Crayfish?

[Suzie-Q]

Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
crayfish in one's aquarium?

One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.

(I have a zillion questions about them, but I'll google them!)
--
8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

[Mean_Chlorine]

Thusly Suzie-Q > Spake Unto All:

>Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
>to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
>crayfish in one's aquarium?

Reasonably common. Mostly they're sold under the more impressive name
"lobster". Half a dozen or so species of crayfish are fairly routinely
found in petshops.

>One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
>of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.

They're robust creatures, so that Wal-Mart was being successful in
killing them isn't a good sign.

[js1]

On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
> Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
> to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
> crayfish in one's aquarium?
>
> One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
> of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.
>
> (I have a zillion questions about them, but I'll google them!)

They are aggressive and will fight your fish for food, or even us your
fish as food if it can catch it. If you're going to keep it, keep it
with fish it can't catch and fish it won't be competing for food with.


--
"I have to decide between two equally frightening options.
If I wanted to do that, I'd vote." --Duckman

[CanadianCray]

Check out this forum for great info.

Crayfish Addicts Anonymous Forum
http://www.canadiancrayfish.ca/phpbb2/index.php


"Suzie-Q" > wrote in message
...
> Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
> to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
> crayfish in one's aquarium?
>
> One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
> of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.
>
> (I have a zillion questions about them, but I'll google them!)
> --
> 8^)~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
> ~~~~~~
> "I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
> today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson
>
> http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
> http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
> http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

[Koi-lo]

"Suzie-Q" > wrote in message
...
> Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
> to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
> crayfish in one's aquarium?
====================
They'll eat small fish and if they escape they'll die and smell real bad
unless you find them quickly. I remember a friend who had one crawl into a
boot in her closet and die. They couldn't find it. No one thought to look
there. I didn't stop by their house for coffee for awhile. ;-)
--
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/h/shastadaisy
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Dean A. Markley]

js1 wrote:
> On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
>
>>Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
>>to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
>>crayfish in one's aquarium?
>>
>>One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
>>of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.
>>
>>(I have a zillion questions about them, but I'll google them!)
>
>
> They are aggressive and will fight your fish for food, or even us your
> fish as food if it can catch it. If you're going to keep it, keep it
> with fish it can't catch and fish it won't be competing for food with.
>
>
They will also uproot plants and push gravel/sand all over. And don't
underestimate their agressivness. They are mean critters. I tossed 6
one inch crayfish in my 110 gal tank as food for my Rock Bass.
Apparently two escaped the wrath of the rock bass cause two months later
I saw a 3inch crayfish emerge and seize a 2 inch catfish! The *******
was impossible to net so I ended up fashioning a harpoon from a needle
and a 3 foot dowel rod. After an hour in a semidark room, I managed to
harpoon it. I was happy until a week later, another catfish
disappeared. Yep, there was a second crayfish, just as big. Harpooned
him too!

Dean

[CanadianCray]

Yeah that's called nature.


"Dean A. Markley" > wrote in message
...
> js1 wrote:
>> On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
>>
>>>Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
>>>to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
>>>crayfish in one's aquarium?
>>>
>>>One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
>>>of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.
>>>
>>>(I have a zillion questions about them, but I'll google them!)
>>
>>
>> They are aggressive and will fight your fish for food, or even us your
>> fish as food if it can catch it. If you're going to keep it, keep it
>> with fish it can't catch and fish it won't be competing for food with.
>>
>>
> They will also uproot plants and push gravel/sand all over. And don't
> underestimate their agressivness. They are mean critters. I tossed 6 one
> inch crayfish in my 110 gal tank as food for my Rock Bass. Apparently two
> escaped the wrath of the rock bass cause two months later I saw a 3inch
> crayfish emerge and seize a 2 inch catfish! The ******* was impossible to
> net so I ended up fashioning a harpoon from a needle and a 3 foot dowel
> rod. After an hour in a semidark room, I managed to harpoon it. I was
> happy until a week later, another catfish disappeared. Yep, there was a
> second crayfish, just as big. Harpooned him too!
>
> Dean

