australian blue lobsters

[Sarah Navarro]

Hi all,

I was at the lfs today and saw that they had some aust. blue lobsters (I
assume the aust. is for australian). Does anyone have any experience with
these? For a freshwater creature they sure are pretty. I have some
questions. Can they go in a community tank or do they eat other fish? Will
they eat the plants in a planted tank? What do they eat? Any info will be
helpful as I think I really want one or two. Thanks.

[blove]

i have experience with crayfish, wich is what the blue lobster is. I wish
they would stop callin them lobsters, lobsters are sal****er,
crayfish/crawfish/crawdads/yabbies, are freshwater. anyways, they will eat
what they can catch so they arnt safe for a community tank, they will also
rip apart plants, eat some, and generally rearrange a planted tank. But
they are interesting creatures and sure do have personality.

"Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
k.net...
> Hi all,
>
> I was at the lfs today and saw that they had some aust. blue lobsters (I
> assume the aust. is for australian). Does anyone have any experience with
> these? For a freshwater creature they sure are pretty. I have some
> questions. Can they go in a community tank or do they eat other fish?
> Will they eat the plants in a planted tank? What do they eat? Any info
> will be helpful as I think I really want one or two. Thanks.
>

[CanadianCray]

Was it a bright colored blue or a dark blue green color. There are two main
species of Australian crayfish for sale in North America. The Cherax
quadricarinatus (Red Claw Crayfish) Blue/green color, males get bright red
patch on claws. Or Cherax tenuimanus (Blue Marron) Bright blue crayfish. Red
claws need at least a 30gal tank & Marrons 50gal. The Redclaw can reach 12"
long but rarely exceeds 10". The Marron is the big boy that can get to 16"
but rarely exceeds 12". Definitely not a community tank fish. They will kill
& eat anything they can catch & actually learn & get better at hunting as
they get older. Red claws can be kept in groups & are fine with tropical
tank temperatures as they are from Queensland the tropical part of
Australia. Marrons need room temp. water & will not live long in warm water.
They also are too territorial to be kept together.
__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ ______________________

Basic Guidelines for Crayfish Care

By Craig Williams (CanadianCray)



All species of crayfish require clean, well oxygenated water. The water must
be circulated with a good filter or air stone of some kind at all times.
Crayfish will drown in stationary water in 6 hours due to the fact that
oxygen will settle to the top of the water column out of their reach. Water
parameters should be Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates <=10



North American crayfish due best in waters between 60F & 75F with 72F being
optimal. Australian crayfish are generally the same with the exception of
Cherax Quadricarinatus (Australian Redclaw). They can handle tropical
temperatures as they are from the tropical region of Australia near
Queensland. Keeping any crayfish in water warmer than they are used to in
nature can cause your crayfish stress, make them grow faster which in turn
will cause a shorter lifespan.

All crayfish have basically the same requirements when it comes to food.
They are all scavengers in nature & will eat whatever you give them or
whatever they find in the tank. This includes plants & whatever fish they
can catch. The general rule is a good quality shrimp pellet or one of the
many specialty foods avail. Like Hikkari Crab Cuisine or HBH Crab & Lobster
BITES. They also enjoy the odd frozen pea, potato & carrot. If you do it
correctly the can also be trained to hand feed taking the food right from
your fingers. They should be fed once per day max or every other day.
Remember in nature they aren't going to find food everyday. Once they reach
approx. 6" in size this amount can be increased.



All species of crayfish are great at escaping. Trust me it's happened to me
many times when I thought it wasn't possible. They love to climb & will find
any small opening in your lid. Secure all opening around filter intakes,
airlines etc. I mean secure like with duct tape. Or sheet metal & a welder.
LOL just kidding. If they do get out they can survive for a few hours but
only as long as their gills remain wet.



It is generally considered a bad idea to keep more than one crayfish in the
same tank together as they will fight & possibly kill each other. Although
this is a personal decision you will have to make as many people keep
multiple crays together. If you do decide to keep multiple crayfish together
make sure they have many, many hiding spots. They will need them when they
molt to stay safe from predators. North American crays require at least 10
gallons per crayfish & Australians require from 30-50gals per cray depending
on species as the Aussies can get VERY large.



