Dwarf Blue Cray??

[Wmc2009]

I bought these thinking they were dwarf blue cray. After getting them today and seeing their size I'm adamant to add them to my main tank because they don't look dwarf to me and the color is obviously not blue. My 60 gallon houses German blue rams, keyhole cichlids, clown loaches (2 of the group of 5 are babies) and a pair of dwarf cichlids I'm not sure of the name. All are full grown with the exceptions of the 2 baby clowns. I don't want these critters to eat anyone. Someone help!!!

 

[Craw Chief]

Those actually do look exactly like Cajun dwarf crawfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii). That doesn't surprise me, because they are quite common in your area (south Mississippi). The adults of that species only reach about 2 inches in length, so they are definitely "dwarf" crawfish. I'd be more worried about these getting eaten by your cichlids.

Blue strains of this species do pop up (as well as white ones). Some people will tell you that feeding them veggies and making sure they have hard water will produce a bluer color in your individuals. I've never had success with that, but whatever.

Other people have had success with these in shrimp tanks. They claim they don't bother the shrimp or the plants. I've had success with them in the same tank as mosquito fish and sailfin mollies, but I've never tried them in a shrimp tank.

But like I said, if you put them in with the cichlids, they probably wouldn't last long. I don't know anything about cichlids, but I know dwarf crawfish would make a nice snack for any fish of that size lol.

 

[Wmc2009]

I guess I was just kind of thinking by the term "dwarf" that they wouldn't be as big as they are. I ordered them online from a guy in Florida. As far as them being snacks for my cichlids I'm not worried about that. These things are almost the size of my keyholes which is the largest of my cichlids in that tank. I'm going to get a better picture tomorrow to see if I can kind of give you a better idea if their size.

 

[Craw Chief]

Ok that's cool. If you could put them next to a ruler or something that would be good too.

But I really believe these are Cajun dwarf crawfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii) as I mentioned. They honestly shouldn't be a problem with the fish, but I definitely understand your reservations.