Crayfish?

S

smallcrpt

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May 20, 2007
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I'm in PA and can catch native crayfish in the creek near my house. Has anyone added them to a 80* tank? I have a 60 gallon and wouldn't mind adding some crawdaddies...
If they are compatible w/ 2 plec's and 3 severums, how many can i add?
Thanks-
-chris
 
80+ degrees is too warm for them. They like cooler temps. As far as how many, they are territorial, so provide a lot more hiding places than you have crayfish.
 
Temps depend on the species. There are many crayfish that do well in 80F degree water. Yabbies (Cherax sp.) are known to be extremely hardy.
 
Crayfish are really messy eaters and large waste producers. I see them as armored goldfish.

They may also become a crunchy snack for your severums.

I keep my cherax with a really young flowerhorn. The crayfish isnt as happy like she was alone. I have to move her probably in a few months when the flowerhorn gets too big.
 
If you start off with one that has claws bigger / as big as the sev's mouths, snacking shouldn't be a problem.

Isn't 80 degrees a little warm for plec's? Around 76 would be good for the cray, IMO.

And you might wanna quarantine for a bit, they can have some nasty diseases in the wild...
 
HI All
Got crawdads in two tanks. Use well water and local greens from the local pond. If the crawdads can get a good bite on something it is as good as eaten. Water temp is 70 deg. Constantly have to get greens. Seem partial to Dollar Weed.

Later
Mel
 
I'll second the "if they can get a bite it's good as eaten" comment above. These little dudes are killers, plain and simple. Any fish big enough to eat them probably will. Any fish not big enough to eat them will probably be eaten eventually.
 
I wouldn't put them in with plecos. They both occupy the lower regions of the tank and they'll probably eventually attack the plecos.
 
HI All
The Plecos are between 10 and 13 inches long. When they get tired of the crawdad attention they just fling them away. It is really neet to watch. The crawdads seem to have a deal going with the plecos because they let them crall over them. Seem to be gromming them or something. I can`t see what they are picking off them but is facinating to watch.

Later
Mel
 
Yeah, people sometimes forget that Plecos are kinda underwater ninjas. So long as they're anywhere near the size of their attacker / source of annoyance they'll just flare their top fins and smack them away with their tails. They aren't called armored catfish for nothing. Plecos are about the only thing I'd trust with crays, really. As I said before, most everything else is either on the menu or likely to eat the cray, so...
 
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