Blue crayfish question?

[KKAY27]

I recently brought home a blue cray and i put him in my 55g tank and it made a meal of my mystery snail, so i put it in a 20g tank by himself! Im not for sure what to feed it but i have been giving it alge pellets it eats them like crazy!! But i wAs noticing it burring its tail down in the rocks! It curls its tell up while he is in the rocks! Does this mean she could have eggs later on? I got her from a place that had many in a tank so there could of been males in there but I'm not for sure??

 

[henningc]

If she is tucking the tail, she is likely in berry or ready to molt. First, give her some blnched green peas, cut half a pea a day. I say this as if you keep feeding the way you have you will kill her with kindness and water issues.

If she does give birth, it will be several weeks, remove her once the babies jump ship from her body. Use the same feeding and so on. Also, crays will eat snails, shrimp, plants and DOA fish.

 

[obedey]

If you have babies you will need lots of hiding places as they will all eat each other.
Also imo algae wafers are ok just don't feed her a truck load.

 

[KKAY27]

She still is burying herself down in the rocks. I dont have any decorations in with her i just have a few guppys! I only feed her one algae wafer a day is that enough? Can you use peas from a can that you by at the grocery store or is there a special kind?

 

[Autumnsky]

She is looking for some place to hide to feel safe and secure. Get her a few rocks and make or buy her a cave.

Microwave some fresh or frozen peas, take off the outer shell of the peas and feed her the inside parts.

They are scavengers and can eat anything and an omnivore wafer I recommend would be the Hikari bottom feeder sinking wafers. Orange label.

 

[obedey]

You can feed them pretty much anything. Any vegetables are ok. I used to feed mine carrot peelings.

I used to use house bricks with holes in like this for them to hide. Although they still killed each other I ended up giving up on them.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/8104-albums8659-picture60585.jpg
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/members/8104-albums8659-picture60586.jpg

 

[KKAY27]

I have another question she looks like she has this white film on her back i dont know what it is?? She has been eating good and acting fine!

 

[henningc]

Don't worry about the film unless it starts to look like a puff ball of fungus and the eggs turn white.

As for for cover, purchcase a clay flower pot and sink it. Home made cave.

I believe you're feeding way too much. Use frozen peas, blanch them-micro wave a handful for 30 sec, let cool and cut in half as needed. For the babies, do the same only squish them prior to putting them in.

 

[Coyne]

A guy at my "good" LFS recommended Hikari Tropical Crab Cuisine as a staple part of the diet and said to supplement with algae waffers and vegetables high in calcium.

Aquarium Food & Nutrition: Hikari Tropical Crab Cuisine

 

[kjacks]

I use the hikari crab cuisine with mine pair and i leave a good amount of ramshorn snails in their tank for them to catch and eat whenever .. crays are pigs and will gobble up food whenever its available .. they are scavengers.. i only feed mine 2 hikari crab cuisine pellets each plus whenever they eat snails..

If you have a female and she was in a tank with males she could have mated and can become berried .. if i remember right she can store up from each mating and become berried several months later..

I also added a cuttlebone to my tank mostly for my snails but my blues eat on it to. Calcium is very important for them

 

[Autumnsky]

I am using the Hikari Crab Cuisine also as a staple and supplement with cuttlebone and it was recommended to me to use iodine. Essential for molting, I guess. I haven't got it yet, my lfs didn't have it. Plus I need to see if it is okay also with my other inhabitants.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Personally, I would avoid the iodine unless you are testing levels. Adding too much can cause them to molt too often and eventually result in them dying. Additionally, iodine will affect any crustaceans in the tank in the same manner.

 

[Autumnsky]

Personally, I would avoid the iodine unless you are testing levels. Adding too much can cause them to molt too often and eventually result in them dying. Additionally, iodine will affect any crustaceans in the tank in the same manner.

Hey Wy nice to see you, thanks for sharing that, good to know!

 

[kjacks]

Personally, I would avoid the iodine unless you are testing levels. Adding too much can cause them to molt too often and eventually result in them dying. Additionally, iodine will affect any crustaceans in the tank in the same manner.

See and i was actually told the iodine was needed to help keep them from having trouble molting from a guy that works at a crawfish farm :/ i guess its all on personal experience

I add 1ml of kents marine iodide supplement every week to my 20g high havent noticed them molting to often its been about a month since the last molt maybe longer

 

[Wy Renegade]

Hey Wy nice to see you, thanks for sharing that, good to know!

Hey Autumn, good to be back.

See and i was actually told the iodine was needed to help keep them from having trouble molting from a guy that works at a crawfish farm :/ i guess its all on personal experience

I add 1ml of kents marine iodide supplement every week to my 20g high havent noticed them molting to often its been about a month since the last molt maybe longer

Absolutely, but here is the thing. Iodine doesn't break down in water and at high levels, its toxic (thats why we have pretty much stopped using it in the medical industry, whereas we used to use it for every little cut and scrap). If you have a crayfish farm, and you have lots of crayfish, they are going to use up the iodine, no harm no foul. In the individual aquarium, with only a single crayfish, they are going to use up what they need and they are going to store the rest. Iodine bioaccumulates (in other it builds up in living systems over time), so if you are adding 1ml and your crayfish only uses say .7 ml, that .3 ml is going to stay in their system and the next time you add one ml, that .3 ml is going to become .6, ect, ect, ect. Eventually (maybe over several years - especially if you are doing regular, frequent water changes that remove some of the available iodine every time) it is going to hit toxic levels, the crayfish is going to start molting too often and eventually it is going to die. Now if you happen to get lucky and 1 ml is exactly the amount your one crayfish needs, then you are good to go long term ~ but what are the chances of that? Hence we say, don't add anything without testing for levels. Of course as always, you all are completely free to do whatever you like, I'm simply adding a word of caution to the discussion.

 

[kjacks]

Hey Autumn, good to be back.

Absolutely, but here is the thing. Iodine doesn't break down in water and at high levels, its toxic (thats why we have pretty much stopped using it in the medical industry, whereas we used to use it for every little cut and scrap). If you have a crayfish farm, and you have lots of crayfish, they are going to use up the iodine, no harm no foul. In the individual aquarium, with only a single crayfish, they are going to use up what they need and they are going to store the rest. Iodine bioaccumulates (in other it builds up in living systems over time), so if you are adding 1ml and your crayfish only uses say .7 ml, that .3 ml is going to stay in their system and the next time you add one ml, that .3 ml is going to become .6, ect, ect, ect. Eventually (maybe over several years - especially if you are doing regular, frequent water changes that remove some of the available iodine every time) it is going to hit toxic levels, the crayfish is going to start molting too often and eventually it is going to die. Now if you happen to get lucky and 1 ml is exactly the amount your one crayfish needs, then you are good to go long term ~ but what are the chances of that? Hence we say, don't add anything without testing for levels. Of course as always, you all are completely free to do whatever you like, I'm simply adding a word of caution to the discussion.

Oh yes opinions are always welcome.. especially when its her thread and she wanted them...lol

I think he said that bc i have a pair in my tank mayb idk i will be checking on that though n mayb i will start only adding once every 2 weeks or 1 time a month to lower chances of "overdosing"