I have a 30g. freshwater tank that currently holds a crayfish that is around 3 years old. I have it sitting on my bar in my kitchen. It's a pretty bare tank with only one occupant in it. At one time it held several large koi's but in my stupidity from being new to the whole fish tank thing I made the mistake of including the crayfish in the community. In a few months time the crayfish killed all the koi's and ate them :duh: . So since its just sitting there, I decided that I want to move it into the living room and get some new fish for it. One problem... The crayfish. I can't include it with anything since it will eat them. I was thinking about catching it and taking it too a local lake and releasing it. My question is this a good idea? After having been in a tank for 3 years will it survive in the wild or would it be a better idea to just put it down? The other option I have is a 10g. hexagon tank that I could move it too. But once again is this a good idea? Once I figure out what too do with the crayfish and get the tank moved I want to remove the gravel and replace it with some brighter color gravel. The tank needs some serious cleaning. I know I can use the algae pads and what not, but are there any non toxic cleaners I can use to facilitate the process? So any ideas about how too handle the crayfish situation and cleaning suggestions would be helpful.
Need some advice.
- Thread starter frkza
- Start date
First, I'm very surprised that a crayfish could catch and kill a heavey bodied fish such as a koi. Did you see the attack? If it wasn't witnessed I'd assume the koi died and the crayfish ate the body.
In either case crayfish are best kept by themselves. With a few exceptions one usually kills the other. I've kept crayfish twice in mixed tanks and each time the crayfish was killed while molting. Once by a 3" bullhead, and once by a 5" african knife fish. Having had it for 3 years I imagine you see how interesting they can be. Consider getting a small tank (10 gal?) just for the crayfish, but the hex doesn't give him much "floor space".
As for cleaning out your old tank, In my experience a single edged razor blade is the best tool but needs to be used with caution. Don't get into the corners a scrape the sealant. Hold the blade with the full cutting edge in contact with the glass and at an angle as low as you can maneuver holding the blade. I hold the blade with my fingers as I find any of the scraping tools get in the way. I underlined glass because I'd think twice if it's an acrylic tank.
Again, with proper precaution, you can bleach a glass tank. With the tank empty, glass scraped and all debris washed out out add about 3-4 gallons of warm water to this add about a 1/4 cup of clorox, less is better than more. No perfumes or cleanser in the bleach. Using a sponge (i like to use foam filter blocks) splash the solution around and wipe down all surfaces. Pay extra attention to the corners you avoided with the razor blade. If a little "grit" is desired salt sprinkled on the sponge works well without harming the glass or interacting with the bleach. When done rinse, rinse, and rinse again. I'd even let dry and then repeat the rinse cycle one more time and use a dechlorinator when you refill. Oh yeah, throw out the sponge so you don't introduce chlorine using it later.
If your not comfortable using a toxic cleanser like bleach, salt and vinegar make a safe and usually adequate cleanser. About a half cup of vinegar to a gallon of warm water in the bottom of the tank. Pour the salt on a wet sponge to form a paste and scrub away. You still want to rinse well but not as fanaticly as with the bleach.
No aquarium fish (or crustacean) should ever be released. The examples of this are overwhelming, even with a diminutive critter.
In either case crayfish are best kept by themselves. With a few exceptions one usually kills the other. I've kept crayfish twice in mixed tanks and each time the crayfish was killed while molting. Once by a 3" bullhead, and once by a 5" african knife fish. Having had it for 3 years I imagine you see how interesting they can be. Consider getting a small tank (10 gal?) just for the crayfish, but the hex doesn't give him much "floor space".
As for cleaning out your old tank, In my experience a single edged razor blade is the best tool but needs to be used with caution. Don't get into the corners a scrape the sealant. Hold the blade with the full cutting edge in contact with the glass and at an angle as low as you can maneuver holding the blade. I hold the blade with my fingers as I find any of the scraping tools get in the way. I underlined glass because I'd think twice if it's an acrylic tank.
Again, with proper precaution, you can bleach a glass tank. With the tank empty, glass scraped and all debris washed out out add about 3-4 gallons of warm water to this add about a 1/4 cup of clorox, less is better than more. No perfumes or cleanser in the bleach. Using a sponge (i like to use foam filter blocks) splash the solution around and wipe down all surfaces. Pay extra attention to the corners you avoided with the razor blade. If a little "grit" is desired salt sprinkled on the sponge works well without harming the glass or interacting with the bleach. When done rinse, rinse, and rinse again. I'd even let dry and then repeat the rinse cycle one more time and use a dechlorinator when you refill. Oh yeah, throw out the sponge so you don't introduce chlorine using it later.
If your not comfortable using a toxic cleanser like bleach, salt and vinegar make a safe and usually adequate cleanser. About a half cup of vinegar to a gallon of warm water in the bottom of the tank. Pour the salt on a wet sponge to form a paste and scrub away. You still want to rinse well but not as fanaticly as with the bleach.
No aquarium fish (or crustacean) should ever be released. The examples of this are overwhelming, even with a diminutive critter.
ghinksmon said:
I watched it kill two of the koi. There is a large plant in the tank. It would climb to the top of the tank and then as the koi swam by it would launch itself off the plant and snag the koi's tail as it passed by. It was always doing this too them. I didnt think it could kill them as the koi were around 4 inches long. But it did it. The koi just never fought back. At one point I even had a freshwater eal in there and it killed it too. Its a mean little *******. The only thing it doesnt bother is extremely small fish, like a neon or goldfish less then an inch. How long is the life span of a crayfish? I dont want to get rid of it. although my gf keeps hinting at frying him up with some butter. *shakes head* but then again it was her koi he killed.
:mad2:
TheMightyQueenPixie
Best Invention EVER!
Personally i like crayfish, but they are kiling machines....Id give him the 10 gal and move the 30...
That's exactly what my ghost shrimp are doing! I actually caught one of them doing it today with a kuhli loach! He was hanging over a rock and every time a loach swam by he would try to grab it.frkza said:
Then later on I saw one come down from the top of the tank with an oto cat, sans both eyes, in its claws. My cats like to hang onto the glass up there.
That's it. The shrimp are history. IF I can catch them.
Roan
I have no ide.... heheheh, feed them to my son's lobster?willy:-) said:
Muahahahah!
I have to CATCH them first. Have you ever tried to catch a shrimp in a 36g planted, mega hiding place tank? Argh!
Roan