[NetMax]

"CanadianCray" > wrote in message
...
> Yeah that's called nature.
>
>
> "Dean A. Markley" > wrote in message
> ...
>> js1 wrote:
>>> On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
<snip>
>> They will also uproot plants and push gravel/sand all over. And don't
>> underestimate their agressivness. They are mean critters.
<snip>>>
>> Dean

But crayfish are so neat. It's a shame they are so incompatible with
fish. I plan on having a Cray tank someday, (the office Cray instead of
the office Betta) but the tank will probably only have one as they are
not entirely compatible with each other either.

What would your recommendation be regarding an office Cray? What type
and what would you feed him? Would a 6g Eclipse suffice? I know I could
google, but when I have an expert's attention, I always ask questions :o)
--
www.NetMax.tk

[CanadianCray]

For a 6 gallon there are a few of options. You would have to stick with a
dwarf species & there are some nice ones.

Here are some really nice species that would work.

Cambarellus patzcuarensis
http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=799&galerie_id=120

Cambarellus shufeldtii
http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=1029&galerie_id=208

Cambarus dubius
http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=1142&galerie_id=133
The last species is not tech. a dwarf species but would do ok in that size
tank. The first two species would handle a few crays in that size tank &
they do great with more than one. They don't generally get larger than 1.5".

As far as food goes there are some great commercial foods such as HBH Crab &
Lobster BITES aswell as every day shrimp pellets. No more than one pellet
per day. Aswell as frozen peas, potatoes.

www.Canadiancrayfish.ca

"NetMax" > wrote in message
.. .
> "CanadianCray" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Yeah that's called nature.
>>
>>
>> "Dean A. Markley" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> js1 wrote:
>>>> On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
> <snip>
>>> They will also uproot plants and push gravel/sand all over. And don't
>>> underestimate their agressivness. They are mean critters.
> <snip>>>
>>> Dean
>
> But crayfish are so neat. It's a shame they are so incompatible with
> fish. I plan on having a Cray tank someday, (the office Cray instead of
> the office Betta) but the tank will probably only have one as they are not
> entirely compatible with each other either.
>
> What would your recommendation be regarding an office Cray? What type and
> what would you feed him? Would a 6g Eclipse suffice? I know I could
> google, but when I have an expert's attention, I always ask questions :o)
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>

[NetMax]

Thanks CanadianCray. I especially liked the C.patzcuarensis. I didn't
realize that you could have more than 1 in a small tank. When moulting,
they don't get preyed upon?

Once I started getting into this, I would have a lot of questions. Can
you point me to a good FAQ http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/
http://www.bluecrayfish.com/bcf-faq.html?

... and where can you specify and acquire specific Crayfish? When my LFS
has any, they are quite clueless about what they have, usually calling
them blue lobsters. What size tank would be needed for these, and is it
one per tank only?

I like this one: (euastacus sulcatus).
http://www.shoarns.com/CrayfishGallery.html but at 24cm, I don't think he
fits in a small tank ;~), however I imagine that crays are not selected
by only their color, any more than fish are, so what traits should I look
for?
--
www.NetMax.tk

