Time To Plan The Crayfish Tank!

[Shovelman]

Hey there everyone! Lets get right to the questions shall we?

So i have a 20 gallon tall aquarium that is sitting in idle right now and i have decided to dedicate it as a crayfish tank, as ive had a crayfish before and find them acually more interesting than fish in some ways.

so first my tank idea is to create an aquascape with lots of driftwood, but find peice that branch out alot so it will occupy the whole region of the tank, simply put, alot of sticks so it utalizes the tall factor of the tank (hopefully crafish will climb up and adventure around. Also ill be finding some cool rocks, mainly slate, to make caves and crevices for them to hide in as well as explore.

next i was wondering if anyone had and species of crayfish theyd reccomend. I personally was leaning towards possibly a single male Cherax quadricarinatus as i find them stunning with their tiny splash of red on their claws (cooler looking than the plain blue crays from florida). I realize this species gets pretty large being 8" at max but i was still wondering if i could keep a male and a female together in my 20 gallon tall. If my tank is too small any other species reccomendations whould be greatly appreciated. thanks all!

 

[gavinjayanand]

I had one of these in a community tank, but rehousing was necessary as it got a bit 'nippy' in the night. I'd find fish carcasses in the morning and eventually, I caught the culprit in action, taking down a guppy. It would also destroy my live plants (although some have success with them).

Keeping two should be, in theory, alright. Provide as many hiding spaces as possible and make sure you give them plenty of room to run around. You will eventually find that the big one will chase the smaller one around the tank if they happen upon each other. I've found that the best way to keep both together would be to tie their claws with some rubber band. This stopped fights from becoming more serious and if properly tied down, you can be sure they won't slip the bands off (they are very weak at opening their claws, although the reverse is true for shutting them )

As regards climbing places, make sure the lid is VERY securely fastened. For some reason, crayfish have the need to walk and they will use whatever is handy (cords, air lines, wood poking out the slightest bit from the top of the water) to try and get out. I learnt that the hard way when one went for a night walk and was never found again.

That being said, they make a great pet. Very interesting to watch them eat, especially if you've got a greedy one that rushes at food. If you're keeping it alone, try to get an aggressive individual, as watching it charge around the tank, cleaning and nibbling up bits of uneaten food will be very interesting. It will also try to charge at your fingers when you're making a water change, so watch out!

All the best and good luck!

Gavin

 

[Shovelman]

I had one of these in a community tank, but rehousing was necessary as it got a bit 'nippy' in the night. I'd find fish carcasses in the morning and eventually, I caught the culprit in action, taking down a guppy. It would also destroy my live plants (although some have success with them).

Keeping two should be, in theory, alright. Provide as many hiding spaces as possible and make sure you give them plenty of room to run around. You will eventually find that the big one will chase the smaller one around the tank if they happen upon each other. I've found that the best way to keep both together would be to tie their claws with some rubber band. This stopped fights from becoming more serious and if properly tied down, you can be sure they won't slip the bands off (they are very weak at opening their claws, although the reverse is true for shutting them )

As regards climbing places, make sure the lid is VERY securely fastened. For some reason, crayfish have the need to walk and they will use whatever is handy (cords, air lines, wood poking out the slightest bit from the top of the water) to try and get out. I learnt that the hard way when one went for a night walk and was never found again.

That being said, they make a great pet. Very interesting to watch them eat, especially if you've got a greedy one that rushes at food. If you're keeping it alone, try to get an aggressive individual, as watching it charge around the tank, cleaning and nibbling up bits of uneaten food will be very interesting. It will also try to charge at your fingers when you're making a water change, so watch out!

All the best and good luck!

Gavin

Thanks Gavin for taking the time for writing that! I appreciate your experienced reply! I really just want to get a second opinion on the "keeping two crays together" especially these sized ones, and even if i manage to find a male and a female. Everything else is a go!

 

[gavinjayanand]

No worries mate, hope everything works out well. Fascinating creatures, these crayfish.

 

[raptorrex]

Hey there everyone! Lets get right to the questions shall we?

