Blue Lobster/Crayfish Care Tips (Procambarus alleni)

I have 2 of these amazing creatures in a 35 gallon tank. Both came together YOUNG but are very territorial. I have a sand base with pieces of drift wood. I enjoy watching them dig the sand from under the drift wood using their large claws to create a cave. They are attracted to glow fish..... A side from that, tiger bars & similar are too fast for them to catch. These blue lobsters are rather ummm.... dumb in my opinion & extremely slow when their claws get to big. I feed mine sinking pellets. A side form that, these guys give me no problems & everyone wants to know how/why you have blue "lobsters". =)

I would be more than happy to trade pictures & advise with you. Mine have been with me for 2 years & have moved homes (I actually moved) 3 times. These guys were my gateway drug into what is now my aquarium store that I call a home.....

Here are my 2 guys as well as my attention junky of a toad fish =P

They're some really hansom looking guys love the colour. Having a slight panic at the moment because I had to remove the cave roof off to get the cucumber out, which freaked him out a fair bit, and he hasn't really seemed to return back to the cave. When I woke up this morning he was at the opposite side of the tank (Usually I wake up and he's still asleep in his cave) so I'm slightly concerned that I've permanently scared him out.
How long did it take yours to get the beautiful colour?

 

He was blue at birth. Yours looks more like a Chinese lobster which tend to stay that redish tint and get bigger than a normal crayfish.

 

He was blue at birth. Yours looks more like a Chinese lobster which tend to stay that redish tint and get bigger than a normal crayfish.

Hmm ok. Having species problems because people have said it's three different things O,o the pattern looks very similar to yours. Could it be it might get brighter in later life, or is it as you say that it will stay this colour?

He was blue at birth. Yours looks more like a Chinese lobster which tend to stay that redish tint and get bigger than a normal crayfish.

The LFS I bought it from had the 'father' crayfish. The seller told me that the father was a beautiful shade of blue, like a really vibrant blue similar to yours

 

Hmm ok. Having species problems because people have said it's three different things O,o the pattern looks very similar to yours. Could it be it might get brighter in later life, or is it as you say that it will stay this colour?

Yours is definitely a cherax quadricarinatus, only species legal in the UK. You can tell buy the yellow on his arms and the red markings on the claws, and the blue lol. He'll get brighter if you have good lighting and give him a good diet, but most blue crays do dull as they get older. I saw a post on another forum of someones crayfish growing, it's started off as a very striking blue and as it got older got kind of brown.

 

Yours is definitely a cherax quadricarinatus, only species legal in the UK. You can tell buy the yellow on his arms and the red markings on the claws, and the blue lol. He'll get brighter if you have good lighting and give him a good diet, but most blue crays do dull as they get older. I saw a post on another forum of someones crayfish growing, it's started off as a very striking blue and as it got older got kind of brown.

Hmm ok. Thank you as I said he's feeding on catfish pellets and vegetables. I'm going to start experimenting with other kinds of vegetables and try some meats, see what he likes best. I'd quite like him to go a vibrant blue, but if he doesn't, ahh well!

 

Not entirely familiar with your specias if that's the case. My fish strictly eats shrimp pellets. I can assure you though that this specias does not lose its blue as my last one was 8 years old before it croaked.

 

Not entirely familiar with your specias if that's the case. My fish strictly eats shrimp pellets. I can assure you though that this specias does not lose its blue as my last one was 8 years old before it croaked.

I suppose we shall wait and see thanks for your help. I'll do what I can for 'Theo' and see how he goes

 

Hmm ok. Thank you as I said he's feeding on catfish pellets and vegetables. I'm going to start experimenting with other kinds of vegetables and try some meats, see what he likes best. I'd quite like him to go a vibrant blue, but if he doesn't, ahh well!

I found the pictures for you this was that other forum I mentioned, you can see the cray is amazingly blue, but then turns into the blueish brown mine has gone. On ebay you can buy food made for pet crayfish and shrimp, I think it's a Japanese brand, it's very expensive though... I was planning on getting some after Helena has eaten all her crab cuisine pellets lol. Only the best for my girl haha, did you give your little guy a name?

 

Very cute - all of them!

