Dwarf crayfish: You must get some STAT!

[plecoperson]

I just received three of these guys, from a great seller:

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/aucti...rts&1171327092

They are ugh-dorable and only get about an inch long. They took 3 days to get here (not the seller's fault, but mine and USPS), and I was stunned to see them happy and healthy in the bag this AM when I went to the post office to see if they could find the box. After 3 days driving around in the single-digit temps!

I heart them very much, and everyone should get some right away.

That is all....

PS (I guess that wasn't all after all): They have little battles where they carefully interlock their claws, then the winner lifts the loser up by his arms and sets him aside. Fantastic!

[crazyred]

man, they are cute. I might have to snag some of these. I love FW lobsters/crabs.

[leoslizards]

Originally Posted by plecoperson

PS (I guess that wasn't all after all): They have little battles where they carefully interlock their claws, then the winner lifts the loser up by his arms and sets him aside. Fantastic!

I wanna see that! Grab a video camera and record them!

[theotheragentm]

Those are really cool. It solves the problem of putting fish in with the crayfish as long as your fish aren't so large that they are a threat to the crayfish. Neato!

[7Enigma]

I don't know, I think its more the mentality of the species and not the size. They WILL get a claw on a fish given enough time, and I'm sure its possible for it to be a pretty bad wound even if they are so small (imagine a gill attack).

[plecoperson]

I did research them a bit before buying them, and didn't find any reports of fish attacks. They are very tiny--haven't seen them at all today. They're in a planted tank with a chunk of driftwood--hope to see 'em during tomorrow's water change.

My wee H formosas took offense to their introduction to the tank and gave 'em a few pecks, and the crays went into reverse. Not to say that a sleeping fish might not be a target, but the HFs sleep up in the weeds floating in the tank.

If I do see any nastiness on the part of the crays I'll report!!

[7Enigma]

Originally Posted by plecoperson

I did research them a bit before buying them, and didn't find any reports of fish attacks. They are very tiny--haven't seen them at all today. They're in a planted tank with a chunk of driftwood--hope to see 'em during tomorrow's water change.

My wee H formosas took offense to their introduction to the tank and gave 'em a few pecks, and the crays went into reverse. Not to say that a sleeping fish might not be a target, but the HFs sleep up in the weeds floating in the tank.

If I do see any nastiness on the part of the crays I'll report!!

From what I've read they appear to be quite the climbers. I wouldn't be surprised if they went up in the weeds after your fish. But like anything, their temperament can probably be controlled with proper feeding (so they don't go looking for food). Post some pics of your tank if they come out please!

[kickeralpine]

iv had crayfish before they will try to attack fish its just there nature feed right or not. fish just have to get close and they will grab on so watch.

[plecoperson]

I have trouble photographing in this tank, but here's one of 'em tonight having some algae wafer with a shrimp friend. No idea how the shrimp got in here.....



And here is the tank itself, containing H formosa, weeds, a tiny LDA08 pleco, and some otos. Oh, and that shrimp...To get an idea of the scale of the cray vs the 5 gallon tank it's in, those are the algae wafers in the bottom left corner.

[plecoperson]

Well, the lil' crays have been eating off of the same food piles as the fishies, with no interest from the crayfish. The fish find the antennae FASCINATING, but the crayfish just go in reverse. The only pinching I've seen is when the giant snail slides into/over the cray, but really-I'd pinch too....