Isolated female crayfish losing claw.

[kaurushin]

So I havent kept crayfish in a long time and I only just started keeping them again about 3 weeks ago. The crayfish I have is female and I used to keep her in a 10 gallon but issues came up and I had to move her to a 5 gallon just last night. This morning when I checked up on her, she was fine, but when I got back just now. I found her sprawling on her back and after being confused for about 5 minutes I noticed one of her claws in the corner of the tank. Im really confused to as how this could of happened since Ive only heard a female losing a claw during mating or something but never on thier own. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I should deal with this? Its quite painful watching her just sprawling on her back. Ive tried putting her on her feet but shes not balancing well and falls to the side with her remaining claw. I hope she doesnt die from this and in the meantime someone could inform me on what could have possibly occured while I wasnt watching? Thank you.

~Kaoru

[jpappy789]

I'm not sure how she would have lost it on her own. but I'm no cray expert. Is there any decor that is extremely sharp?

I would read mel's thread on the extensive damages her red clawed shrimp received. I wonder if it is possible for your cray to recover as well...but at this point I would probably isolate her even further to make sure she can get to food if she can overcome the balance issue.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208710

[kaurushin]

Well theres nothing in there asides from gravel .~. I really dont see how she could of just lost it like that but I noticed she was getting defensive when she saw her reflection, however Im not sure theres any way something could have happened because of that...or I dont think so at least. Since she isnt exactly an adult crayfish Im sure it will come back after 2 or 3 molts but the main problem is that she doesnt seem to be capable of even fetching food now DX

[kaurushin]

Thank you for the link too by the way :o I am currently reading it .w.~

[The Zigman]

Some, if not all crays will re-grow lost limbs. I had a cray with 3 missing legs, and a claw and they all grew back within a few molts.

Not sure why she is lying on her back though, sounds like a deeper issue. Maybe she is having a difficult time trying to molt?

[kaurushin]

I have never seen a crayfish molt before, I have seen shrimp? I only recently started keeping fish and stuff. I used to catch and raise crayfish as a kid so now Im restarting that ^ ^;; But she hasnt been able to even get back on her feet. Shes only missing one limb, but she is always on her back, sprawling...I put her on her feet and she doesnt keep still and seems to be hopping/jumping for no reason, shes not shooting back either like she would before either. She continues to jump up and down and eventually have her tail curl in and would roll over resulting in her on her back waving her legs around. That and Im still curious as to how in the world she lost her claw in a tank with only gravel and a filter(I havent had the time to buy more things for this 5 gallon yet since I only got it last night :/) Has anyone ever had a crayfish just lose an arm like this before?

[Taysius]

Sounds to me like she may be having difficulty molting.

[kaurushin]

Do they look any different when they begin to molt? I know shrimp turn opaqueish but for a crayfish, is there a way you can tell if it is about to molt soon .o. Just curious ^ ^;;

Oh and she can now balance herself, Im not too sure if shes eating though :/

[Taysius]

I can always tell when my cray will molt. She gets a white band right where her body meets her tail. I'm not sure of the correct terms to describe it, sorry.

[theemon]

was ur cray soft when u touched her?

she may have been molting. and yes claws will regrow. but i think ur worried about her health. is the tank getting enough oxygen? does it have a lid? kuz in a 5gal tank it will try to escape.

theres no way to tell if shes about to molt.

try feeding her, my crays are always hungy..

[kaurushin]

Oh white band, I think I know what you are talking about :o! And her shell wasnt soft. There is plenty of oxygen and there is a cover. I have tried feeding her but none of the food is ever eaten...Im getting extremely worried about her now :(

[theemon]

is your tank or water clean? it sounds like maybe its a water quality issue

[kaurushin]

The water is clean, there is oxygen, and filter. Theres nothing wrong with the water at all and she has not molted or seemed to be molting, she just doesnt seem to be eating since she has mysteriously lost her claw in an empty tank :/

[theemon]

i honostly dont know then, sorry

[Taysius]

I'm curious, is your water very soft?

[mugzy]

I resently had a crawfish that I received with only 3 legs. Fed it algae discs that bottom feeder eat, and small frozen party shrimp. And had it for 2 wks and it shed it's old skin and now has all it's legs. But gave it to a friend because it was trying to eat my German Ram's. Saved the fishes life and got rid of the crawfish, very fast with the new legs, too fast.

[kaurushin]

Ive had it for a while now, almost a month and I havent seen it molt once :o! It lost its claw for maybe a week or so now but still no molt. She seems to have a lot of worm like things near her mouth and bottom near her legs. Is this normal? I think it might be what is keeping her from eating or maybe molting?

[Meddling Kid]

I used to have coral banded shrimp drop their claws randomly alllllll the time in saltwater tanks. Since they're related, it doesnt seem too farfetched for a crayfish to do it. I think its just stress or something, i dont really know why it would happen....but I never had a fatality because of it.

[cymrufem]

How is your crayfish doing now, any better? Could the worm-like things be offspring, or maybe parasites?