). We tried flakes, pellets, wafers, EVERYTHING! They would all just end up at the bottom of the tank and in turn naturally caused two seperate nitrite spikes which again almost killed this dynamic duo. Maybe he just had a picky Crayfish? He wasn't sick, had no visible ailments and/or signs of trauma, and the tank parameters were spot on (except for those two separate instances).

Anyways, sorry for the long story! I just love to share my personal experiences and listen to others as well. Please keep us updated on how everything pans out!

Good luck!

Kentaaa


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If you are interested in a crayfish for a community tank I would recommend a Mexican Dwarf Crayfish. they have a beautiful coloration of orange - or in a different color variety blue, they don't grow very large (the largest I have ever heard one getting is a little more than 2 inches), and they are very docile. I have even heard stories that they can be put in a tank with shrimp with (I would not try this though until I had kept it in the tank for a while to see how he acted).
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The most important thing is to make sure you do your research before adding any fish or invertebrate to a tank to make sure they will be happy and healthy in it.
 
If you are interested in a crayfish for a community tank I would recommend a Mexican Dwarf Crayfish. they have a beautiful coloration of orange - or in a different color variety blue, they don't grow very large (the largest I have ever heard one getting is a little more than 2 inches), and they are very docile. I have even heard stories that they can be put in a tank with shrimp with (I would not try this though until I had kept it in the tank for a while to see how he acted).
search


The most important thing is to make sure you do your research before adding any fish or invertebrate to a tank to make sure they will be happy and healthy in it.

Thanks so much but actually my problem was that I had a crayfish and didn't really want one and was figuring out what to do with it!

My son got it from school and luckily I found the cray a new home with one of the other kids in his class.

Thanks though!!
 
It's hard to tell from the picture what species it is. More than likely, the critter was collected locally and would would probably do all right in any pond. If it IS a non local species, it cannot interbreed with the locals and would simply live its life through or become a quick meal for a larger fish. Watch the claws if you keep it, and if they become large and rounded, it means the crayfish is a youngster of a larger species that could attack your smaller fish. Regardless, they do a wonderful job of cleaning up uneaten food out of tank gravel and often will dispose of dead fish. They will also do a great job of clearing out unwanted small snails.
 
Just as a side note here, even if it was collected from a local pond, doesn't mean that it belonged in there in the first place. There are so many non-native species of all kinds of things living in areas they should not be in.

So do not put any of them into a local pond/body of water!

Most teachers will order this stuff from companies that sell science stuff. Still doesn't mean they crays should go into the local waters!!!

Just read a story about how a company was fined 100K for introducing a Rusty Cray into a Wyoming water system on private land! :eek:
 
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