Baby crawfish questions

[Weedy]

I was cleaning the sump in my 150 gallon community and saw something really weird. Upon further investigation I found itty bitty tiny crawfish:)! We have 4 blue, 1 white albino and 1 red (his name is dinner:eek3:), the blue crawfish have been fighting alot lately (so we thought). I guess they weren't fighting, hehe. Anyway, at what point do you know they are carrying young or pregnant? Also, the lFS said they would buy the fry from us when we started getting more. We purchased a small breader net that hangs on the inside of our big tank. How do you know when to put her into it??? Thank you inadvance for any help with my new smaller family....
Weedy

PS, I guess another question is in line, how do you tell which is the female???

[pixl8r]

The female will have a large clutch of eggs under her tail. If you put a crayfish in a net, it will likely climb out. If you want your crayfish to breed, put a sponge or something over your sump intake to keep them out. Also make hiding places for the young crays to hide. Some make things like straw wall things (search forums), I used large rocks jumbled with four or five 1/2 inch by 3 inch long PVC pipes, when I used to breed crayfish. Very sturdy and can could accommodate a large number of young crayfish.

The way to tell a female from a male can be difficult, if your species doesn't have specific color/visual cues (or if you don't spot the eggs). You need to pick the crayfish up and basically pin down the claws and lift the first set of limbs between the swimmerets and their legs (where the tail connects to the body). That is where their reproductive organs are. Google something like crawdad sexing for pictures.

[thebullit]

here is a link on how to sex crays. http://www.crayfishworld.com/sexy.htm
like stated b4 the female will carry her eggs under her tail for about 30 days b4 they will hatch. mine waited 36 days. the straw wall works great i used it and worked great.

[Weedy]

Thanks for the info.
Weedy

[Weedy]

here is a link on how to sex crays. http://www.crayfishworld.com/sexy.htm
like stated b4 the female will carry her eggs under her tail for about 30 days b4 they will hatch. mine waited 36 days. the straw wall works great i used it and worked great.


What did you use to glue the straws together? I don't want to put something in there that will hurt or kill the other fish. Thanks again .
Weedy

[thebullit]

i used little blobs of aquarium silicone to glue them together. a teadius job but well worth doing, and i left to dry / cue for 48 hours before putting in my tank. i would next time go with black straws but these were the only ones i had at the time. terry and his technicoloured crayfish wall lol

[carlyleigh]

This is just such a brill idea well done..... Would it be wise for me to make one of these as my shrimpies are carrying eggs..... Might it give some a chance?

[Yadokari]

Wouldn't it be possible to just use a rubber band to hold them together?

[Lupin]

Wouldn't it be possible to just use a rubber band to hold them together?
Rubber bands will eventually disintegrate which is quite a PITA.

[thebullit]

This is just such a brill idea well done..... Would it be wise for me to make one of these as my shrimpies are carrying eggs..... Might it give some a chance?

yer you could use it with every same invert / creature. thanks

[thebullit]

Wouldn't it be possible to just use a rubber band to hold them together?

if they stayed together and the adults didnt mess with it the rubber bands would soon break down and snap.

[thebullit]

be sure to weigh it down as they will float, i use 2 pebbles on each wall to keep them submerged.

[Weedy]

Thanks for the info, all help is appreciated.:headbang2: