Need Info on Crayfish

[Boogety48]

I need any information I can get on crayfish. Every site I look at gives me different information. I guess I can narrow down my questions.

Are they brackish or straight fw? Will they always eat anything put with them, fishwise? How do I tell what kind it is? If I have snails in the tank with them, will they eat them? Anything else anyone thinks would help me would be nice.

 

[Mark388]

Crayfish will eat any and everything It can get ahold off. Dead fish live fish plants snails pellets don't matter they can eat it all. There scavengers.

They are FW. They are found in streams ponds lakes and swamps. A SW crayfish would be a lobster lol.

Now you can try to "train" the crawfish to only eat pellets and other food that you approve of but there is always a possibility that it will eat other things in the tank.

I wouldn't keep any fish with it that you don't mind losing. I kept danios with mine and it seemed to do well since danios never stop moving even when they sleep.

 

[Boogety48]

Thank you for replying so fast. I've got a tank I can put one in. I've always wanted one but never had an opportunity to get one and now I have the opportunity. I'm just a little worried that I don't know enough about them.

 

[Mark388]

Do a google search and see how they live in nature. I will kind of give you and idea about them.

Other names are Mudbug Crawdad Blue Lobster (blue crawfish)

I wouldn't keep more than 1 in a tank due to them being aggressive and they will kill and eat each other. If you have a large tank like 40g or bigger then you could do more than one.

If I were you I would do a tank with java moss or Christmas moss and get it established and growing and make a cave he can go into. That way even if be does eat the plants it will grow back quickly.

If I remember crayfish are naucturnal but once they are use to there surrounding they will be out often.

 

[Mark388]

Also If I remember they tend to carry diseases nothing to worry about but don't share filter media with other tanks and wash everything hands/decor before placing in another tank.

 

[bigbanker]

Crays will eat anything..... Fish food, dog food, table food. They don't care. However a good varied diet is always recommended. As for what you can keep with them... I generally say whatever is bigger/faster. They don't move ultra fast and have difficulty catching larger fish; so, typically that is a great way to go. They live to dig and burrow. Hiding places are great for them. They are not recommended in a planted tank as they do enjoy redecorating. They will eat snails that are small; but larger ones such as apple snails should be fine. If you are having a snail problem the crays may be useful in controlling the snail population.

 

[MABJ]

Well hold up y'all. There's a lot of miniture crays. I personally like CPOs and Dwarf Cajun Crays as crays that pose little threat to fish.

 

[Mark388]

Well hold up y'all. There's a lot of miniture crays. I personally like CPOs and Dwarf Cajun Crays as crays that pose little threat to fish.

True I didn't think about dwarf ones. I was only thinking about full size tasty crawfish ;D. But ya dwarf crawfish are an option.

 

[MABJ]

And for medium sized, there's always the self cloning marmokreb lol.

 

[Boogety48]

I don't know what kind the one I might get is. All I know is it's green and free lol. If I get it I'll post a pic so maybe I can know what it is. Right now its about an inch and a half long.

 

[Coursair]

It would help if you narrowed it down to WHICH Cray you are interested in. There are a lot of different sizes with differing needs.

Green and free ? What area of the country ? Is is a locallly caught creature or was it bought from a store originally?

Here is one that sounds possible GAWW: Species Description

TWRA Region 4 Stream Mgmt--Crayfish Resources

 

[Boogety48]

It would help if you narrowed it down to WHICH Cray you are interested in. There are a lot of different sizes with differing needs.

Green and free ? What area of the country ? Is is a locallly caught creature or was it bought from a store originally?

Here is one that sounds possible GAWW: Species Description

TWRA Region 4 Stream Mgmt--Crayfish Resources

I looked at the ones you posted and it looks like that one, and that would make since because I live in Tennessee. I would like to tell you all the things you asked but I simply don't know the answers. Here is the only things I know about the one I might get:
Its green, Its about an inch and a half long, and it came in a shipment of comet goldfish. That's all I know. I'll ask tomorrow if they can tell me where the goldfish came from so I can narrow it down a little further but I think all our fish come locally.

 

[Wy Renegade]

If its green and free, its very unlikely that it is one of the minitures, so to get back to your original question, they are opportunistic feeders who will consume plants, fish, snails, or decaying organic matter. In other words, pretty much anything else you put in the tank with it is food. As stated, you may get away with some fast swimming fish, but when they sleep, they better be keeping one eye open. Also make sure you have a secure lid, as crayfish will crawl up and out of your tank.

 

[Boogety48]

Ok so I got a little more info on the little guy and I got him. He or she came from a hatchery in Lonoke, AR (Arkansas). It's about 2 inches.

 

[bigbanker]

He is about the size of my guy who catches my neons. I started with 25 and i'm down to 11. The colombians, rainbows, and roselines are all safe.

 

[Boogety48]

They look similar. Mine's missing a leg on his left side but I know it'll grow back. I named him Mr.Pinchie. He got one of my guppies. I left them in there just to see if he'd leave them alone but he got one. My husband said he caught him eating him and it looked like he was eating an ear of corn (the guppy was yellow). I've moved the rest out of there so all that's left is two snails. He doesn't seem to mind them. So far he likes peas, fish flakes, algae tabs, blood worms, brine shrimp, and guppies. I'm going to get him a few ghost shrimp and maybe a goldfish or minnow to eat later.

 

[Wy Renegade]

He will eat earthworms or pieces of earthworms as well.

 

[bigbanker]

I have found that mine is too slow to catch the ghost shrimp.... He usually gets the fish when they are resting

 

[Boogety48]

I'll have to try that. I've just been tossing little things in the tank to see if he likes them. Trying to use what I have already for my fish. I've got some ghost shrimp in my other tank but those guys are my pets. If I get some knowing they're being bought as food I won't feel bad lol.

 

[Boogety48]

So far so good. Mr.Pinchie seems to be liking his new home. I try to keep him entertained by burying freeze dried brine shrimp in the sand. I added more sand to my tank so he can dig around if he wants. I also removed all my live plants. He left them alone at first but then I noticed they had little nibbles on them so they came out. He doesn't seem to mind the snails in there with him. I keep watching to make sure everything is ok.