Andrew

I have a Crayfish and I was wondering if I could put it in my 55 gallon tank. The Crayfish is a small one he is only about 1.5 inches if that, I have him in a 5 gallon quarantine tank right now. I'n my 55 gallon i have 3 Kuihli loaches and 1 Horse Face loach. Also 3 Mystery snails along with all my other fish.

Please help me with this,
Andrew Clark

aquarist48

Good morning. I wouldn't recommend adding crayfish to your aquarium. Your kuihli loaches would more thank likely be a good snack for the crayfish. Let's see what some others have to say before you make a decision.

harpua2002

Crayfish will eat fish. They are adept hunters, and are nocturnal, so even fish that are fast won't stand much of a chance. I would not recommend it.

Andrew

Ok I was just thinking that it might work because the Loaches are nocturnal also so they would be awake

Bad Wolf

okay, crayfish will not always eat fish in your tank. say if your tank had A LOT of hiding places, there's a chance they could live together. knowing your crayfish is only 1.5" he is not going to be a big threat, but also remember that you have kuhli loaches in the tank.

kuhli loaches have no defense against any other fish, in this case a crayfish, so it wouldn't be the best idea. i tried putting three 3"-4" crayfish in my 55 gallon community tank and they ended up ripping my bettas tail fin, nearly chopping a danio in half, killed one of 4 of my kuhli loaches and had a go at my 5" goldfish.

i would suggest not putting your crayfish in your community tank atm because you hae kuhli loaches.

good luck

Andrew

OK.. thank you. Here is some more info i moved my Oscar out of the 55 gallon into a 5 gallon because he was eating all my fish. In the 5 gallon is the crayfish is and they get along fine. I'm thinking about moving the cray fish into the 55 gallon scene he hasn't hurt the Oscar.

Thank you for the help if you want to give me anymore advice on this please fell free to.

The crayfish has been eating pond snails. Do you think that my 3 mystery snails would be ok?

Shawnie

you have an oscar in a 5 gal with a crayfish? or did i read that wrong?

crayfish will eat whatever they can catch and fit in their mouths..they will crush snails and eat them as well....I wouldnt take a chance as others have said......

Andrew

Yes i have an Oscar in a 5 gallon with a crayfish. For now that is the biggest tank i have it was my hospital tank but i put them in there for now.

harpua2002

It would be best to return the Oscar rather than keep it in a 5 gallon. If you can't get a bigger tank (75 gallon would be best) it would be the kind thing to do.

Shawnie

you will wake up one day and find chunks missing out of your oscar as well ...size wont matter as oscars sleep on their sides on the bottom of the tank and ill betcha that cray will try to get a piece of him....

even in your 55 gal with other fish, your oscar will out grow that tank...and you already know the oscar will eat all the fish so maybe returning him is the best thing for you and keep your cray in the 5 gal alone

Andrew

i'm moving in a month so i'm buying 3 tanks;a 125, a 30 gallon and a 75. so i can put him in one of those

The Oscar has been in the tank with the crayfish for about 2 weeks and he doesn't have any chunks taken out of him but I will get him out asap when I move

Shawnie

well we advised as we thought fit and I wish all your fish good luck!

Andrew

Thank you. And I will try asap to move them fish

Tony G.

I would not add the crayfish to the tank. They are omnivores and will most likely eat all your fish, it is reccomended to keep them alone. As for the oscar, i would really consider what shawnie said. She has alot of experience with oscars, and they will need a bigger tank. I would not leav him in with the crayfish. What kind of crayfish is he? if he is an electric blue, he will need at least a 10g in the future since they are messy and reach up to 5 inches. How big is the oscar?

Andrew

I don't know what type the crayfish is I got him and they said that he lives is creeks and he is 1.5-2 inches.The Oscar is about 4.5 inches and i am putting him and the cray fish in a thirty gallon once I move in a month.

Bad Wolf

30 gallons will not be enough space for an oscar for long. they grow quite fast and are very active.

is your aquarium info correct? if so, that is over stocked. i would suggest giving away the oscar. i don't think an oscar and a crayfish can live in a 5 gallon, even if it is only for one month.

Andrew

Yes it is correct I have an Oscar with a Crayfish in a five gallon and they seem to be fine. It is only for about a month. No nips or bites out of Oscar from the crayfish. The Oscar picks on they crayfish so I think that they will be fine. In an early post I said that I was getting different tanks once I move, and the Oscar will have a 125 gallon to him and one other Oscar.

jclee

I hope I'm not replying too late to this thread, but I don't think this idea's been covered, so here I go:

If the reason you're asking about adding the crayfish to the fishtank is that you don't want to have a "naked" crayfish tank with just the crayfish, then I would suggest the following: Establish a school of sacrificable fish within the separate crayfish tank. I've done this once, deliberately, with feeder guppies. As they quickly learned to school toward the top of the water line, they actually bred much more quickly than they were picked off, and I gave a bunch away to a friend with turtles. I got tired of having to find people to take them off of my hands, since they reproduced so quickly, so I got rid of them (more turtle food) and bought ~6 white cloud minnows. They are quick and prefer the top strata, so I thought they stood a chance, and they were cheap enough that I wouldn't feel horrible if they got eaten. Unfortunately, they also grew to love the water conditions enough to reproduce like crazy and overpopulate the tank. Just remember that any fish living with a crayfish is a possible meal. The more well fed the crayfish is, and the faster the fish moves, and the higher up the fish hangs out, the more likely the fish will be to survive for a while... but the risk will always be there. So it might be better off to stick with feeders as decor.