dwarf crayfish

[bumblebee goby]

i would like to know what is a easy to care for crayfish that is small but dosnt cost much. and how do you breed it
sorry i am asking allot of breeding ?s because i am really interested in invertebrates now

 

[247Plants]

Cambarellus patzcuarensis
Cambarallus Schufeltii

Are a few of the dwarf cray varieties.

 

[black_sun]

Almost anything in the Cambarellus family will be under 2" and easily bred (male+female+water=offspring kind of easy breeding lol). A lot of Orconectes species are under 3", but these require temperature changes (i.e. chillers) to induce breeding and berrying.

 

[bumblebee goby]

black sun are you saying Cambarellus need coolers or Orconectes i would like a crayfish that doesn't have to have a cooler to educe breeding

 

[bumblebee goby]

Oh ya how much money are these crayfish

 

[black_sun]

black sun are you saying Cambarellus need coolers or Orconectes i would like a crayfish that doesn't have to have a cooler to educe breeding

Only the Orconectes need chillers, they take cue from environmental changes in weather to dictate when they breed and when they berry. It has to be replicated in the tank some how for them to breed. Most of them at least, some breed readily in the tank without any special care but those are small species, off hand.


The Cambarellus just need water and a mate. Well, you know... good water (adequate pH, cleanliness, average temperature, etc... the basics). They're very easy to breed and raise.

 

[black_sun]

Oh ya how much money are these crayfish

Depends on what you buy.

For example, you can usually get groups of 10-20 C. shufeldtii on Aquabid.com or various websites for $15-25 + Shipping. They're just easy to breed, catch in the wild, etc. (The blue morph can be a bit pricey though, and be careful, it's not a true coloration morph.)

But more sought after species like the orange morph of C. patzcuarensis can cost you $50-75 + Shipping for a sexed pair, depending on where/who you are obtaining them from. (Additionally, the normal coloration of this species sells for chump change usually, so you could do selective breeding with them and try to get your own orange morphs).

And species that are rarely seen in the trade or in the US trade at least, like C. diminutus are expensive and usually only procured through international buying. So the shipping charges can be a pain depending on where it's coming from (try places like Germany and Austria, they usually have decent prices and not horrible international shipping charges).

Shop around though, you'll find interesting places and people to buy crayfish from on the various forums, web groups, etc that could save you on cost.

 

[vampie]

I suggest you start with shufeldtii.

 

[Dwarf Puffers]

+1 for C. Shufeldtii. I've been wanting these for a while.