crayfish compatibility n requirements

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Aylmer

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Jun 15, 2007
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Namaste people. Would like to keep some crayfish as I find them facinating. However I have read that they eat fish in aquaria or hurt them. Does this apply only to fish smaller than the crayfish Or does it catch n hurt if not eat even fish larger than itself. Basically, are they aggressive.Converse is also true, I have aggressive fish but all juveniles. Would it be safe for the crayfish for now. I would setup another tank for them when they grow. Also what is a good tank size (floor space) for a pair of crayfish.Thanks for the help :)
 

crazytrain

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Jun 16, 2007
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Michigan
Namaste people. Would like to keep some crayfish as I find them facinating. However I have read that they eat fish in aquaria or hurt them. Does this apply only to fish smaller than the crayfish Or does it catch n hurt if not eat even fish larger than itself. Basically, are they aggressive.Converse is also true, I have aggressive fish but all juveniles. Would it be safe for the crayfish for now. I would setup another tank for them when they grow. Also what is a good tank size (floor space) for a pair of crayfish.Thanks for the help :)
I am not really experienced with crayfish but they have been known to attack bass in lakes so I would look out regardless of what kind of fish you have.
 

pixl8r

MacroShrimpBreeder
May 11, 2007
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Utah
Much depends on the species of crayfish, and the fish that you keep. If you have ciclids, it really doesn't matter if they're juvenile or not. As soon as the crayfish molts, they will try to eat it. Some have had luck keeping crafish with ciclids, but it's very rare. Puffers also love to eat invertebrates.

Things become more complicated if you want to breed crayfish in your tank.

Crafish usually go after fish when they're asleep. I have a p. alleni that I've named 'Tarzan' (see my avatar), who likes to climb tall plants and wait until a fish swims under him, then he leaps off and tries to catch the fish. So far he's rather bad at it. I think he does it partly for fun, he's well fed. If you have a large tank, or a well planted tank, the odds of the fish living are greatly increased.

FYI, I keep live breeders with my crayfish. So far my crayfish have never eaten a fish, and my fish have never eated a crayfish.
 

Aylmer

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Jun 15, 2007
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Well pixl, you have increased my intrest in crayfish. The behaviour you described is awesome. My tank is 65g net and I do house ciclids(8). However the time n effort reqd to breed anything let alone crayfish is beyond me at this time. Unlimited TLC is what I can offer. I was thinking of keeping just two small crayfish.
 

FireHead

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Jun 2, 2007
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i have kept crayfish with small fast swimming fish with no problems. I have ample hidding places keep the crayfish well fed and i dont put slow swimming,longfinned, bottom feeding fish in. the only time i had a problem was in one community tank that had a betta in it one morning mr betta looked like he had been in a match and his tail was shortened but he was just as active as ever but i moved him nontheless.
 

FireHead

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Jun 2, 2007
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plecos do have somewhat of a amor plated skin but being that the will spend most of thier time bottom dwelling i would not take the chance especially on one smaller than the crayfish. i have had an armor plated raphel catfish that did ok with a smaller crayfish but i moved the cray fish for his own good the tank was semi agressive / agressive.
 

severum mama

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Dec 30, 2006
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The problem is, crayfish are nocturnal. They WILL eventually catch sleeping fish, or be eaten after a molt by larger more aggressive fish. IMO they are best kept in species tanks. I had one in a 10 gallon for a while and that was plenty of room for it.
 

jflng

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Apr 23, 2007
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I am 99% sure that my crawfish killed my plecos.
 

Shocker6966

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Nov 5, 2006
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Peterborough, Ontario
It's always hit and miss with crays. Some are timid, spending most of their time under their rocks, others are active hunters. I've kept lots of common brown crays and each seems to have it's own individual personality. I've only kept a single electric blue which was a bit more aggressive than most of the browns, but never bothered the pleco or raphael that shared a tank with it.

That said, I suggest you do some research into the varieties of crays available to the fishkeeper. They can range from the 1.5 inch adult dwarf crayfish to the commonly available redclaw yabbie which can attain lengths of over one foot. Some are highly predatory and others are strictly herbivorous. One thing that has rang true with all of my experiences is that they are opportunistic to the core and if presented with a choice of carrion or live, they will always go for the easy meal. But like all else - expect that there will be exceptions to every rule and examples that completely deny one's experiences.
 
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