 

I found the pictures for you this was that other forum I mentioned, you can see the cray is amazingly blue, but then turns into the blueish brown mine has gone. On ebay you can buy food made for pet crayfish and shrimp, I think it's a Japanese brand, it's very expensive though... I was planning on getting some after Helena has eaten all her crab cuisine pellets lol. Only the best for my girl haha, did you give your little guy a name?

Ooo that's brilliant thank you! I'd love for mine to go that colour, even for a month. I've named him Theo he seems relatively lively, I'm hoping he will be more so after he's been in there for a couple of weeks

 

Ooo that's brilliant thank you! I'd love for mine to go that colour, even for a month. I've named him Theo he seems relatively lively, I'm hoping he will be more so after he's been in there for a couple of weeks

You're welcome, Theo is a cute name ^-^ Mine was a little shy when I got her, she was always hiding. She then decided to go through a vicious phase and would be up the glass waving her claws around if I looked in the tank at her closely, I got pinched a few times doing water changes when I was picking out bits of dead plant xD I net it out now, lesson learnt.

 

You're welcome, Theo is a cute name ^-^ Mine was a little shy when I got her, she was always hiding. She then decided to go through a vicious phase and would be up the glass waving her claws around if I looked in the tank at her closely, I got pinched a few times doing water changes when I was picking out bits of dead plant xD I net it out now, lesson learnt.

Thank you I fish any rubbish out with a net anyway, my other tank has a crab in it so I never even tried to fish it out by hand. I hope you and your little crayfish continue to have fun have you ever tried handfeeding yours?

 

Thank you I fish any rubbish out with a net anyway, my other tank has a crab in it so I never even tried to fish it out by hand. I hope you and your little crayfish continue to have fun have you ever tried handfeeding yours?

Wish I had thought of doing that before it was too late, the pinches don't hurt too much but they do leave little red marks, judging by how hard she pinches now I bet she'd be able to do some damage when she's bigger. A crab sounds like a cool pet, might consider that one day, crustaceans are growing on me. I have, with a long narrow piece of bacon so my fingers were no where near them pinchers, I have also held her a few times but I don't do it any more. I think my profile picture is of her in my hand.

 

Wish I had thought of doing that before it was too late, the pinches don't hurt too much but they do leave little red marks, judging by how hard she pinches now I bet she'd be able to do some damage when she's bigger. A crab sounds like a cool pet, might consider that one day, crustaceans are growing on me. I have, with a long narrow piece of bacon so my fingers were no where near them pinchers, I have also held her a few times but I don't do it any more. I think my profile picture is of her in my hand.

In my opinion, the pinchers on my blue fellas hurt more when they were younger. Now they are like giant walnut crackers. 1 of my blue lobsters is extremely shy & really hides in a cave at just about all times. Rarely at night will they come out to scavenge. I normally just drop food in their cave so they feel safer. The other guy however? He's a maniac. He scoots around my tank backwards using that notorious lobster/ crayfish tail. Love watching them jump back. I have a few videos of him killing my fish (mid kill so there was no way to stop it from happening). Full or not he is a mess!

 

In my opinion, the pinchers on my blue fellas hurt more when they were younger. Now they are like giant walnut crackers. 1 of my blue lobsters is extremely shy & really hides in a cave at just about all times. Rarely at night will they come out to scavenge. I normally just drop food in their cave so they feel safer. The other guy however? He's a maniac. He scoots around my tank backwards using that notorious lobster/ crayfish tail. Love watching them jump back. I have a few videos of him killing my fish (mid kill so there was no way to stop it from happening). Full or not he is a mess!

Lol mine is out all the time, day and night! I have no idea when she sleeps, she will hide for a bit during the day, like a half an hour nap, then it's all go. If I clean the tank she is out all day and all night with no nap. Wow, a lot of people I know have said they've had crayfish kill fish and then have gotten rid of them, it's nice to hear you've tolerated it ^^ I can barely get my cray to nibble the plants I buy for her haha. I started buying plants to keep now because I'm confident she isn't going to touch them.

 

In my opinion, the pinchers on my blue fellas hurt more when they were younger. Now they are like giant walnut crackers. 1 of my blue lobsters is extremely shy & really hides in a cave at just about all times. Rarely at night will they come out to scavenge. I normally just drop food in their cave so they feel safer. The other guy however? He's a maniac. He scoots around my tank backwards using that notorious lobster/ crayfish tail. Love watching them jump back. I have a few videos of him killing my fish (mid kill so there was no way to stop it from happening). Full or not he is a mess!

