Crabs, shrimp and snails, Oh my!

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Bigbob55

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Oct 12, 2005
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Alright, I'm setting up a 55 gallon tank next week.

After some careful thought, I'm gonna make it a peaceful community tank. With a school of neon tetra's, and whatever else looks pretty at the store I go to. Nothing aggressive.

So, animals other than fish amuze me greatly, and I really want to get some Ghost shrimp, Snails (white mystery snails, i think) and crab(s) or crayfish. A store around me carries red-clawed freshwater crabs (2 normal sized claws). Now, will these crabs eat the snals or the shrimp? The store says the crabs only grow to 2.25'' accross, and they have small claws. And also on ebay I saw some crayfish that in the auction it says they are aquarium bred, and raised with minnows, and don't attack them, so they're "peaceful" crayfish, they grow to about 6'' long.

Would it be okay to keep some ghost shrimp, a few crabs (or a couple crayfish), and a few snails in the same tank with no one eating each other, and not harming small neon tetra's?

And i've heard that freshwater crabs need to have a place to get some air (like a plant that pokes out of the water), but in the petstore, they had like 20 crabs in a tank with no visible access, so do you think its neccisary.
 

Hrafnkel

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Jul 21, 2005
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I'd definitely skip the crayfish, and the crabs might be a bit of a risk to any sleeping fishies.
 

PumaWard

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Jul 23, 2003
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I do not believe there is a such thing as a "peaceful" crayfish. I personally, would avoid this seller as I do not believe they are being truthful with you in any way.

"FW Red-Clawed Crabs," are also brackish water fish that also need a way to get out of the water if need be. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BrackishSubWebIndex/braccrabfaqs.htm
 

congealedmeat

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Feb 2, 2005
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lol at crayfish being peaceful! They are anything but. I've seen my roomates crayfish take on many different fish, mostly cichlids. It only lost to the Ornate Bichir. They are not peaceful, but won't actively attack larger fish(only smaller), maybe just kick them out of a good hiding spot.

I had a red-claw crab with shrimp and it may have killed them, but I'm honestly not sure as I just found a dead shrimp, no evidence :D My crab was more than a year old, but he didn't die for a long time, even though he wasn't in brackish water. I had no idea until reading this post that they were brackish. They do need air access though, and they will escape if possible. My roomate found one in his closet, 1 floor up and on the other side of the house from where the tank was situated. Resourceful little buggers.

Shrimp go great with mystery or ramshorn snails. My red shrimp will hitch a ride on the mystery snail in exchange for a little algae cleaning off the shell. It looks sweet. I'll try and get some pics sometime.
 
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Wippit Guud

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Sep 27, 2002
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I have a big 6 in cray in a 10 gallon with just a bamboo shrimp. He's been in other tanks with lots of fish before, ans as long as the fish stayed away from him, he left them alone. Mind you, the pleco didn't stay away from him...

...

In any case, "peaceful" is not "crayfish". If you want a 55 with a cray (in fact you could put 2 in a 55 as long as there's definite territories), either put in fish you don't mind dying, or stay with fast moving, mid-to-top level fish. Something like zebra danio's or rainbows would do quite well in that setup.
 

Bigbob55

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Oct 12, 2005
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Thanks for the replies guys.

Here's what the Ebay auction says:

"We have noticed that since we have offered crayfish for auction on E-bay others have followed suit. Trust us when we tell you that you cannot raise crayfish yourself and sell them for a very low price. We can almost guarantee that cheap crayfish mean they have been wild caught - in peoples ponds, or nearby lakes, rivers, streams or canals. WILD CAUGHT CRAYFISH WILL KILL YOUR FISH - as well as introduce harmful bacteria and diseases to your aquarium or pond. Wild caught crayfish have hunted for survival their whole lives and will continue to do so in your aquarium or pond. Our crayfish have been bred right here in our hatcheries and have lived with guppies since day one. Let us assure you that breeding your own crayfish is no easy task. They are accustomed to having fish around but being fed flake and various other foods. Our crayfish will not attack and kill your sleeping fish. They will simply scavange for leftovers and keep everything clean and tidy."

Kinda interesting.

I'm probably gonna get a few red-clawed crabs. They're only 1.99 at the LFS anyways. I'll just mix some shrimp in and see if some die. The shrimp are only like 39 cents anyways.

Sounds good.
 

Wippit Guud

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Sep 27, 2002
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Crayfish are big, aquatic, bugs.

You cannot train a bug to not attack something it can eat.
 

shediddily

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Oct 17, 2005
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Certain types of crayfish are very agressive to other fish plants etc. in your tank. the "redclaw, true blue lobster, blue lobester" and the many other names it has is a BAD choice. You cant even house these guys together! not to mention they are a Large crayfish.

But a Cherax sp. "Tiger crayfish" is a very shy crayfish that will mostly leave your fish alone... but probably not your plants. These guys will live together. I have 2 in a 10 gallon tank and they dont get to big!

I woulnt recomend the crabs either... they pretty much need brackish water. freshwater cuts their lifespan in half.... and if they dont have certain mineral suppliments they wont molt... and that will kill them.

go for the tiger crayfish.. they're a pretty black and orangish color with a little bit of blue on their claws.
 

Veneer

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Dec 20, 2004
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It is impossible for excessive emphasis to be placed on the point that water of at least light brackish salinity and air access are both essential to the sustained health of red-claw crabs.

Thousands of species of FW shrimp are in existence; of these, around a dozen are available to the average U.S. aquarist - I suggest you look through www.franksaquarium.com, www.wirbellose.de/arten.html, and the gallery of www.crusta10.de to determine what species interest you.
 
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