crayfish care guide
- Thread starter 1oooop
- Start date
That's a great article. There's one thing it didn't mention. They love to wander and they will try to escape, so make sure the top of the tank is completely covered. They're much better climbers than they appear to be.
I have P. clarkii and I've had ok luck keeping them with plants. I try to keep them well fed just in case. So far they've just occassional shredded up my Hygro difformis a bit.
They're oxygen requirements are high, so if you have a deep tank where they can't reach the surface, you should have plenty of aeration. I have a very tall, plastic plant suction cupped to the top of my tank, and they often climb to the top and just hang out for a few hours at the surface of the water. The also like to be near the airstone at the bottom of my tank.
I have P. clarkii and I've had ok luck keeping them with plants. I try to keep them well fed just in case. So far they've just occassional shredded up my Hygro difformis a bit.
They're oxygen requirements are high, so if you have a deep tank where they can't reach the surface, you should have plenty of aeration. I have a very tall, plastic plant suction cupped to the top of my tank, and they often climb to the top and just hang out for a few hours at the surface of the water. The also like to be near the airstone at the bottom of my tank.
http://www.crayfishworld.com/contents.htm
http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/phpbb3/index.php
Cheers, Bill
http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/phpbb3/index.php
Cheers, Bill
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same species crays will still kill eachother. only 1 per tank. they WILL catch and eat anything in your tank. do not feed live food. the high level of protein and fat is very unhealthy.
I hate to disagree, but none of that information is true or close to accurate.
A large number of species can be kept in groups (some small groups, others large groups). Only the highly aggressive species or the species that have diets more inclined towards meat-based matter need to use the 1 crayfish per tank rule. And then, with a proper set-ups and large enough tanks, you can get around that rule successfully, too. (however, I'm talking LARGE tanks... 50gal or larger)
And a lot of aggression seen in crayfish kept in groups is not because of "same species". It's because proper M:F ratios are not set-up and you have "same sex" aggression, usually the males fighting over the females. You see more aggression from improper M:F ratios or from attempting to keep multiple species of crayfish in the same environment.
Additionally, they WILL NOT catch and eat everything in your tank. Again, it depends on the species purchased or obtained. Species like P. clarkii and P. alleni (the commonly sold crayfish), are in fact highly aggressive and carnivorous... these will actively catch and kill tankmates. Others, like a large percentage of the Cherax species (and any number of native NA species), are more inclined towards vegetable matter in their diets (especially later in life) and can be easily and successfully kept with a broad range of tankmates without any incidents occurring. You can also obtain crayfish that are passive in nature, like O. lancifer, which enjoys a very varied diet of meat and vegetable matter but is very small in size and lacks aggression. That species will not bother tankmates (there are a large number of species that fit into categories like that), in fact, you have to worry more about tankmates harassing or eating it instead.
Further more, live food is fine to feed crayfish. The issues to watch out for are common feeders like goldfish are not high in protein, so a keeper would need to supplement that nutrient in their diet. Feeders like snails are vectors, and can often carry parasites, so they need to be treated before being used. Otherwise, they should be avoided. Feeders like bloodworms/blackworms are excellent for crayfish, however, you should be mindful where you purchase them (as with any type of live food/feeder) from as they are not always kept/raised in the best conditions. Feeders like shrimp, under no circumstances should be given to crayfish as they often carry diseases fatal to crayfish (like WSSV).
Also on the note of live food, not all species will accept live food. Like I mentioned earlier, O. lancifer, this species will not eat live food as it does not actively hunt. And other species, while they readily accept live food... this may also encourage them to hunt tankmates if you have them (more so aimed if you are using guppies, goldfish, etc... I use blackworms in all my tanks, doesn't seem to promote hunting except with species that already do so).
A high level of protein is perfectly fine for a large number of species of crayfish that are more inclined to meat matter in their diets, as this would be naturally obtained in the wild. Rather, one should just not rely on an entirely protein diet, because other nutrients still need to be obtained. So a keeper should be setting up a high protein but still varied diet including things like eggshells, veggies, plants, a variety of pellets and so forth.
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Anyway, to the OP:
Be mindful of the species you are getting. While there are a lot of generic "how to care for" pointers that successfully apply to a broad range of crayfish, individual species have individual needs. Sometimes, to the point of which that if you don't know them you will end up with a dead crayfish (case and point: Cherax sp. Red Brick, Cherax preissii have highly specific needs for diet, tank set-up, water temperature, etc and are usually killed off in a week or two because their needs were unknown by the keeper).
And at the other extreme, to the point at which you may lose all your tankmates or plants. Some species are highly aggressive and carnivorous, these are not suited for community tanks. Some are highly prone to eating vegetable matter, these will mow down any plants you may have in your tank (though, certain species are selective with the plants they will and will not eat, my O. virilis for example will eat hornwort, anacharis, java fern... won't touch my swords for their life though).
Your general "how to's" should be most of the information you'll need, unless you're getting something really exotic. Just be a little mindful of the species you're actually getting, it'll be what dictates the type of set-up you'll need for your tank.
Be mindful of the species you are getting. While there are a lot of generic "how to care for" pointers that successfully apply to a broad range of crayfish, individual species have individual needs. Sometimes, to the point of which that if you don't know them you will end up with a dead crayfish (case and point: Cherax sp. Red Brick, Cherax preissii have highly specific needs for diet, tank set-up, water temperature, etc and are usually killed off in a week or two because their needs were unknown by the keeper).
And at the other extreme, to the point at which you may lose all your tankmates or plants. Some species are highly aggressive and carnivorous, these are not suited for community tanks. Some are highly prone to eating vegetable matter, these will mow down any plants you may have in your tank (though, certain species are selective with the plants they will and will not eat, my O. virilis for example will eat hornwort, anacharis, java fern... won't touch my swords for their life though).
Your general "how to's" should be most of the information you'll need, unless you're getting something really exotic. Just be a little mindful of the species you're actually getting, it'll be what dictates the type of set-up you'll need for your tank.
