Blue Crayfish!

[Shovelman]

Hey there everyone! I have an empty 20 gallon tall aquarium and wasa wondering if a single blue crayfish is a suitable inhabitant! I will be redecorating the tank with rocky structures sine plants dont go over with these guys (eats them from what ive heard).

so here are some of my questions.
A. Should I have harder water, or higher ph? And where does calcium in the water come from, as most of the time theres not enough calcium in the water to help along the shell/ exoskeleton.
B. Shrimp pellets and algae waffers ok?
C. I know they will eat anything they catch but what about some little zippy fish, like white clouds? Which arent that priceiest fish, and if he grabs one then its not a that big of a deal....
D. Are there any hardy plants that are durable? or are plants simply not an option unless i want to buy a bunch each day to replace eaten ones?

Thanks to all who reply!

 

[raptorrex]

Hey there everyone! I have an empty 20 gallon tall aquarium and wasa wondering if a single blue crayfish is a suitable inhabitant! I will be redecorating the tank with rocky structures sine plants dont go over with these guys (eats them from what ive heard).

so here are some of my questions.
A. Should I have harder water, or higher ph? And where does calcium in the water come from, as most of the time theres not enough calcium in the water to help along the shell/ exoskeleton.
B. Shrimp pellets and algae waffers ok?
C. I know they will eat anything they catch but what about some little zippy fish, like white clouds? Which arent that priceiest fish, and if he grabs one then its not a that big of a deal....
D. Are there any hardy plants that are durable? or are plants simply not an option unless i want to buy a bunch each day to replace eaten ones?

Thanks to all who reply!

ok first we need to find what your "blue Crayfish", actually is. this is important as, most Crays are temperate, but one isnt.

general rules:

water between 6.5 and 8.5Ph is fine for crays. adding calcium will not help. there is already enough in the water table.
crays are detrivores. eating rotting veg and animal matter. but, by far the largest proportion is VEG.
no crays will not eat "anything they can catch". indeed, unless starved and taught, crays don't hunt!!!
plants, for the most part, are a bust. crays just dig them up, let them die, then eat them.
many crays like to dig, so a small grade gravel is good, crushed coral is a good substrate. sand not so much.
you need loads of "hides/caves". vitally important.

keeping with fish?
North American cray, dont always do well. but then the should never be in a tank with tropical fish, they dont live at those temperatures.
as for others? well it can be done, however its a project for a few years ahead, experience is a must.

 

[Shovelman]

Hey there everyone! I have an empty 20 gallon tall aquarium and wasa wondering if a single blue crayfish is a suitable inhabitant! I will be redecorating the tank with rocky structures sine plants dont go over with these guys (eats them from what ive heard).

so here are some of my questions.
A. Should I have harder water, or higher ph? And where does calcium in the water come from, as most of the time theres not enough calcium in the water to help along the shell/ exoskeleton.
B. Shrimp pellets and algae waffers ok?
C. I know they will eat anything they catch but what about some little zippy fish, like white clouds? Which arent that priceiest fish, and if he grabs one then its not a that big of a deal....
D. Are there any hardy plants that are durable? or are plants simply not an option unless i want to buy a bunch each day to replace eaten ones?

Thanks to all who reply!

ok first we need to find what your "blue Crayfish", actually is. this is important as, most Crays are temperate, but one isnt.

general rules:

water between 6.5 and 8.5Ph is fine for crays. adding calcium will not help. there is already enough in the water table.
crays are detrivores. eating rotting veg and animal matter. but, by far the largest proportion is VEG.
no crays will not eat "anything they can catch". indeed, unless starved and taught, crays don't hunt!!!
plants, for the most part, are a bust. crays just dig them up, let them die, then eat them.
many crays like to dig, so a small grade gravel is good, crushed coral is a good substrate. sand not so much.
you need loads of "hides/caves". vitally important.

keeping with fish?
North American cray, dont always do well. but then the should never be in a tank with tropical fish, they dont live at those temperatures.
as for others? well it can be done, however its a project for a few years ahead, experience is a must.

Thanks for responding, and im pretty sure its a yabbie... i forgot the specific genius name or so on, and will be calling my LFS to ask about the details. And as of right now i have that plain old black gravel thats medium grain im pretty sure, will this do? Im planning on glueing together a bunch of rocks that i have with aquarium apoxy, so theres no doubt that there will be hiding places..

