I had one for a short while even though I rarely ever saw him. Then one day I found his dried up carcass behind my couch.
Your Experience with crayfish
- Thread starter fish_freak
- Start date
I'm on crayfish #3 (first 2 died of natural causes) and have enver had any problems.
The current crayfish tends to ignore all other fish. At first I put him in with my redtail shark, and the shark would literally try to push the crayfish, and the crayfish would push back.
The crayfish has never snapped at any fish, even if the fish is sitting right in front of his claws.
My crayfish have been with loaches, catfish, and other bottom-dwellers with no problems. I also have never had a cray escape or etc.
No problems here!
They are great fun to watch and will perform many wacky antics.
The current crayfish tends to ignore all other fish. At first I put him in with my redtail shark, and the shark would literally try to push the crayfish, and the crayfish would push back.
The crayfish has never snapped at any fish, even if the fish is sitting right in front of his claws.
My crayfish have been with loaches, catfish, and other bottom-dwellers with no problems. I also have never had a cray escape or etc.
No problems here!
They are great fun to watch and will perform many wacky antics.
Trying to generalize about crayfish is like trying to generalize about other taxa--it is difficult. You wouldn't make a generalization about all fish after just owning neon tetras, and it makes just as little sense for us to do the same for you for crayfish. Behavior and temperament varies by species, and within species they can even vary considerably between individuals. My M.S. research was done on Cambarus diogenes. These are aggressive, powerful crayfish which would not be appropriate in any aquarium. They will tear apart and eat anything living which they can catch--insects, fish, plants, even each other! On the other hand, there are some more docile species which would probably do fairly well in a community aquarium (although again, within such species you will still find aggressive individuals who will cause you headaches). I am unfortunately not familiar with those species, so I can not suggest any, but just search on the web for any species you find for sale and you should find information on them. Anything generically labelled as "crayfish" you should avoid, or at least be ready to yank out of your tank at the first sign of problems.
Roan Art said:
The first 2 I bought at a local petco for like $1.29 each. They were the regular brown type. I don't know a scientific name. Looked like the same things I caught in local streams & ponds when I was younger here in CT.
The latest addition is a blue p. alleni that I bought from a LFS here in Manchester, CT. ($35 - kinda pricey, but he's cool so it's worth it.)
Ah, the alleni is the procambarus alleni, aka Hammer's Cobalt Blue which is what I got.pedzola said:
They ARE cool, ain't they?
Roan
I was thinking about the cobalt blue myself hence this thread. I think it would do alright in my 90 gal cichlid tank. I dont think anyone would bother it except maybe my pictus cat who picks on everyone. Are they really 30 dollars now? I used to see them in petco for 15 but they havent had any in a while so I dont know if the price went up.
The LFS that I got him has sort of high prices on all livestock.
Also, males are much cheaper. For whatever reason this store only carried females. Males you can expect $10-$15 apiece I think. Females $25-$35.
So I guess I should call it a "her" but it's hard to think of a lobster w/big claws as a girl for whatever reason.
One of the main things to consider w/a crayfish is that they prefer a lower temp than many tropical fish prefer. I think 65-72 degrees is preferable for most crays. More like goldfish temperatures.
They will survive fine at higher temps but their metabolism speeds up and they will have a shorter lifespan. One of the most common causes of death in crays is dying while molting... and higher temps cause them to molt more often.
Also, males are much cheaper. For whatever reason this store only carried females. Males you can expect $10-$15 apiece I think. Females $25-$35.
So I guess I should call it a "her" but it's hard to think of a lobster w/big claws as a girl for whatever reason.
One of the main things to consider w/a crayfish is that they prefer a lower temp than many tropical fish prefer. I think 65-72 degrees is preferable for most crays. More like goldfish temperatures.
They will survive fine at higher temps but their metabolism speeds up and they will have a shorter lifespan. One of the most common causes of death in crays is dying while molting... and higher temps cause them to molt more often.
There were some forums I used to visit... I think they're here... www.bluecrayfish.com. Lots of info.