Ooo haha mine has suddenly become really brave. He no longer cares when I come into the room, or stand near his tank. He was out when I came in, and as I approached the tank he didn't show a sign of care. I fed him, and he happily munched away in front of me, so hopefully he'll be a social crayfish I love crustaceans, they've always intrigued me. Since I was a young child I'd love to find crabs on the beach. The crab I have in my other tank is called a Panther crab, they're relatively rare, but they have a beautiful leopard print pattern

 

With regard to the color discussion, I've read that it is mostly related to diet, depending on species. The species I keep is Procambarus clarkii and, regardless of what I feed them, they seem to retain their original color through each molt. As someone else mentioned, yours does appear to be a Cherax quad, which I personally have not kept (yet!). From what I've read on other forums, it's best to keep their diet pretty green (high calcium veggies, algae wafers, etc.). Avoid high protein items like meat, because (again this is just anecdotal from other forums) it may cause the dulling in color.

But don't feel like you're doing anything wrong if he doesn't change color to something more vibrant. Genetically, the color he is may be what remains.

 

With regard to the color discussion, I've read that it is mostly related to diet, depending on species. The species I keep is Procambarus clarkii and, regardless of what I feed them, they seem to retain their original color through each molt. As someone else mentioned, yours does appear to be a Cherax quad, which I personally have not kept (yet!). From what I've read on other forums, it's best to keep their diet pretty green (high calcium veggies, algae wafers, etc.). Avoid high protein items like meat, because (again this is just anecdotal from other forums) it may cause the dulling in color.

But don't feel like you're doing anything wrong if he doesn't change color to something more vibrant. Genetically, the color he is may be what remains.

Thanks for the information I'll give him some different types of veggies and see if there's any colour change

 

Few questions here.

What size tank does one or two of these require?

What do you feed them?

Can anything, and I mean ANYTHING be kept with them as tankmates?

 

I'd recommend keeping a crayfish in a 20 gallon long.
They cannot have any tank mates other than species only.
Also, no live plants as well.

You feed them bugs, or a bottom feeder wafer.
Really a large variety of things they can have.

 

I'd recommend keeping a crayfish in a 20 gallon long.
They cannot have any tank mates other than species only.
Also, no live plants as well.

You feed them bugs, or a bottom feeder wafer.
Really a large variety of things they can have.

Just one in a 20 long?

Any other suggestions from anybody?

 

Probably so, but you could do more than one in a 30 gallon.

 

I've got a Yabbie (Cherax Desctructor) in a 13G, now that he's grown to full size he needs a longer / larger tank - 20G Long would be a good size. I've a had fish in with the Yabbie for over a year and the larger he has grown the less able he can get to them (all small / fast fish), however other species may differ - he caught a Veiltail betta when I first setup the 1st tank but nothing since. They will destroy any and all plants that they can reach, including floating plants, but mine tend to leave Java moss alone.

If you are going to keep multiple crayfish in a tank then more surface area is better as they are territorial. They will need multiple hiding places of various sizes so they can stay protected from the other when molting. I started off with two juveniles in the 13G (it was a good size for them then) and they would occasionally test each others territory but not cause major damage, it wasn't until the big one got sick with rust spot and stopped eating that the little one cannibalised him a month later. On the other hand I've seen pictures of breeding setups with heaps of various sized yabbies in a ~40G plastic tub and lots of PVC pipe offcuts for shelter.

I feed my Yabbie the occasional crayfish pellet (mostly veg based), and frozen blood worms / brine shrimp once a week. Every day / other day I'll give him leftover veges / frozen peas / frozen blue berries. Generally I think I over feed him, from what I've read they will live longer if you feed them small amounts every 2-3 days - the more they eat and higher the temp, the faster the metabolism, the faster they will grow and sooner they will die.

 

I've got a Yabbie (Cherax Desctructor) in a 13G, now that he's grown to full size he needs a longer / larger tank - 20G Long would be a good size. I've a had fish in with the Yabbie for over a year and the larger he has grown the less able he can get to them (all small / fast fish), however other species may differ - he caught a Veiltail betta when I first setup the 1st tank but nothing since. They will destroy any and all plants that they can reach, including floating plants, but mine tend to leave Java moss alone.