 

[raptorrex]

Hey there everyone! I have an empty 20 gallon tall aquarium and wasa wondering if a single blue crayfish is a suitable inhabitant! I will be redecorating the tank with rocky structures sine plants dont go over with these guys (eats them from what ive heard).

so here are some of my questions.
A. Should I have harder water, or higher ph? And where does calcium in the water come from, as most of the time theres not enough calcium in the water to help along the shell/ exoskeleton.
B. Shrimp pellets and algae waffers ok?
C. I know they will eat anything they catch but what about some little zippy fish, like white clouds? Which arent that priceiest fish, and if he grabs one then its not a that big of a deal....
D. Are there any hardy plants that are durable? or are plants simply not an option unless i want to buy a bunch each day to replace eaten ones?

Thanks to all who reply!

ok first we need to find what your "blue Crayfish", actually is. this is important as, most Crays are temperate, but one isnt.

general rules:

water between 6.5 and 8.5Ph is fine for crays. adding calcium will not help. there is already enough in the water table.
crays are detrivores. eating rotting veg and animal matter. but, by far the largest proportion is VEG.
no crays will not eat "anything they can catch". indeed, unless starved and taught, crays don't hunt!!!
plants, for the most part, are a bust. crays just dig them up, let them die, then eat them.
many crays like to dig, so a small grade gravel is good, crushed coral is a good substrate. sand not so much.
you need loads of "hides/caves". vitally important.

keeping with fish?
North American cray, dont always do well. but then the should never be in a tank with tropical fish, they dont live at those temperatures.
as for others? well it can be done, however its a project for a few years ahead, experience is a must.

Thanks for responding, and im pretty sure its a yabbie... i forgot the specific genius name or so on, and will be calling my LFS to ask about the details. And as of right now i have that plain old black gravel thats medium grain im pretty sure, will this do? Im planning on glueing together a bunch of rocks that i have with aquarium apoxy, so theres no doubt that there will be hiding places..

environment sound ok.

however "Yabbie", technically cherax destructor, is a temperate crayfish. (unheated tank.) and, if you are from the UK, Illegal to keep.

Cherax Quadricarinatus

(legal in the UK) is a tropical Crayfish.
any chance of a picture?

 

[Shovelman]

Hey there everyone! I have an empty 20 gallon tall aquarium and wasa wondering if a single blue crayfish is a suitable inhabitant! I will be redecorating the tank with rocky structures sine plants dont go over with these guys (eats them from what ive heard).

so here are some of my questions.
A. Should I have harder water, or higher ph? And where does calcium in the water come from, as most of the time theres not enough calcium in the water to help along the shell/ exoskeleton.
B. Shrimp pellets and algae waffers ok?
C. I know they will eat anything they catch but what about some little zippy fish, like white clouds? Which arent that priceiest fish, and if he grabs one then its not a that big of a deal....
D. Are there any hardy plants that are durable? or are plants simply not an option unless i want to buy a bunch each day to replace eaten ones?

Thanks to all who reply!

ok first we need to find what your "blue Crayfish", actually is. this is important as, most Crays are temperate, but one isnt.

general rules:

water between 6.5 and 8.5Ph is fine for crays. adding calcium will not help. there is already enough in the water table.
crays are detrivores. eating rotting veg and animal matter. but, by far the largest proportion is VEG.
no crays will not eat "anything they can catch". indeed, unless starved and taught, crays don't hunt!!!
plants, for the most part, are a bust. crays just dig them up, let them die, then eat them.
many crays like to dig, so a small grade gravel is good, crushed coral is a good substrate. sand not so much.
you need loads of "hides/caves". vitally important.

keeping with fish?
North American cray, dont always do well. but then the should never be in a tank with tropical fish, they dont live at those temperatures.
as for others? well it can be done, however its a project for a few years ahead, experience is a must.

Thanks for responding, and im pretty sure its a yabbie... i forgot the specific genius name or so on, and will be calling my LFS to ask about the details. And as of right now i have that plain old black gravel thats medium grain im pretty sure, will this do? Im planning on glueing together a bunch of rocks that i have with aquarium apoxy, so theres no doubt that there will be hiding places..

environment sound ok.

however "Yabbie", technically cherax destructor, is a temperate crayfish. (unheated tank.) and, if you are from the UK, Illegal to keep.

Cherax Quadricarinatus

(legal in the UK) is a tropical Crayfish.
any chance of a picture?

