I thought cutting off the crayfish's pincers was an option..

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Sorry about me mentioning that option, but I was asking the folks here if I should do that because I want to SAVE my fish from this monster, and I'd really like to keep HIM as well, instead of returning him to the Petco where I bought him for 3 lousy bucks.

The way gas prices are these days, I'd be better off to let him go free in a nearby watery ditch than to take him back. Besides, he's actually kinda COOL in a strange way. He's NOT.... a fish. But he's IN... the tank.

Kinda like having a frog-- something different to look at.

Well, I just heard from Malkore that he will freeze an entire thread if I mentioned cutting off the pincers on my crayfish. Uh, Malkore, dontcha think that is kind of OVER REACTING a little?

You are apparently an 'advisor' here-- a moderator?

Apparently, several other people were rather unimpressed with the option (of cutting off one of his pincers on each side) as well.

Well, what about THIS option? I can pull him out of there, and set him in the sink for a second. I'll take some garbage bag ties out, strip off the paper part so I've got a tiny wire, and I'm gonna wrap the WIRE around his pincers so he can't open them.

That's what they do with lobsters in a restaurant-- so they don't KILL each other. Apparently, lobsters can be cannibalistic in close confinement.

He's gonna KILL my catfish, ya'll.

The guy at the store said he'll kill my tetras.

I'd be willing to bet I will wake up one morning very soon and there'll be part of a catfish resting on the bottom of the aquarium. Ten years ago, I had a 29 high and I had several fish in there. I bought a cray(fish) and he ate one of them the very first week. I got the feeling he'd eat every dang one of them if he could! I'd find like half a fish resting on the aquarium floor, and he'd be eating the other half.

So I already have evidence that a crayfish is a SERIAL KILLER in an aquarium! :)

But this is the BIGGEST dead gum crayfish I have ever owned. He was the biggest one in the tank at Petco, and I knew I HAD to have him as soon as I saw him. The one I had ten years ago climbed outta the tank one day and I just knew he was dead in the house somewhere. I found him about a month later by a closet door-- or rather the carcass of him. He HAD INDEED climbed out of the tank and had fallen down to the carpet below. I guess he wandered around and croaked before I got back home.

I don't know what to do with this guy.

I think...

that

he thinks...

that he's the baddest thing in his new world, and he's gonna kill my fish.

I don't know whether to leave the small light on in this room (which will give the tank SOME small amount of illumination) when I go to sleep, or whether to just do what I always do and leave them all in the dark all night. I think he'll KILL atleast one of my fish tonight if I do the latter.

So what about the wires to hold his pincers closed?

He'll be able to get around easy enough, and I'm gonna feed him. He'll get something cool to munch on.
 
Its never a good idea to release animals that you have purchased into the wild.. in almost all cases its highly illegal with big fines and jail time being posibiltys..

a 5 gallon tank or other sutable water holding receptical and a filter is all thats needed to keep this guy.. a bucket with a sponge or power filter would do in a pinch.. they dont need heaters.. HTH
 
I'm not buying extra places to put him in; he's ONE pet....

I'm not buying a bunch of extra bays to put fish in; I got a 55 high that's NOT running salt water, and every fish I own is IN it.

If he can make it? COOL. If he can't and we have to make what you might call an 'executive decision'

ABOUT him....

then that is what I'll do. I'm not building him a sanctuary, and I'm not pulling him outta there every night.... and putting him back in at dawn.

Here in Tennessee where I live, there are MILLIONS of crayfish in local streams, rivers and ditches. I really doubt it would be illegal to release him, but if indeed it actually IS then

I WILL... take him back...

to Petco.

But basically-- I don't wanna DO that.

I wanna keep him. I just don't want him to eat up a hundred bucks worth of fish one by one! :)

All you guys got super cool aquariums, and yer growing your own plants, and some have several tanks; I looked at all your photos. I got ONE tank, and I might get another for the bed room but I DOUBT it. I got one 'world' for these fish, and they've all been doing very well together. I'm not a guy who likes highly aggresive fish that he feeds fish TO-- like some aquarium owners do.

I like a 'utopian style' tank, with fish that get along... to GO along.

This hard shelled wretch is the only guy in the tank who will apparently not DO that. And I CAN SEE that, literally in REAL time. He's making it quite clear that he is hunting fish. He's stalking them. He's walking around the tank with his claws out, ready and willing to KILL a fish.

I must have forgotten that part from ten years ago.

There's a couple of options here, and I'd like the advice of the best and smartest cats on this forum as to WHAT... to actually DO... about it.

I ain't buying another tank. He either makes it or he does NOT make it. If he kills expensive fish, he's gonna get on my bad side real quick. If he only kills one in 6 months then I can live with that.

But I am NOT above making it very hard for him to kill fish. I find that strange that SOME of the others here think it might be cruel. Just like that one guy pointed out, though--

he could be dinner

very easy

in LOUSY-ANNA tonight!

I mean-- I've eaten crawdads. I've eaten lobster. Now, I'm not gonna eat this crayfish-- don't get me wrong. If I wanna eat fish, I got ten million restaurants here in Memphis to do that at. I can eat fried catfish, grilled salmon, blackened chiliean sea bass, or whatever. I'm surely not despreate enough to eat something I bought at Petco.

But here's the deal. I'm not gonna let this guy eat up my fish. If it takes major surgery on him to remove that threat I just might DO that. If it takes taking him BACK... to Petco... then I WILL. If it takes wiring his pincers closed (like they do to lobsters in restaurants) then I ...

MIGHT.

And if I have to take him back to Petco... I WILL.

