Crayfish Question

[darkwolf29a]

I have a crayfish (I think he's a red), who is digging to China...ok...trying to dig to China. I'm preparing a 55 gallon tank, and he'll be it's firsst inhabitant, since I think..........(Here's the question) he needs to molt again. Is that right? He's never dug before, so the new mannerism is confusing.

Also...I have been feeding him tropical fish food, along with everything else in the tank.

I'm thinking about trying something else for him, but I'm not sure what to feed him.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

 

[GoldLenny]

They like to have a place to hide when they molt to be protected from predators... even ones that may not exist at the moment. Put a clay flower pot in the tank at an angle so it can crawl under the opening like a cave. It should also have some type of permanent cave in the future.... that's why it's trying to dig one.

 

[darkwolf29a]

I figured something like that. It's just weird, because he has a log to hide under, but then...he just started digging. I'm thinking the log might be too small now.

Sheesh...they grow up so fast. *sniff*

 

[raptorrex]

I have a crayfish (I think he's a red), who is digging to China...ok...trying to dig to China. I'm preparing a 55 gallon tank, and he'll be it's firsst inhabitant, since I think..........(Here's the question) he needs to molt again. Is that right? He's never dug before, so the new mannerism is confusing.

Also...I have been feeding him tropical fish food, along with everything else in the tank.

I'm thinking about trying something else for him, but I'm not sure what to feed him.

Any thoughts?

Thanks.

lol some cray love to dig. indeed, if you keep the cray on its own, its really fun just to pop in the gravel and then just throw in most of you deccor. over the next month the Cray will arrange the tank to its liking. it makes a really good time laps montage. goldlenny is indeed right they need hides, but not only for moulting, rest and sleep are all done there. try getting a vase of wine bottle, one of those that have a very wide neck, lol they look like the things they give men to pee in in hospital. they cray will happily move in, and i see many vids and pics of them moulting in them, something that happens out of sight, or in the dark, unless you have a glass hide!

lol you see what i mean

as for food, most Cray eat anything. flake, shrimp pellets, algae waffers, roast chicken, fresh cucumber, fresh peas, potato. i would avoid both blood worm, it is very fatty and both fresh and frozen, can be high in bacteria. not a problem for fish, but Cray are prone to bacterial infection.

which brings me to my next comment. it is vitally important you find out which Cray you have. there is only one true tropical Cray, the Redclaw/blue lobster, Cherax quadricarinatus. as i have said Cray are prone to bacterial infections. keeping one above its natural temperature, will only increase the chances of this happening. and with some it can send them into a protective coma! with the exception of the Redclaw. most Cray have this defence, when faced with ether too high or too low a temp.

 

[darkwolf29a]

I did some research into my crawfish problem...I have a female and she has laid eggs, but...they aren't fertilized, I don't think. There are only a few that I can see and they don't appear fertile. I have to keep an eye on that. She's my favorite animal in the tank, and I can't have her harmed by the fish...I'll flush all 4 of them first, and give her the whole tank. LOL I am, in fact, considering leaving her in the 10 gallon and just moving the fish to the 55, but I haven't decided yet.

 

[raptorrex]

I did some research into my crawfish problem...I have a female and she has laid eggs, but...they aren't fertilized, I don't think. There are only a few that I can see and they don't appear fertile. I have to keep an eye on that. She's my favorite animal in the tank, and I can't have her harmed by the fish...I'll flush all 4 of them first, and give her the whole tank. LOL I am, in fact, considering leaving her in the 10 gallon and just moving the fish to the 55, but I haven't decided yet.

lol i love my Cray too, though i keep mine in a community. but you will need to go a good bit bigger than 10G if you wish to keep fish with a Red brick! i would have thought 20g would be ok. though how many fish you wish to keep with here will have an effect too.

 

[darkwolf29a]

Honestly, I bought the 55g for a marine tank. But, now with the fish I do have...3 Tiger Barbs and 1 Phantom Neon Tetra...plus Charlie(The Cray. ) I think the 10g tank is too small. So, I figured if I went ahead and used the 55 plus the 20g sump....I can a lot of things with the tank, plants, more rocks, and such things. At this point, I just want to make sure that my fish have plenty of room. LOL And...I figured I could throw a few more in plus have a few shrimp running around. I don't plan on expensive fish, because...I figure, eventually, I'll find something that my cray likes to eat. LOL

 

[raptorrex]

