Are crayfish escape artists?

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wamack

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Feb 1, 2008
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My crayfish keeps trying to climb the heater and the filter intake. Is he trying to escape? What should I do to prevent this? What should I do in the event he gets out?
 

syddakyd

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Jan 7, 2006
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position the heater so that it cant get to it and cover the tank they will escape and dry out
 

Squawkbert

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Oct 3, 2006
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They are among the best escape artists. Keep any holes very small and go look for him if he ever does turn up missing (they can last longer out of water than fish can, but it isn't "indefinite".
 

wamack

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Feb 1, 2008
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The tank has a hood, but there are holes where the heater and the filter go...maybe I could go to the craft store and get some netting and duct tape it over. Does he need more oxygen? should I put an airstone in there? It kinda looks like he is trying to get to the sails that are near the top of the tank. He has eaten all the ones at the bottom. I just want to make sure that his attempt at escape isn't because there is something wrong with his environment. I have tested his water and everything is normal. The temp is 74, is that to high? I have been googling but can't seem to find much for good resources.
 

theotheragentm

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Nov 28, 2007
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Crayfish are notorious escape artists. Their escape often indicates something wrong with the water quality. I've seen crayfish climb out and walk twenty feet across the floor into another room completely.
 

canucksfan1

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Feb 26, 2007
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Cray definatly are escape artists, i would check out your params and make sure everything is all goodand if so maybe he is just exploring, mine did for a while when i first got him then settled down, i just covered allmy big holes with cardboard covered in plastic wrap so they didn't get soggy.
 

Bobnova

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Apr 11, 2006
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As others have said, crays are some of the best escape artists (crabs are the other really really good ones), and generally they try to escape because there is something in their environment they don't like.

It could simply be too small.
It could have a smell they don't like.
It could have too many disolved proteins (fish/crayfish waste etc. Nitrates aren't the whole story).
It could have neighbors in the tank that it doesn't like.
It could be hungry.
It could just like exploring, that is entirely possible as well.
It could be one of the crayfish that likes sitting halfway out of the water. Some do, it's not a species thing, it's an individual thing (crayfish are fairly smart, with intelligence comes weirdness and personality).


So really, take a good look at the water and contemplate the rest of the list, and if you can't find anything wrong you might try putting a chunk of driftwood in that the crayfish can sit on and be half out of water. (Really you could do that anyway, but it's good to make sure there aren't any issues)
 

EmilyMarie85

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Aug 16, 2010
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Just so you all know - this was true in 2008 and it is still true in 2012. Crayfish are escape artists.

I found my crayfish missing from her 10g tank this morning, and found her on the complete other side of the room under the 20L stand, still alive, crawling around looking for God knows what....
 

vwill279

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Oct 7, 2011
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I had a cray escape from the filter hole in my 20 tall tank. Found her 50 feet away in the kitchen the next morning. She was fine, but screen over the holes was an immediate change to the tank.
 

pixl8r

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May 11, 2007
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In nature crayfish are known to venture out of water, for various reasons. The reasons are varied, and don't really need to be discussed, aside from water health, and size of tank. I've seen videos people post of their crayfish 'exorcizing' or trying to escape, where there is a six to eight inch crayfish trying to climb out of a 10g tank, filled only half way. They say that they dropped the water level 'because the crayfish kept escaping. This is the wrong way to go. A non dwarf crayfish needs room, a 20g long tank is the bare minimum for one. If you have multiple non dwarf crayfish, obviously a much larger (larger footprint) tank is needed.

So, make sure health and tank size issues are eliminated, as well as covering holes.
 
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