So i have a 20 gallon tall aquarium that is sitting in idle right now and i have decided to dedicate it as a crayfish tank, as ive had a crayfish before and find them acually more interesting than fish in some ways.

so first my tank idea is to create an aquascape with lots of driftwood, but find peice that branch out alot so it will occupy the whole region of the tank, simply put, alot of sticks so it utalizes the tall factor of the tank (hopefully crafish will climb up and adventure around. Also ill be finding some cool rocks, mainly slate, to make caves and crevices for them to hide in as well as explore.

next i was wondering if anyone had and species of crayfish theyd reccomend. I personally was leaning towards possibly a single male Cherax quadricarinatus as i find them stunning with their tiny splash of red on their claws (cooler looking than the plain blue crays from florida). I realize this species gets pretty large being 8" at max but i was still wondering if i could keep a male and a female together in my 20 gallon tall. If my tank is too small any other species reccomendations whould be greatly appreciated. thanks all!

the Quad is a good choice, the only choice it you want a tropical cray.
20g is too small for 2 quads, 30 (ok at a pinch) 40 better.

for god sake, whatever you do, don't put rubber bands on its claws. if you cant keep em so they dont fight, DON'T KEEP EM!!

quads don't all have red patches, only the males have those. females are all blue/green with purple and red flecks.

some love to climb. most love to dig and all love to have 3 or 4 hiding places (each). they are known for escape, but its more often bad water conditions that cause that. my lid is, now, open backed. in 5 years not one quad has got out of my tank. but they are varied in personalty, so you will need to judge over time.

they like well filtered, but not necessarily, clean water. most important is a high O2 content.


as for keeping with fish? well, it not for the faint hearted. an not to be recommended. especially with no experience with crays. but, it is possible and does work., though the keeper is the linchpin here.


if you get ONE, and see it rushing out for food. you ain't feeding it enough. or, directly/indirectly, have taught it to. any cray acting like that. is a danger to anything/everything in the tank.

finally, here is some fun if you get one for your tank:
fill and cycle the tank. put in you substrate. then just throw in all the deccor you want. EVERYTHING, wood caves et al just dump them in the middle, now sit back. over the next month, or so, the cray will position everything to its liking. its facinating, and gives you a great insight ito you cray. both its habits and its disposition.

 

[gavinjayanand]

I stand corrected. Excellent advice and coming from someone who is evidently much more experienced, it's a no-brainer. Thanks a lot Raptorrex.

 

[raptorrex]

I stand corrected. Excellent advice and coming from someone who is evidently much more experienced, it's a no-brainer. Thanks a lot Raptorrex.

sorry guy, didnt mean to" correct" you. more give you a nudge in the right direction. lol

take a trip to www.crayfishmates.com. those guys really know their Crayfish. I'm on as tylor, but don't get there much nowadays

 

[Shovelman]

Ah ok Raptorrex i didnt know what you meant for a sec in my newer post until i took a look here hahaha, but ive officially decided to utualize my 10 gallon as a cray tank instead of my 20 (20 will be for a school of cories and a pair of GBR , also heavily planted too?. So ill just swap out my plants from my 10 gallon and throw in my oddball peices of driftwood and some cool slate rocks in...not that fond of my old cheesy roman pillars but it might make things humerous (KRACKEN CRAYFISH), and to get some o2 or at least surface agetation for o2 in the water some craftily placed bubble walls or bubble effects somewhere to have some fun :b hahaha

 

[raptorrex]

Ah ok Raptorrex i didnt know what you meant for a sec in my newer post until i took a look here hahaha, but ive officially decided to utualize my 10 gallon as a cray tank instead of my 20 (20 will be for a school of cories and a pair of GBR , also heavily planted too?. So ill just swap out my plants from my 10 gallon and throw in my oddball peices of driftwood and some cool slate rocks in...not that fond of my old cheesy roman pillars but it might make things humerous (KRACKEN CRAYFISH), and to get some o2 or at least surface agetation for o2 in the water some craftily placed bubble walls or bubble effects somewhere to have some fun :b hahaha

some crays love bubble stones/curtains. but, as you said, surface agitation s the way to go
just chuck (throw) the pillars in, the cray will place them.

 

[Shovelman]

Ah ok Raptorrex i didnt know what you meant for a sec in my newer post until i took a look here hahaha, but ive officially decided to utualize my 10 gallon as a cray tank instead of my 20 (20 will be for a school of cories and a pair of GBR , also heavily planted too?. So ill just swap out my plants from my 10 gallon and throw in my oddball peices of driftwood and some cool slate rocks in...not that fond of my old cheesy roman pillars but it might make things humerous (KRACKEN CRAYFISH), and to get some o2 or at least surface agetation for o2 in the water some craftily placed bubble walls or bubble effects somewhere to have some fun :b hahaha

some crays love bubble stones/curtains. but, as you said, surface agitation s the way to go
just chuck (throw) the pillars in, the cray will place them.

thanks! youve been a great deal of help in my cray tank planning ideas.... i think ill start a journal about this one.... hmmm