Crayfish in pond - escaped?

[fiblank]

)Hi, I bought 5 yabbies yesterday as pets. They were put in a small pond about 1m square. And the water level is about 1inch from the top and 2inch from the top on each site (its tilted). I checked last night and they were still there - at least 3. However - I have heard that they are great escape artists - and I checked this morning and can't find any!

Are they still there - but burrowed under the gravel layer on the bottom?

Or could they have escaped?

And if so - is there any possibility that they can be recovered, found or lured back?

EDIT: Sorry, for the confusion - the pond is not 1cm square (that would just be cruel... ) - it was a typo - its actually 1m square.

[frog girl]

Sorry I don't know what a yabbie is?? But crayfish are notorius for walk abouts & will die of dehydration unless they get to a new source of water within 12-24 hours depending on humidity and heat.

I assume you didn't mean that your pond is 1 ml of water?? Crayfish are very territorial so in the event that you meant 1 m square you should probably only keep 1 male & 1 female in there & they should be of about equal sizes so they don't cannibalize each other. Most crayfish also like pretty cool oxygenated water so your pond might not have been ideal in terms of temperature.

[RogerMcAllen]

Burrowing or escaping are two very real possibilities. Take a bottle with a hole big enough for the crayfish to enter, then cut the top off, and push it into the bottom mouth first creating a funnel. Then put a piece of meat or something else that will catch their attention. Set it in there and wait, they should crawl in and become stuck.

[Blazeherd2306]

One time I've seen a crayfish walking on my driveway. It was raining and when I went up to him he raised his claws up at me, so didn't bother with him. Would have made a cheap aquarium pet though.

[frog girl]

To pick up a defensive crayfish get a small stick & get it to latch on. While it is distracted scoot in from behind & trap the base of the claw legs against the side of the body in a sort of pinch (this will force the animal to extend its claws completely & you will have ahold of the carapace with the claws pinned to the sides. This is a totally safe way to handle them.

If you are nervous the first time use leather gloves.

[fiblank]

I assume you didn't mean that your pond is 1 ml of water?? Crayfish are very territorial so in the event that you meant 1 m square you should probably only keep 1 male & 1 female in there & they should be of about equal sizes so they don't cannibalize each other. Most crayfish also like pretty cool oxygenated water so your pond might not have been ideal in terms of temperature.

Sorry for the typo - yes, the pond is 1m squared. My dad just recently cleaned through the pond and only found 3 out of the 5 crayfish. Is there any way to know if the other 2 have been cannibalized?
Our pond is pretty cool - its set to the side with indirect sunlight - and its got water plants which provide O. Is that alright for them - or will more escape because the environment isn't ideal enough?

Thanks for the help everyone! Never had crayfish before...

[frog girl]

Sounds like they will be happy enough in your pond though they do like to escape & are notorius for it. Many normally live in burrows so you might try adding some cut up pieces of [acronym:21e5fce1f9="Plastic pipe"]PVC[/acronym:21e5fce1f9] for them to hide in (you can partially bury them to make it more realistic). They should be just a bit bigger than the crayfish's body in diameter. This will reduce the chances of cannabilism because they can more easily get away from a pursuer & they will be more likely to stay. Sometimes you find bits of shell or a lone pincher when they have been cannabalized.

Crayfish also eat fish just so you know but they would rather not work that hard. If you give them something to scavenge on (bits of tuna or something) they will be less likely to try & eat fish or each other. You can even throw in an old chicken bone & they will pick it clean. Just don't add to much scavenging material or your water will get all polluted with the stuff that rots before it is eaten. They also eat vegetable material when hungry.

Oh they molt as they grow so if you find an empty replica of a crayfish on the bottom it has slipped its shell & gone off to hide until the new one hardens up.

Good luck & enjoy.