Crawfish/crayfish questions

[Rhys19]

I caught a crawfish at my creek and put him in a 3 gallon tank just 1 he is small maybe an inch or less he's pretty cool I like watching him move around! his little claws are cute anyways...

my question is what do I feed him?
Ik they eat dead fish or anything they can catch I could catch minnows for him but I think they might be too fast and skiddish, etc so could I drop some algae wafers or pellets in there or can they not grab and eat those?

he is not in my big tank due to me not wanting him to eat my other fish like my pleco, CAE, or my guppies/gouramis

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Crayfish will normally eat whatever they can catch, from fish eggs to fish, some snails, smaller crayfish, frogs, tadpoles, fish, etc.. As you've guessed, fish wouldn't feature highly in the diet, due to difficulties in catching them, so other arthropods, shrimp and smaller crayfish make up most of the diet.
If you can get hold of shrimp pellets, then they'd be the absolute best. A few of these daily and they contain not only shrimp, but the minerals necessary to facilitate good shell growth. Some veg would be good also.
Given the high protein nature of this feeding, you'll have to pay special attention to keeping the tank clean and more akin to a flowing stream, than a stagnant pool.

 

[Rhys19]

Crayfish will normally eat whatever they can catch, from fish eggs to fish, some snails, smaller crayfish, frogs, tadpoles, fish, etc.. As you've guessed, fish wouldn't feature highly in the diet, due to difficulties in catching them, so other arthropods, shrimp and smaller crayfish make up most of the diet.
If you can get hold of shrimp pellets, then they'd be the absolute best. A few of these daily and they contain not only shrimp, but the minerals necessary to facilitate good shell growth. Some veg would be good also.
Given the high protein nature of this feeding, you'll have to pay special attention to keeping the tank clean and more akin to a flowing stream, than a stagnant pool.

ah ok, so he would be able to eat the shrimp pellets? not entirely sure how they eat I didn't know if they could like grab them off the ground or not because I have a leftover bottle of bottom feeder shrimp pellets from when my clown loach died from my other post "Fish tank has ich" would those work it's API Bottom Feeder pellets with shrimp and then I also have some frozen brine shrimp cubes aswell

 

[Uberhoust]

From my point of view the first step would be to identify the crayfish species so that you can determine its care. A picture of your new creature would be helpful. Also the type of environment he was collected from would be helpful. The wild ones here I have seen frequently feeding on dead salmon, but I believe they are considered omnivores.

Just a heads up, be aware that in some jurisdictions it is considered illegal to capture and keep wildlife even invertebrates. There are a few introduced species of crayfish in North America so whatever you do, do not release the crayfish in another creek or water body.

 

[Rhys19]

Here is a picture of him,

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

ah ok, so he would be able to eat the shrimp pellets?

It would...just as shrimp would.

...not entirely sure how they eat I didn't know if they could like grab them off the ground or not...

Yup...they'll climb and wander wherever to find food, be it a pellet or a dead salmon carcass.

...I have a leftover bottle of bottom feeder shrimp pellets from when my clown loach died from my other post "Fish tank has ich" would those work?

Should do.

I also have some frozen brine shrimp cubes as well

Best to defrost these first, so the crayfish doesn't take to swimming to the surface for a meal.

 

[Rhys19]

It would...just as shrimp would.

Yup...they'll climb and wander wherever to find food, be it a pellet or a dead salmon carcass.

Should do.

Best to defrost these first, so the crayfish doesn't take to swimming to the surface for a meal.

I guess defrosting would be leaving them out for awhile not putting them in water as they'll just tear apart into small little pieces

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I guess defrosting would be leaving them out for awhile not putting them in water as they'll just tear apart into small little pieces

When I defrost frozen cubes of food, I put them in a little glass pot I have, full of warm aquarium water. I can them pour it all in, or a bit at a time.
Sometimes, I'll cut a cube into smaller pieces, saving some for later and putting them back in the freezer.

 

[Rhys19]

When I defrost frozen cubes of food, I put them in a little glass pot I have, full of warm aquarium water. I can them pour it all in, or a bit at a time.
Sometimes, I'll cut a cube into smaller pieces, saving some for later and putting them back in the freezer.

ah I see

 

[Rhys19]

so If I were to move it to a bigger tank would it eat other fish (alive)? like plecos, clown loaches, etc or no as long as I keep it fed? I've heard some other forums talk about it and some people have been fine and some they've hollowed out plecos

 

[Dajuyu]

Here is a picture of him, View attachment 142063

Looks like a Dwarf Craw Fish ... but then again hard to determine with only one picture. Craw fish also eat dead plants , dead fish rotten leaves , sinking pellets well they are not that fussy about the diet as they are scavengers .

They are nocturnal and mostly ate at night time when its pitch dark so leave sinking food before you went to bed and you can rest assured when you wake up in the morning those foods are gone for good.

 

[Rhys19]

Looks like a Dwarf Craw Fish ... but then again hard to determine with only one picture. Craw fish also eat dead plants , dead fish rotten leaves , sinking pellets well they are not that fussy about the diet as they are scavengers .

They are nocturnal and mostly ate at night time when its pitch dark so leave sinking food before you went to bed and you can rest assured when you wake up in the morning those foods are gone for good.

so they'll eat stuff that would rot in the tank? dead fish, dead leaves, etc? what about live fish?

 

[Rhys19]

oh wow something I just realized Plecos can live out of water for 30 hours!!! I did not know that so that's why this youtuber I watched picked a pleco and was holding it for like 5-10 minutes... and it didn't even flinch... and then crawfishes says they can survive several days as long as their gills are moist & if it's in a humid climate they could survive for months...

 

[Dajuyu]

so they'll eat stuff that would rot in the tank? dead fish, dead leaves, etc? what about live fish?

Live fish nah they are too fast for the Craw Daddy. if they can catch now that's a different story altogether. Fishes that stays in the substrate or fish that's weak yeah that will be a good preyed but no they can't eat live fish .

 

[Colin_T]

Freshwater crayfish are nocturnal predators/ scavengers and regularly catch fish at night when the fish are asleep.