Ill try and get a picture, but i also had another question. I just took out all the gravel because there was also white gravel mixed in and it was really bothering me as i did not like it. So would an undergravel filter be benificial to put in while my tank bottom is bare? Will if also provide appropriate areation as crayfish, if im correct, need lots or adequete amount of oxygen (as with any animal haha)? And would replaceing what gravel i took out with a larger grain work ok? or should i just stick with medium? PS ive got most of my slate rocks im putting in. Regardless of anyhting ill be recycling kind of or at least letting the tank sit with the new gravel and such for a couple of weeks to let the bacteria grow back.

 

[raptorrex]

Hey there everyone! I have an empty 20 gallon tall aquarium and wasa wondering if a single blue crayfish is a suitable inhabitant! I will be redecorating the tank with rocky structures sine plants dont go over with these guys (eats them from what ive heard).

so here are some of my questions.
A. Should I have harder water, or higher ph? And where does calcium in the water come from, as most of the time theres not enough calcium in the water to help along the shell/ exoskeleton.
B. Shrimp pellets and algae waffers ok?
C. I know they will eat anything they catch but what about some little zippy fish, like white clouds? Which arent that priceiest fish, and if he grabs one then its not a that big of a deal....
D. Are there any hardy plants that are durable? or are plants simply not an option unless i want to buy a bunch each day to replace eaten ones?

Thanks to all who reply!

ok first we need to find what your "blue Crayfish", actually is. this is important as, most Crays are temperate, but one isnt.

general rules:

water between 6.5 and 8.5Ph is fine for crays. adding calcium will not help. there is already enough in the water table.
crays are detrivores. eating rotting veg and animal matter. but, by far the largest proportion is VEG.
no crays will not eat "anything they can catch". indeed, unless starved and taught, crays don't hunt!!!
plants, for the most part, are a bust. crays just dig them up, let them die, then eat them.
many crays like to dig, so a small grade gravel is good, crushed coral is a good substrate. sand not so much.
you need loads of "hides/caves". vitally important.

keeping with fish?
North American cray, dont always do well. but then the should never be in a tank with tropical fish, they dont live at those temperatures.
as for others? well it can be done, however its a project for a few years ahead, experience is a must.

Thanks for responding, and im pretty sure its a yabbie... i forgot the specific genius name or so on, and will be calling my LFS to ask about the details. And as of right now i have that plain old black gravel thats medium grain im pretty sure, will this do? Im planning on glueing together a bunch of rocks that i have with aquarium apoxy, so theres no doubt that there will be hiding places..

environment sound ok.

however "Yabbie", technically cherax destructor, is a temperate crayfish. (unheated tank.) and, if you are from the UK, Illegal to keep.

Cherax Quadricarinatus

(legal in the UK) is a tropical Crayfish.
any chance of a picture?

Ill try and get a picture, but i also had another question. I just took out all the gravel because there was also white gravel mixed in and it was really bothering me as i did not like it. So would an undergravel filter be benificial to put in while my tank bottom is bare? Will if also provide appropriate areation as crayfish, if im correct, need lots or adequete amount of oxygen (as with any animal haha)? And would replaceing what gravel i took out with a larger grain work ok? or should i just stick with medium? PS ive got most of my slate rocks im putting in. Regardless of anyhting ill be recycling kind of or at least letting the tank sit with the new gravel and such for a couple of weeks to let the bacteria grow back.

Undergraval is no use, in this case. these guy benefit from a varied veg, diet. if you can, fresh ( well passed it best, but not shop bought)if you add a little roast, but fresh, chicken every third feed you are going to need a pretty good filter to control the waste. and as they eat from the ground. holding the waste and its ammonia, there, is not the best thing.
something like a Ehein 2013, is cheap, and ideal.

i am not surprised it go wee'd off when you messed with the substrate, that is its territory. however i do have a suggestion.

keep the substrate at the same size. but place all the ornaments, caves and other bits, in the middle of the tank. then just sit back and watch (over the next month) as the cray decorates its own house! its a fascinating thing. it also gives you an, insight, into the cray mind. this will help you out in the future.

crays, do indeed, need high O2, and very keen water (hence the suggestion if a cannister filter). its possible to suggest that, low O2 and bad water conditions, lead to the cray getting a name for escape. they are inquisitive, but i find escape is not a problem. though if you have a Yabbie, of any description, a 20g tank can look quite small, when its grown.

 

[Shovelman]

Thanks for all the info. I just wanted to clarify that i do not have the cray fish yet. I am looking at canister filters, and have found one on craigslist for 50$. Im still going to look for a new one however. And so undergravel filter is a no, so should i just get normal medium grain,or would a more so fine gravel be comnsidered? Sorry to repeat that question..