"CanadianCray" > wrote in message
.. .
> For a 6 gallon there are a few of options. You would have to stick with
> a dwarf species & there are some nice ones.
>
> Here are some really nice species that would work.
>
> Cambarellus patzcuarensis
> http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=799&galerie_id=120
>
> Cambarellus shufeldtii
> http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=1029&galerie_id=208
>
> Cambarus dubius
> http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=1142&galerie_id=133
> The last species is not tech. a dwarf species but would do ok in that
> size tank. The first two species would handle a few crays in that size
> tank & they do great with more than one. They don't generally get
> larger than 1.5".
>
> As far as food goes there are some great commercial foods such as HBH
> Crab & Lobster BITES aswell as every day shrimp pellets. No more than
> one pellet per day. Aswell as frozen peas, potatoes.
>
> www.Canadiancrayfish.ca
>
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> "CanadianCray" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Yeah that's called nature.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Dean A. Markley" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> js1 wrote:
>>>>> On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
>> <snip>
>>>> They will also uproot plants and push gravel/sand all over. And
>>>> don't underestimate their agressivness. They are mean critters.
>> <snip>>>
>>>> Dean
>>
>> But crayfish are so neat. It's a shame they are so incompatible with
>> fish. I plan on having a Cray tank someday, (the office Cray instead
>> of the office Betta) but the tank will probably only have one as they
>> are not entirely compatible with each other either.
>>
>> What would your recommendation be regarding an office Cray? What type
>> and what would you feed him? Would a 6g Eclipse suffice? I know I
>> could google, but when I have an expert's attention, I always ask
>> questions :o)
>> --
>> www.NetMax.tk
>>
>
>

[CanadianCray]

First of all the general rule of thumb for any North American crayfish that
isn't dwarf is 10gallons per crayfish. When dealing with Australian crays it
gets bumped up to 25-30 gallon per crayfish. The euastacus sulcatus you
picked is a beautiful but almost impossible to get as they are very hard to
breed & are slow growing. As far as getting info there are a few good forums
out there with many people who have loads of knowledge.

www.bluecrayfish.com (mostly hobbyists)
www.canadiancrayfish.com (my site. Many breeders & farmers)

http://franzek.whv-web.de/wirbellose/portal.php (German website)

There are certain species like the dwarfs that can be kept in numbers
together. As long as there are more hiding places than crays they will get
along fine & should be safe during a molt.




"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks CanadianCray. I especially liked the C.patzcuarensis. I didn't
> realize that you could have more than 1 in a small tank. When moulting,
> they don't get preyed upon?
>
> Once I started getting into this, I would have a lot of questions. Can
> you point me to a good FAQ http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/
> http://www.bluecrayfish.com/bcf-faq.html?
>
> .. and where can you specify and acquire specific Crayfish? When my LFS
> has any, they are quite clueless about what they have, usually calling
> them blue lobsters. What size tank would be needed for these, and is it
> one per tank only?
>
> I like this one: (euastacus sulcatus).
> http://www.shoarns.com/CrayfishGallery.html but at 24cm, I don't think he
> fits in a small tank ;~), however I imagine that crays are not selected by
> only their color, any more than fish are, so what traits should I look
> for?
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>
> "CanadianCray" > wrote in message
> .. .
>> For a 6 gallon there are a few of options. You would have to stick with a
>> dwarf species & there are some nice ones.
>>
>> Here are some really nice species that would work.
>>
>> Cambarellus patzcuarensis
>> http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=799&galerie_id=120
>>
>> Cambarellus shufeldtii
>> http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=1029&galerie_id=208
>>
>> Cambarus dubius
>> http://crusta10.de/index.php?sideid=galerie&showpicture=1142&galerie_id=133
>> The last species is not tech. a dwarf species but would do ok in that
>> size tank. The first two species would handle a few crays in that size
>> tank & they do great with more than one. They don't generally get larger
>> than 1.5".
>>
>> As far as food goes there are some great commercial foods such as HBH
>> Crab & Lobster BITES aswell as every day shrimp pellets. No more than one
>> pellet per day. Aswell as frozen peas, potatoes.
>>
>> www.Canadiancrayfish.ca
>>
>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>> .. .
>>> "CanadianCray" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> Yeah that's called nature.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Dean A. Markley" > wrote in message
>>>> ...
>>>>> js1 wrote:
>>>>>> On 2005-11-12, Suzie-Q > wrote:
>>> <snip>
>>>>> They will also uproot plants and push gravel/sand all over. And don't
>>>>> underestimate their agressivness. They are mean critters.
>>> <snip>>>
>>>>> Dean
>>>
>>> But crayfish are so neat. It's a shame they are so incompatible with
>>> fish. I plan on having a Cray tank someday, (the office Cray instead of
>>> the office Betta) but the tank will probably only have one as they are
>>> not entirely compatible with each other either.
>>>
>>> What would your recommendation be regarding an office Cray? What type
>>> and what would you feed him? Would a 6g Eclipse suffice? I know I
>>> could google, but when I have an expert's attention, I always ask
>>> questions :o)
>>> --
>>> www.NetMax.tk
>>>
>>
>>
>
>

