Blue Crayfish Molts! (w/pics)

[jhoelter]

Here are some pics of my blue lobster (crayfish) - it molted yesterday too bad I wasn't around to see the event...

http://loar.net/gallery/fw-fish/PDR_0510

I plan to leave the shell in there - from what I have read they'll eat it themselves.

My crayfish survives happily with 3 bottom feeders of various sizes - he swipes at em occasionally but they just move away from him and that's that.

I think he molted because he's been eating a lot of remains of other fish - not sure who is the culprit but I've had at least 3 deaths in the past month or so. I think I was overstocked so that's OK by me.

Tank is A-OK except that I have a little crab (looks like a fiddler crab but without the massive claw) and he climbs up the filter pole and never comes down. He used to hide in a hole in a rock I had but I took that out when I put in that bubble/colesium thing. Maybe I'll put it back - but still - why would he hide ALWAYS? Does he ever eat? Is this a good life for him or should I return him? He hangs from my screen enclosing the tank too - almost out of the water completely sometimes... He and the lobster fight sometimes when he's down but he's so fast the lobster could never catch him....

Jeff

 

[madasafish]

The crab probably hangs out near the surface of the water because he needs to breath atmospheric air! Fiddler Crabs should always be provided with a "ladder" or set of rocks to allow them to come out of the water.

I found that my blue lobsters were not always kind to other bottom feeders. One took some of the pectoral fin off of one of my plecos, and they frequently tried the same.

If you've had three fish deaths, it's entirely possible that the crayfish or crab are to blame. These guys are designed to swipe at small fish etc., so they're a bit of a liability in a tank with small fish and bottom dwellers.

 

[jhoelter]

Thanks for the reply.

The crab probably hangs out near the surface of the water because he needs to breath atmospheric air! Fiddler Crabs should always be provided with a "ladder" or set of rocks to allow them to come out of the water.

Doing some more google research, I believe he is a Red Clawed Crab. Apparently these will get air if they can, not sure if it's 100% necessary though... It would be one thing if he went up there occasionally - but to ALWAYS be up there I think he's just scared of the lobster. For a while he was living in the cave in my rock - but again he was always in there. Doesn't seem like a great life for my crab - I'm thinking I should take him back to the LFS...

Jeff

 

[madasafish]

That's probably a good idea, really. I'm sure they'll take him back.

 

[swanandmokashi]

this is a beautiful fish (?) ..what kind is it .. compatibility ? size? please please

 

[jhoelter]

this is a beautiful fish (?) ..what kind is it .. compatibility ? size? please please

Which fish?

Jeff

 

[madasafish]

Are you talking about the lobster, swanandmokashi??

If so, it's an invertebrate (crustacean), distantly related to shrimp such as the ghost shrimp in your avatar. It looks to me like a Procambarus species, so a crayfish native to North America.

If it is, it is probably either Procambarus clarkii or P. alleni. Both are fairly readily available in the US, and can be seined out of streams in the South. Heck, you probably have them in all the streams in Georgia. Most of them reach about 5-6" max and can be compatible with or mighty ornery towards other tankmates. They're best with fast-swimming fish such as Zebra Danios, and are incompatible with most others!

If it's not a Procambarus species, it'll prob. be a Cherax sp. from Australia. These get larger, and have a deeper blue color.

 

[lmw80]

Great pictures of the molting!