Honestly, I bought the 55g for a marine tank. But, now with the fish I do have...3 Tiger Barbs and 1 Phantom Neon Tetra...plus Charlie(The Cray. ) I think the 10g tank is too small. So, I figured if I went ahead and used the 55 plus the 20g sump....I can a lot of things with the tank, plants, more rocks, and such things. At this point, I just want to make sure that my fish have plenty of room. LOL And...I figured I could throw a few more in plus have a few shrimp running around. I don't plan on expensive fish, because...I figure, eventually, I'll find something that my cray likes to eat. LOL

lol the plants wont last long, but all else seems just right. just the right size for a community with a Cray, imo. you might like to do a search for "Crayfish in the community" in my name, maybe it could help. there are a few of us here, who do keep community's. but posting on the subject is, err rare. its often hard to do so, because of peoples misconceptions and or bad experiences, with Cray. i have a fairly good community, with my Redclaw, and we have one member who has had a P clarki, in a community!!!!!!!!!!! , for more than two years! we both also know someone who has a Redclaw that will do anything to get at fish! as i said they all have their own characters.

however you do it, Cray are a great creature to keep. they all seem to have distinct personality's. they are acrobatic and often just plain daft, but there is always something happening in you tank.

 

[darkwolf29a]

Yeah, I've noticed that there is a lot of weird information about cray's out there. Personally, I love my little girl to death and just want to make sure that she's happy.

Honestly, she is the major reason why I'm using the 55g. I want her to have too much room. And I'm also going to be using blasting sand instead of gravel this time...because I like the look and it'll be easier for her make her pits in. But....there will be A LOT more rocks and hiding places for her to play around in too. Basically, I'm changing her complete world and trying to give her more of everything, even if that makes the fish unhappy. LOL

I'm also interested to see what she'll do with the plants and some shrimp. If she eats both...perfect. If not, then maybe the fish will. I'll be planting a lot in the sump, so that I can pull the half eaten ones out and let them regrow shoots and such in the sump, while the new ones are getting eaten up top. LOL.

I think I'm getting for A LOT more work, but I also think it'll be worth it in the long run, and I think I'll have a happier tank over all. My fish really like the log I just bought, since it has some fake plants on now that they play around with.

 

[raptorrex]

Yeah, I've noticed that there is a lot of weird information about cray's out there. Personally, I love my little girl to death and just want to make sure that she's happy.


I'm also interested to see what she'll do with the plants and some shrimp. If she eats both...perfect. If not, then maybe the fish will. I'll be planting a lot in the sump, so that I can pull the half eaten ones out and let them regrow shoots and such in the sump, while the new ones are getting eaten up top. LOL.

I think I'm getting for A LOT more work, but I also think it'll be worth it in the long run, and I think I'll have a happier tank over all. My fish really like the log I just bought, since it has some fake plants on now that they play around with.

lol my guess would be Shrimp first to go swiftly followed by plants. as for if it goes any futher. only time and care will tell.

 

[darkwolf29a]

Quite possible. But, until I know for sure...I won't be putting anything expensive in there. She has already proven that she has the temperment for living with fish, as she leaves all of the fish alone.

When I put her in the tank, I told the Tetra good-bye and Charlie to enjoy her dinner. LOL It didn't happen. Then, I found a sale at LFS 5 Tiger Brabs for $5. I figured I would try them to. Well, 2 of them died fairly quickly, and she left the bodies alone. She, pretty much ignores everything, so....we'll see what she'll play with.

 

[raptorrex]

Quite possible. But, until I know for sure...I won't be putting anything expensive in there. She has already proven that she has the temperment for living with fish, as she leaves all of the fish alone.

When I put her in the tank, I told the Tetra good-bye and Charlie to enjoy her dinner. LOL It didn't happen. Then, I found a sale at LFS 5 Tiger Brabs for $5. I figured I would try them to. Well, 2 of them died fairly quickly, and she left the bodies alone. She, pretty much ignores everything, so....we'll see what she'll play with.

lol yep. keep us up to date!

 

[darkwolf29a]

Well, the new 55 gallon tank is in...I gotta take some pictures. I moved the stand upstairs (I live on the second floor) and got water started in it last night. I've made a few things for Charlie...and will be making a few adjustments, cycling, etc. before the current fish get moved into the big tank. I'll also be adding a bunch of plants and several places for her to hide. I'm hoping that she'll get bigger, as she'll have a lot more room.

I did drop a piece of chichken in her tank last night....I don't think I have ever seen her attack something that quickly. LOL It was quite funny to watch her go to town on that thing.

I'm guessing she's still younger, since I've heard that they become more vegitarian as they get older. Personally, I was glad to see her do that, since it means...if I do things right with her, she'll around for awhile.

 

[raptorrex]

lol they do move away from protein as they age. but most still love a bit of meat every now and then. but when growing fast, younger, they grab all they can get. Violet used to rush out for the chicken i poped in, now she will leave it till she really feels like it.

she will sure love the plants, if the plants feel the same is another matter, lol. i found that plant pots, terracotta, cut in half make good caves, but stacks of stones can do the same thing. that's the beauty of this, there are so many things that do the trick, its possible to see many tanks, and not one of them will have the same solution!