[Suzie-Q]

In article >,
Mean_Chlorine > wrote:

-> Thusly Suzie-Q > Spake Unto All:
->
-> >Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
-> >to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
-> >crayfish in one's aquarium?
->
-> Reasonably common. Mostly they're sold under the more impressive name
-> "lobster". Half a dozen or so species of crayfish are fairly routinely
-> found in petshops.

Yes. Wal-Mart is calling them "red lobsters."

-> >One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
-> >of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.
->
-> They're robust creatures, so that Wal-Mart was being successful in
-> killing them isn't a good sign.

I saw two more dead this morning.
--
8^(~~~ Sue (remove the x to e-mail)
~~~~~~
"I reserve the absolute right to be smarter
today than I was yesterday." -Adlai Stevenson

http://www.suzanne-eckhardt.com/
http://www.intergnat.com/malebashing/
http://www.intergnat.com/pussygames/

[A Man]

On Sat, 12 Nov 2005 15:43:13 GMT in article <sme617x-0DAD06.09431412112005
@news1.west.earthlink.net>, spoke thusly...
> Our local Wal-Mart is now selling live crayfish. I was surprised
> to see them in the tank at the store. How common is it to have
> crayfish in one's aquarium?
>
> One of the crayfish was dying. They've only been there for a couple
> of days. I'm waiting to see if any survive.
>
> (I have a zillion questions about them, but I'll google them!)
>

Crayfish need extra-oxygenated water, so keep your bubbler on high and water
no more than 12" deep. Warmer water holds less oxygen so keep the water
cooler, about 70-72F.

They will get aggressive and seize other fish or smaller crayfish if they
become starved for food. Feed them shrimp pellets. They will also eat softer
plants and java moss if they are hungry. Neon tetras sleep on the bottom of
tanks at night, when crayfish come out, and will quickly become meals for
crayfish. Whenever I have a snail or fish die I toss it in the crayfish tank.
It's gone within hours before it can soil the water.

They love to climb out and explore so if you have 3" crayfish, keep your
water level 3" below the top of the tank. Water provides them buoyancy, if
you take away their buoyancy they tend to stay in the tank. They will try to
climb up airlines and filter intakes so keep your tank 100% covered WITH A
WEIGHT.

Crayfish are hard to catch if you chase them in the tank with a net. But if
you corner them and scoop them up they are not hard. Just keep your hands
away from those claws! They WILL pinch you!

But I catch crayfish in the wild all the time with my 9 year old son. We have
never been pinched catching them with bare hands. But there is a trick to it.

Crayfish (North American) generally prefer cooler water, about 72F, but I
kept mine in a fish room and their water was 76-78F all summer long, along
with the other tanks I have. They shed more often and the higher temps
shorten their lives.

--
Sig: Say no to fixed width HTML tables. They look terrible in most browsers.

[Valerio Vanni]

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 15:26:48 -0500, A Man > wrote:

>Crayfish (North American) generally prefer cooler water, about 72F, but I
>kept mine in a fish room and their water was 76-78F all summer long, along
>with the other tanks I have. They shed more often and the higher temps
>shorten their lives.

What about Procambarus Marmoratus?
http://www.valeriovanni.com/new/pleco/gambero.jpg

What's their best temp? I'm actually keeping one at about 75F.

--
Ci sono 10 tipi di persone al mondo: quelle che capiscono il sistema binario
e quelle che non lo capiscono.