Craig Williams

www.CanadianCray.tk

www.Bluecrayfish.com

[Sunny]

"Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
k.net...
> Hi all,
>
> I was at the lfs today and saw that they had some aust. blue lobsters (I
> assume the aust. is for australian). Does anyone have any experience with
> these? For a freshwater creature they sure are pretty. I have some
> questions. Can they go in a community tank or do they eat other fish?
> Will they eat the plants in a planted tank? What do they eat? Any info
> will be helpful as I think I really want one or two. Thanks.

Eat them yourself :-)
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/fishweb/3380.html
http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/aqu/fw/fw_crays.htm

[Margolis]

"Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> After you gave me the name, I googled it and found this page. This looks
> just like it although I can't be certain. It says they don't eat other
> fish, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.


notice it says "omnivorous"? that means they eat anything and everything.
Including any fish that they can get their claws on.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Ozdude]

"Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
k.net...
> Hi all,
>
> I was at the lfs today and saw that they had some aust. blue lobsters (I
> assume the aust. is for australian). Does anyone have any experience with
> these? For a freshwater creature they sure are pretty. I have some
> questions. Can they go in a community tank or do they eat other fish?
> Will they eat the plants in a planted tank? What do they eat? Any info
> will be helpful as I think I really want one or two. Thanks.

They sound like what we Aussies call "Yabbies" - freshwater cray fish.

Delicious to eat minted - especially the tails ;)

They are native things that are in most creeks (brooks), billabongs, dams
and rivers here.

I see them in the LFS all the time for about A$5 each, but truth be known
I'd rather go down to the creek with a bit of string with some mince on the
end of it and just yank them out of the water. I'd rather eat them too.

They can get rather large as well. I've had them in my youth as large as 8"
out of the local creek.

As far as I know, no-one I know that keeps them have any plants left in
their tanks. They chop them at the base and then devour the toppled bit.

They are omnivorous in the main and will eat anything from meat and worms to
plants.

I personallly don't like them and they hurt like hell if they get you on the
toe when wading through water ;)

Oz


--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[Ozdude]

"Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> After you gave me the name, I googled it and found this page. This looks
> just like it although I can't be certain. It says they don't eat other
> fish, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way. Temperature wise, it
> seems like goldfish temps.
>
> http://users.swing.be/sw018249/cherax_tenuimanus_uk.htm
>
> I also found a good metric conversion page to help me out.
>
> http://www.sciencemadesimple.com/conversions.html
>
> I guess I won't get one, because I would be afraid it would eat my fish.
>
>
> "Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
>> It was definitely a bright colored blue.

Here are some Yabby links for you - is this it? They are blue if they come
from clean water, but can be anything from white to black, depending on
their age, condition, camoflage and water conditions. There is also an
Electric Blue Marron that's native to Australia as well, and it could be
this you've seen.

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/aqua/broc/aquainfo/aqinfo01b.html
http://www.abc.net.au/creaturefeatures/facts/yabby.htm
http://www.amonline.net.au/wild_kids/freshwater/yabby.htm
http://www.australian-aquacultureportal.com/industrygroups/mix_crustaceans_yabby.html
http://www.crayfishworld.com/yabby3page2.htm
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/2002/archives/2002/roadtests/fish/yabby
http://www.fisheries.nsw.gov.au/aqu/fw/yabby.htm
http://www.blueyabby.com/TheYabby.htm

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[Ozdude]

"Margolis" > wrote in message
...
> "Sarah Navarro" > wrote in message
> nk.net...
>> After you gave me the name, I googled it and found this page. This looks
>> just like it although I can't be certain. It says they don't eat other
>> fish, but I wouldn't want to find out the hard way.
>
>
> notice it says "omnivorous"? that means they eat anything and
> everything.
> Including any fish that they can get their claws on.

Generally anything that comes near them, including their own kind! They are
very agile and fast too, so you've got to watch them. Personally they aren't
attractive to me, except to eat. Delicious .mmmm........ ;)

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith