Crayfish

[ChickenScratch]

Hi, I want a way to get rid of some baby ivory snails, and I was thinking about getting a crayfish. The baby snails I have are about 1/4-1/2 inch. I was going to put the crayfish in a 5 gallon tank and feed it some of the snails.

Do you think 5 gallons is enough for a crayfish, and do you think the crayfish will eat the snails?


Thanks, Seth

 

[superjalami30]

5 gallons would "do" for one crayfish, but 10 would be better.
10 g would give a little more room for hiding places and simply room to move.
The crayfish will eat the snails.
they eat just about anything they can catch, and theres a pretty good chance they can catch a snail.

 

[ChickenScratch]

ok thanks for the info

 

[Snailguy101]

Wait just so you know they won't eat the whole snail just the SNAIL inside the shell not the shell just so you know

 

[moray]

it will need to eat things other than snails, vegetation is a large part of their diet. Also the odd bit of fish etc. to make sure it gets all the nutrients it needs.

 

[ChickenScratch]

I have some live plants in my 20 gallon i will feed the crayfish some of. I heard the crayfish will eat and/or pull up any plants planted in its tank.

 

[superjalami30]

Crayfish dig and push the substrate all over the place.

I use sand in my tank, I think this helps keep the plants rooted most of the time, large or medium gravel makes it harder for the plants to stay rooted.

Sooner or later some plants may end up being uprooted.
I have live plants in with my electric blue crayfish but rarely does he uproot them, and when he does I just replant 'em.
And, your crayfish will only eat them when he's not being fed by you.
He may "nibble", but he wont destroy them if he's got enough food being given to him/her.

 

[ChickenScratch]

Ok thanks for your reply.

One more question, do crayfish need to be able to get out of the water like crabs, or are they completly aquatic?

 

[superjalami30]

They are completely aquatic.
Be sure to seal the top of the tank TOTALLY, they will escape if given the chance.
Air hoses, filter intakes, plants and tall rocks can be an escape route.
Basically just make sure there are no holes anywhere, even if its small and you think it wont be able to fit threw, seal it off, you'd be surprised what they can fit through.
I've had a few wild crayfish I caught in rivers around here escape, thankfully I was able to find them quickly and return them to they're tank.

In the wild they will leave the water, but in captivity they can stay put.

Just make sure you have a lot of hiding places and a LOT of airation.
They will suffocate if the water isnt replenished with oxygen.
An air stone wont do enough, not in my opinion anyways, I use a powerhead with a lot of "umph" to disturb the surface, and use the air line to add more air "action" to the water.
Speakin of that, I have a couple of tetra's in my crayfish tank that chase the airbubbles, it looks like they are trying to "eat" them to be honest, but it could be just playing too.

 

[ChickenScratch]

Well my new crayfish is happily hiding in his tank . Thanks for everyones input.

 

[superjalami30]

Anytime