89 Crayfish

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Pooshybear

AC Members
Jun 11, 2009
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I think I will start this off with a small intro, I have been a freshwater aquarium hobbyist for roughly 4 years, I don't know everything yet, but I know enough to keep everything going pretty smoothly. I have 2 fish tanks in use, a 120 gallon tank, and a 20 gallon tank. 4 months ago I bought 3 crayfish (the common ones I think) and later they had some babies. I only found 9 of them, but they are all white-ish blue and now 1.5 inches (roughly) long. I seperated them into the empty twenty gallon tank and have had no problems, a few more months and I noticed the female had tons of eggs.
I waited for them to be fertilized and now I have 89 tiny cray fish in a small beta container. I setup a tiny aerator, and started to wonder. What do they eat? I don't know much about crayfish breeding, but I'd imagine that they still eat like their parents, just in smaller portions. Also is it normal for the babies to attach themselves to eachother and make larger clumps? If pictures are needed I can provide soon.
 
Thanks! I tried some dried seaweed, and they seem to have liked it, I have some pictures. I hope 640x480 isnt too big, I can happily resize.

Thats my small holding tank for the babies, the only decent picture I could get was a birds eye view.

Thats my 20 gallon tank with the blue crayfish(I still don't get how the common red crayfish makes blue ones). I built the stand, its rock solid.

and thats my 120 gallon tank, yes thats a carp (I think its a grass carp, unsure) and a huge goldfish that somehow outlived my gars and became huge. I have plenty other fish in there.
 
my blues have been humping like mad lately. Hopefully have some little ones soon. Already have a tank waiting.
 
Pooshybear said:
What do they eat? I don't know much about crayfish breeding, but I'd imagine that they still eat like their parents, just in smaller portions.
Click to expand...

Pretty much lol. Younger crayfish, however, will need more protein and calcium than anything else. Vegetable matter is harder for them to digest when younger. They should still be offered a very varied diet though as they'll need as much nutrients as possible to grow.

And they should be provided with lots of cover (hornwort, java fern, pvc pipes, layered rocks, etc) so they can hide and molt in safety. It also helps lower their stress level (crays without hides = stress). They will cannibalize each other a little bit (this is natural and debatably beneficial to them), but increased cover helps prevent this on a large scale.
 
So some quick updates, I moved the crays that were in the 20 gallon into the 120 gallon tank, and that seems to be fine. I shut the filters off in my 20 gallon tank and added a good airstone/aerator. The crays seem to enjoy the thin patches of grass that I have as hiding spots. I have found some evidence of them eating eachother, but only 3 bodies were found. The mom apparently had a few more babys left so I have more now. Once they grow, I willl have to find some homes for them, probably a lake nearby.
Edit: I will be heading out to Petco later, do those mossballs grow easy in sand?
 
I'm not sure where you're located, but releasing non native species into the wild is generally frowned upon.

I bet you could find some takers for the crays right here on AC :)
 
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