My first invertebrate. (CPO Problem)

[Woolly]

So over the weekend I decided to pick up my first addition to my planted tank. I grabbed a CPO I've been eyeing for a little while at the pet store. It has settled into the tank quite well, climbing the plants, general walking around. It has so far completely ignored the tiny clay pot caves I made it... in favor of resting under a leaf.

So far he has been an excellent addition with one exception. I find him eating very little of the shrimp food I got it. The brand is Fluval shrimp granules. It appears to eat a nibble and then be on its way, and very rarely seems to return to finish it off. I mean these granules are quite small but it appears the cray only wants a nibble.

I tested it on bloodworm and it went crazy for it and scarfed it down very quickly, I tried another and it did the same. I have this fear of starving the thing to death, because it is picky and I refuse to give it an all bloodworm diet.

I know I can't keep it alive on bloodworms, it needs proper nutrition for molting and health. So I'm at a loss what do to.

While I'm here I'll mention that I also bought some algae waffers, but I'm reluctant to feed them to the cray because they appear to have copper in them.. the brand is: wardley algae discs.

 

[bigbanker]

Yay! Glad you got the cray!! Did you get the test kit yet?


Those algae wafers will be fine. Please keep in mind that inverts actually do need a touch of copper in their lives. I fed those to my cray.

Regarding feeding give him a few days and no other choices. You know that if all else fails he will eat the blood works. See if he will eat the shrimp pellets after three or four days or try a different brand .

 

[Woolly]

Yay! Glad you got the cray!! Did you get the test kit yet?


Those algae wafers will be fine. Please keep in mind that inverts actually do need a touch of copper in their lives. I fed those to my cray.

Regarding feeding give him a few days and no other choices. You know that if all else fails he will eat the blood works. See if he will eat the shrimp pellets after three or four days or try a different brand .

I caved, the huge test set I bought online is going to take about another 10 days to get here, so I bought a few cheaper sets to hold me over.

I really like the little guy, he's very entertaining. It isn't the most flawless specimen as he's missing a few digits on his legs and thus limps around quite a bit, nothing a good molt won't cure. It appears not to like the substrate much either, which is fine after I get and soak the black out of my drift wood I'm going to probably switch out the substrate with something more friendly.

I like this guy so much I'm considering getting a bunch of low light plants, and going with some dwarf shrimp.

Thanks for the help, and the tip about the waffer. Do you just toss them in and leave or or toss it in for a while then take it out?

 

[bigbanker]

I caved, the huge test set I bought online is going to take about another 10 days to get here, so I bought a few cheaper sets to hold me over.

I really like the little guy, he's very entertaining. It isn't the most flawless specimen as he's missing a few digits on his legs and thus limps around quite a bit, nothing a good molt won't cure. It appears not to like the substrate much either, which is fine after I get and soak the black out of my drift wood I'm going to probably switch out the substrate with something more friendly.

I like this guy so much I'm considering getting a bunch of low light plants, and going with some dwarf shrimp.

Thanks for the help, and the tip about the waffer. Do you just toss them in and leave or or toss it in for a while then take it out?

Yup! He will be fine. What kind of substrate do you have? I love crays and plants. Sometimes they love to redecorate. I break the wafer up into smaller pieces and put just enough in the tank. That way I don't really have to worry about left overs

 

[Woolly]

Yup! He will be fine. What kind of substrate do you have? I love crays and plants. Sometimes they love to redecorate. I break the wafer up into smaller pieces and put just enough in the tank. That way I don't really have to worry about left overs

Fluval Plant Stratum. It seems the cray has a hard time navigating and getting its footing. It looks like it is on ice skates slipping around. It isn't very appealing to see, but i'm probably anthropomorphizing a bit.

I'll add another silly question, can you over feed a cray.. because with blood worms he is like a vacuum cleaner. I don't want it to starve nor do I want it to eat itself to death. I'm wondering if I throw fits of algae discs in will it eat normally... since there is only one.

 

[bigbanker]

Lol awww. That's okay. Crays will be pretty hardy. He may want his clay pot as he gets older or will dig a burrow elsewhere

 

[Woolly]

I know, quite cute.

 

[bigbanker]

Verrrrrrry cute!!!

 

[Woolly]

I tossed in a 3rd of a disk in and the cray snatched it up dragged it under the plants and is now munching.

 

[bigbanker]

Woohoo! Good to know. PS I like the idea of adding shrimp

 

[Craw Chief]

Great looking crayfish! I like it!

t appears not to like the substrate much either, which is fine after I get and soak the black out of my drift wood I'm going to probably switch out the substrate with something more friendly.

When you do this, be careful as you may simply want to remove a bit of substrate at a time. If you remove all the substrate at once, I think it may be possible for the tank to undergo a mini cycle. There's lots of good bacteria on that substrate.

I'll add another silly question, can you over feed a cray.. because with blood worms he is like a vacuum cleaner. I don't want it to starve nor do I want it to eat itself to death. I'm wondering if I throw fits of algae discs in will it eat normally... since there is only one.

I've observed that my crayfish simply eat until they're full and leave the leftovers just laying around. But yes I would say worry more about overfeeding than underfeeding.

I like this guy so much I'm considering getting a bunch of low light plants, and going with some dwarf shrimp.

I don't know for sure, because I've never kept CPO crayfish, but most crayfish species are quite aggressive. I would not count on the dwarf shrimp lasting very long... If you do decide to add the shrimp, make sure they're free from disease, as crayfish can be affected by the same parasites and ailments that affect shrimp.

 

[Autumnsky]

I have them and they will eat lots of yummy baby tiny shrimplets. If you have lots of plants then that helps but both times I had them in the shrimp tank my baby population took a noticable dive, and everyday I fed him a Hikari omnivore sinking wafer, mines favorite and they are small wafers so it is a perfect size. Plus the left over shrimp cuisine for the shrimp. They really like to eat.

Just wouldn't ever put them with valuable/expensive shrimp.

Also, Petco has a black sand (very clean) and if I were you I would make a little area and move over your plant strattum and make a little sand area or two for him and maybe just sprinkle a little sand over the top, add a little more every week or 10 days till it is an amount you are happy with.

These are one of my favorite creatures!!!

 

[Craw Chief]

Also, Petco has a black sand (very clean) and if I were you I would make a little area and move over your plant strattum and make a little sand area or two for him and maybe just sprinkle a little sand over the top, add a little more every week or 10 days till it is an amount you are happy with

On the topic of black sand, you can save a lot of money by purchasing black blasting sand designed for sandblasters. 50 pounds for 8 bucks at Tractor Supply Company.

 

[Woolly]

It appears the cray does indeed stop eating after a while. I just must have been pretty hungry. After 2 bloodworms, a few shrimp granules, and a small piece of algae wafer.. he finally stopped eating and got cozy on a plant.

I took out the remaining wafer and until I can judge correctly how much he eats I'll just try him with a few granules, and bits of algae wafer for the time being.

As for the shrimp in with the cray. It is apparently quite common, and seems to work 90% of the time. Depends on the cray really. I'll test it out with a small batch and if all goes well I have plans to aquascape the tank and make it a invertebrate paradise.

 

[bigbanker]

Pretty much the way to go! Glad he is eating and happy.

I never really minded the cray snacking on the shrimp. Sometimes this is just the food chain. They will continue to breed.