Isolated female crayfish losing claw.

kaurushin

kaurushin

Kaoru
Apr 30, 2010
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A very hot place @___@!
So I havent kept crayfish in a long time and I only just started keeping them again about 3 weeks ago. The crayfish I have is female and I used to keep her in a 10 gallon but issues came up and I had to move her to a 5 gallon just last night. This morning when I checked up on her, she was fine, but when I got back just now. I found her sprawling on her back and after being confused for about 5 minutes I noticed one of her claws in the corner of the tank. Im really confused to as how this could of happened since Ive only heard a female losing a claw during mating or something but never on thier own. Does anyone have any ideas as to how I should deal with this? Its quite painful watching her just sprawling on her back. Ive tried putting her on her feet but shes not balancing well and falls to the side with her remaining claw. I hope she doesnt die from this and in the meantime someone could inform me on what could have possibly occured while I wasnt watching? Thank you.

~Kaoru
 
I'm not sure how she would have lost it on her own. but I'm no cray expert. Is there any decor that is extremely sharp?

I would read mel's thread on the extensive damages her red clawed shrimp received. I wonder if it is possible for your cray to recover as well...but at this point I would probably isolate her even further to make sure she can get to food if she can overcome the balance issue.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=208710
 
Well theres nothing in there asides from gravel .~. I really dont see how she could of just lost it like that but I noticed she was getting defensive when she saw her reflection, however Im not sure theres any way something could have happened because of that...or I dont think so at least. Since she isnt exactly an adult crayfish Im sure it will come back after 2 or 3 molts but the main problem is that she doesnt seem to be capable of even fetching food now DX
 
Some, if not all crays will re-grow lost limbs. I had a cray with 3 missing legs, and a claw and they all grew back within a few molts.

Not sure why she is lying on her back though, sounds like a deeper issue. Maybe she is having a difficult time trying to molt?
 
I have never seen a crayfish molt before, I have seen shrimp? I only recently started keeping fish and stuff. I used to catch and raise crayfish as a kid so now Im restarting that ^ ^;; But she hasnt been able to even get back on her feet. Shes only missing one limb, but she is always on her back, sprawling...I put her on her feet and she doesnt keep still and seems to be hopping/jumping for no reason, shes not shooting back either like she would before either. She continues to jump up and down and eventually have her tail curl in and would roll over resulting in her on her back waving her legs around. That and Im still curious as to how in the world she lost her claw in a tank with only gravel and a filter(I havent had the time to buy more things for this 5 gallon yet since I only got it last night :/) Has anyone ever had a crayfish just lose an arm like this before?
 
Sounds to me like she may be having difficulty molting.
 
Do they look any different when they begin to molt? I know shrimp turn opaqueish but for a crayfish, is there a way you can tell if it is about to molt soon .o. Just curious ^ ^;;

Oh and she can now balance herself, Im not too sure if shes eating though :/
 
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I can always tell when my cray will molt. She gets a white band right where her body meets her tail. I'm not sure of the correct terms to describe it, sorry.
 
was ur cray soft when u touched her?

she may have been molting. and yes claws will regrow. but i think ur worried about her health. is the tank getting enough oxygen? does it have a lid? kuz in a 5gal tank it will try to escape.

theres no way to tell if shes about to molt.

try feeding her, my crays are always hungy..
 
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