These fish do NOT seem to realize what he is bringing to the table, folks. I think they are naive, and it might take a DEAD carcass on the bottom of the aquarium to wake them up. I think if they see him KILL and actually EAT one of them they will wake the **** up, because right now they are so used to 'utopia' they just don't see it. The cats are swimming around and over him like they just don't know what he is capable of, and the danias and petras look like they don't CARE how close he is.

If this guy eats a bunch of my fish up, I might pull him and flush his sorry hide down the toilet. I need some decent constructive HELP. :)
 
Im saying.. if you have a way of filtering the water put him in a bucket untill you can return him to Petco.. If you can not afford the room for a small tank just for him then keeping him really isnt an option..
 
well, in my opinion i have the same exact problem you have, and yes i would rather return him then flush him, becasue you can get credit or whatever, but my thoughts on the subject, i would personally just return him until you can find a suitable enviorment for him, but if you feel reluctent enought to cut one of his pincers off it might get infected, then you might lose the fish all together, but wiring is metal and metal is not good in tanks, as soo im told, but thats what i would do, (which im trying to do now)
 
Please try and understand this Daydreamer. Most of the people here (especially the advisors), feel that when you buy a pet you have a responsibility to provide it the best possible care you can. It would be not just irresponsible, but unethical for us to advocate or condone mutilation to fix your mistake. Releasing an animal into the wild is even worse. You don't really know the environmental impact of that.

We wouldn't have a problem if you bought that crayfish with the intention of eating it. I've eaten my share. You bought it because you thought it would be an interesting addition to your tank. You aren't the first and you won't be the last to do something like that. It isn't the end of the world but it is your responsibility to deal with it as humanely as possible. No animal sold as a pet should be considered worthless or disposable.
 
Why do people not spend time and make sure a fish is compatable with the setup that they have at home before you do an impulse buy at the LFS. Example I saw this cool black fish at my LFS that I wanted but I didnt know anything about it. I came home did some research on it found out that it was a black knife fish and that it would get very long and not be suitable for my tank. Yes I could have went and purchased it and put it in my tank but why? Maybe someone else would/could give it a better living enviroment than I could. It is our responsibility that when we make the purchase to care for these animals the best way that we know how.

What if your mom said "Johnny made a mess at the table during dinner last night so we are going to tie his hands together tonight and if that dosent work we will just cut off his fingers"

GOOD GRIEF!!!

I'll get off my soap box now.
 
I know. Its like when I go to my store and see something I want I run home check out research or ask use guys :roll: and then change the tank around etc .... or buy plants whatever the fish needs and then return to the store and get it. If you are woried about it getting sold while you are preparing your tank just ask the owner to keep it for you if they say no just say you will leave a lil deposit.
 
Why do people not spend time and make sure a fish is compatable with the setup that they have at home before you do an impulse buy at the LFS.

Thankyou for saying that. If the worker told you it would eat your fish then why would you buy it?!? Even if you didn't know they eat fish, it shouldn't be hard because they have BIG CLAWS!

Next time why don't you do yourself a favor and research fish before you buy them.
 
Ten years ago, I had a 29 high and I had several fish in there. I bought a cray(fish) and he ate one of them the very first week.

So you had one before that ate one of your fish and you bought another one?!? That does not make alot of sense.
 
Blazeherd2306 said:
Ten years ago, I had a 29 high and I had several fish in there. I bought a cray(fish) and he ate one of them the very first week.

So you had one before that ate one of your fish and you bought another one?!? That does not make alot of sense.

Yeah, this is the part that gets me. You had one before, you knew the potential threat to your fish, yet you bought another one anyway and are fretting about it eating your fish? What did you think would happen? You got a vegetarian crayfish this time around? :roll:
Crayfish are extremely cool and have their place in the hobby, but a community tank isn't it. Putting it in a bucket of shallow water overnight is a good idea. Even without the aeration, it will be ok just overnight. When I was a kid, we used to catch them and keep them in buckets overnight. I'd catch minnows to feed them, then release them back into the stream the next day. I hope you will be taking the poor critter back to Petco today.
 
Well, I just heard from Malkore that he will freeze an entire thread if I mentioned cutting off the pincers on my crayfish. Uh, Malkore, dontcha think that is kind of OVER REACTING a little?
I have never known Malkore to "over react". He always offers sound advice. Your options of cutting off your cray's pinchers is "over reacting"
Well, what about THIS option? I can pull him out of there, and set him in the sink for a second. I'll take some garbage bag ties out, strip off the paper part so I've got a tiny wire, and I'm gonna wrap the WIRE around his pincers so he can't open them.
Well, how about THIS option...research your purchases BEFORE you buy. This will help avoiding situations in the future. Cutting off pinchers or keeping them closed with wire certainly does not look natural.
Do the responsible thing and take it back until you have the proper environment to keep it. It was only three bucks, give it to a LFS or a friend. No not release it into the wild.
 
You have only two ethical choices, Daydreamer. Either find your crayfish a proper home, or return it.

We do not tolerate threats to mutilate, flush, eat, or release into the wild animals that members purchased wthout researching. I thought Malkore made that clear in your other thread. Since you keep bringing up these 'options', I'm gonna 'overreact' and lock this one.
 
first off, thanks for speaking up for me Lando, though I am sometimes known to over react, I've never done it here ;)

As for final comments: Daydreamer...you're comparing your crayfish pet to a lobster food item

When you buy a creature for an aquarium, its a pet, just like the family dog, and about 1 rung down the ladder from children in terms of love and importance to the family.

If your dog started chewing on furniture, would you have its teeth pulled to 'fix' the problem? I didn't think so. Why do it for your crayfish?

If you can't understand the logic I'm getting at, then I think to need to re-evaluate why you are keeping aquatic life as a pet.
 
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