Dwarf crayfish Q's

chazsgirl

chazsgirl

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Jul 14, 2008
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Ok I just bought a dwarf crayfish at the LFS, I did my homework and figured that in a 55g tank it would do ok with it's other tank mates (7 dwarf puffers-4 young ones and 3 adults) 2 plecos, 1 cory(leaving soon) and a cluster of fancy guppies (also leaving soon) ok tons of room, now I am just worried about him grabbing the dwarfs should I be worried or do u think they will be ok? would I be better taking him back? Let me know the truth!
 
Well, it depends. all the crays I see at my LFS are actually feeder crays that get up to 6"+, they just start out small.

How big is he? If he is truly a dwarf, its fine for him to stay there, I think.

I don't think you should be worried, at least I won't be. My dwarf crays never grabbed anything but trumpet snails and cherry shrimp. Their claws are small. I don't think they can grab a dwarf puffer.
 
I use to have a P Alleni dwarf cray. They are scavengers and opportunistic hunters. If anything is slow enough for them to catch, they will eat it. Also, they hunt at night when the fish are asleep. Some people have luck with having them in a tank with fish, but after he took down a couple of my fish, I decided he needed a new home.
 
What kind of dwarf cray is it?
Cambarellus sp. won't bother fish. I keep Cambarellus patzcuarensis 'orange' in a tank with small fish and shrimp. They don't bother them at all.
 
I'd be more worried about the cray. The dwarf puffers will have a feast if they catch it right after a molt.
 
What size are your puffers (I'm not familiar with the sizes dwarf puffers obtain)? I'd be worried about them pulling apart the crayfish or eating it after it molts.

But generally, dwarf species are Cambarellus, and they're usually fairly passive in nature (some exceptions though). And with their small size and type of claws, they're not likely to bother your fish. I keep mine with (depending on the tank) neon tetras, plecos, peppered cories, glofish and a variety of shrimp (juvenile shrimp have been known to disappear though).
 
dwarf puffers max out at about an inch, but boy do they have a Napolean complex. A friend of mine lovingly refers to his DPs as little trash compactors :p
 
well I got the dwarf at my LFS and the guy said the store buys them from a breeder, so unsure as to what it really is (lol.) I have 3 very passive adult puffers who only eat blood worms and are afraid of everything, they have been kept with fancy guppies so they have become community fishies! I purchased 4 other baby puffers yesterday and they are undecided yet but I did see 1 baby looking intently at the crayfish! I just don't want anyone to get hurt, I am mostly worried about my puffers they are my babies. I will post a pic when I can locate my cameras to see if anyone can identify this little one!
 
I question if it is a dwarf cray .... You don't see them very often in the LFS I'm thinking a P. Alleni.

What color is it?
 
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