Wanting to get crayfish or crabs
- Thread starter Logan
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
DeFeKt
Aquarium Advice Addict
do a search for "freshwater crayfish"
kaz
Aquarium Advice Addict
red claw crab great, it needs something to climb on and one that will take it to the top of water line, it can swim up, up to five inches and can jump from on thing to the other. keep the top tight because it can creep out of the tank and wonder around.
SerLunchbox
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have kept a blue knight crayfish before. These guys are quite cool to keep. They don't need a lot to keep them happy. First thing you need is a few caves. These guys like to back into thier caves as if to say they are hunting. Next you will need lots of things for these guys to climb up on. Third thing you need to keep in mind is put all of these items basically in the center of the tank. This is for a few reasons. The main reason being that they generally like to run around the "outside" of the tank perimiter.
Be fully aware that crayfish are EXCEPTIONAL escape artists. If there is a way that they can get out of your tank, they will. This means ANY cords or filters on the back of the tank should have the smalles openings possible. Infact, it is a good idea that if you use a HOB filter to raise the back flap of the plastic so that it can cover the exit for the filtered water and this will deny the crayfish an easy escape.
When i kept mine, i kept it with a fluval 2 internal filter. That ment i had 2 small triangular cuts in that plastic top backing, one for the heater and one for the filter. It is a VERY good idea to go with a heater that can have a protective case put around it (much like Tronic) as your crayfish may be like mine and like to sleep on the heater itself.
Do not put any sponge in this tank as your crayfish WILL shred it and make a mess of it. I have learned that from experience. If you minimize the holes in the back top of your tank, i personally believe that is the best. Your crayfish WILL climb your cords quite often and mine would actually hook its legs around the plastic edging many times and walk around the top perimiter of te tank that way looking for new adventures.
When it comes to food, it is best to serve these guys shimp sticks and spirulina sticks. Alternate the days so that it is shrimp one day and then spirulina the other. Remember that what you feed him/her will affect thier coloration in the long run so if you vary your food, it will keep them more natural in coloration.
If you want some alternative lighting solutions you coul try LED lights. I actually used the new Marina LED lights that can come solo or you can buy a 3 port hub and 3 adaptable lights. Since you can't add plants (again because they will be eaten and ripped out or clipped off) LED lights will do fine. You can actually have it so your tank is blue, red or green. Because crayfish are nocturnal, these subdued lights will actually make him much more active throughout the day.
Hope that information helps
Be fully aware that crayfish are EXCEPTIONAL escape artists. If there is a way that they can get out of your tank, they will. This means ANY cords or filters on the back of the tank should have the smalles openings possible. Infact, it is a good idea that if you use a HOB filter to raise the back flap of the plastic so that it can cover the exit for the filtered water and this will deny the crayfish an easy escape.
When i kept mine, i kept it with a fluval 2 internal filter. That ment i had 2 small triangular cuts in that plastic top backing, one for the heater and one for the filter. It is a VERY good idea to go with a heater that can have a protective case put around it (much like Tronic) as your crayfish may be like mine and like to sleep on the heater itself.
Do not put any sponge in this tank as your crayfish WILL shred it and make a mess of it. I have learned that from experience. If you minimize the holes in the back top of your tank, i personally believe that is the best. Your crayfish WILL climb your cords quite often and mine would actually hook its legs around the plastic edging many times and walk around the top perimiter of te tank that way looking for new adventures.
When it comes to food, it is best to serve these guys shimp sticks and spirulina sticks. Alternate the days so that it is shrimp one day and then spirulina the other. Remember that what you feed him/her will affect thier coloration in the long run so if you vary your food, it will keep them more natural in coloration.
If you want some alternative lighting solutions you coul try LED lights. I actually used the new Marina LED lights that can come solo or you can buy a 3 port hub and 3 adaptable lights. Since you can't add plants (again because they will be eaten and ripped out or clipped off) LED lights will do fine. You can actually have it so your tank is blue, red or green. Because crayfish are nocturnal, these subdued lights will actually make him much more active throughout the day.
Hope that information helps
Viperboy
Aquarium Advice Freak
I think i will also be getting one of these guys pretty soon too logan .... and i have found a great place here in lawrence (noticed ur from KS) where i go to school (KU) that has the blue crayfish that look awesome for sale. The place is called pet world and is one of the best LFS in the KS area IMO. But i have also been researching these guys and trying to figure out what has to be done to keep one. I do notice like serlunchbox said that they love to go back into caves at the LFS ..... i believe they had ones made out of lava rock and they have tons of feeder fish just swimming in the tank with them for whenever they get hungry i guess. Serlunchbox i had one more question that might help me and him ..... do you acclimate these guys to your water just as you would a fish? and what kind of water parameters are needed for these guys? like temp and stuff .... thanks 
Ray
Ray
Thebluyak
Aquarium Advice Freak
you could always feed the crayfish actually tiny fish. Then they can back into their caves and really hunt. I wanted one, a blue one, when i was getting my piranha, a elong, but it woulda made a quick meal in less than 5 min. So I will never have one cause now im getting discus and they are to expensive to let a crayfish nip at them.
SerLunchbox
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well, first of all .... you have to do sort of a drip method. Place him in a plastic container (like a ziplock one) and then float that as best you can in the tank then add water that way ... these guys are FAST and you have to catch them by hand ... i can almost guarentee that you will jump the first few times, but you will get the hang of it fast.
second, they are so diverse that they can be kept in just about any water condition. They do best around the 75F - 78F mark. Other then that, really simple to keep
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