If you are going to keep multiple crayfish in a tank then more surface area is better as they are territorial. They will need multiple hiding places of various sizes so they can stay protected from the other when molting. I started off with two juveniles in the 13G (it was a good size for them then) and they would occasionally test each others territory but not cause major damage, it wasn't until the big one got sick with rust spot and stopped eating that the little one cannibalised him a month later. On the other hand I've seen pictures of breeding setups with heaps of various sized yabbies in a ~40G plastic tub and lots of PVC pipe offcuts for shelter.

I feed my Yabbie the occasional crayfish pellet (mostly veg based), and frozen blood worms / brine shrimp once a week. Every day / other day I'll give him leftover veges / frozen peas / frozen blue berries. Generally I think I over feed him, from what I've read they will live longer if you feed them small amounts every 2-3 days - the more they eat and higher the temp, the faster the metabolism, the faster they will grow and sooner they will die.

So a 10 gallon is out? Darn. Guess no lobsters for me.

 

You could try a dwarf orange crayfish.

 

You could try a dwarf orange crayfish.

How big do they get? And are there blue ones too?

 

I have a neon red cray in a 10 gallon, They're a bit smaller than yabbies. Just have to keep up with water changes since they're a bit messy. I also plan to keep 2 in a 20 gallon once the baby crays in there right now are big enough to sell. I keep all 17 babies in the 20 gallon with platies and have had no trouble. I also had white cloud minnows in 10 gallon with my cray for a long time and never had any problems. I believe some kinds of blue crays are similar to the red neons so as long as it's not a cherax it should be fine in the 10 gallon.
For the record I don't think I would keep platies in the 10 gallon with a cray but there is a video on youtube of a guy who kept like 8 of them successfully...

If you keep 1 in a 10 gallon make sure you have lots of stuff for them to climb for exercise.

 

Probably won't. Was interested in the larger blue ones. More than likely will go with something else or move my betta back to it. Thanks for the info though.

 

The Blue ones I'm talking about can also grow up to 5".

These guys:

 

The Blue ones I'm talking about can also grow up to 5".

These guys:

Oh. Got really confused because I only know the term blue crayfish/lobster. Don't know what else they're called. Sounds like they might be kind of boring though.

 

Oh. Got really confused because I only know the term blue crayfish/lobster. Don't know what else they're called. Sounds like they might be kind of boring though.

No worries, I'm still learning as well

So as far as I understand under the AllenI type there is a blue, white, and red variation. They go by all sorts of names but they're all allenis.

The cherax the destroyers (yabbies) have much larger claws and are more aggressive. like you can clearly see the profile difference for these guys here Cherax peknyI - Zebra Crayfish | Tropical Fish | Diszhal.info

I really want one of those zebras but they're too aggressive to be put with Allenis and I don't want to risk it hurting my girl.

My neon red is by far my favourite aquatic pet. They have so much personality. I just wish you could keep them with plants, the I would only need one tank

I would never call her boring. She runs to the side of the tank when she sees me and does a happy dance around the tank at feeding time. I can even get her to eat blood worms out of a turkey baster as though it was a bottle lol. She also climbs pretty much everything she can. That being said, in a 10 gallon the upper tank space would be empty

 

No worries, I'm still learning as well

So as far as I understand under the AllenI type there is a blue, white, and red variation. They go by all sorts of names but they're all allenis.

The cherax the destroyers (yabbies) have much larger claws and are more aggressive. like you can clearly see the profile difference for these guys here Cherax peknyI - Zebra Crayfish | Tropical Fish | Diszhal.info

I really want one of those zebras but they're too aggressive to be put with Allenis and I don't want to risk it hurting my girl.

My neon red is by far my favourite aquatic pet. They have so much personality. I just wish you could keep them with plants, the I would only need one tank

I would never call her boring. She runs to the side of the tank when she sees me and does a happy dance around the tank at feeding time. I can even get her to eat blood worms out of a turkey baster as though it was a bottle lol. She also climbs pretty much everything she can. That being said, in a 10 gallon the upper tank space would be empty

Okay. I looked again and the ones I was interested in are all allenis. Interest is coming back. Most definitely only one in 10 gallons though? How hard is it to keep a male and female together? Also, if you do, how often do they breed if at all? Don't want overrun by them.

 

Okay. I looked again and the ones I was interested in are all allenis. Interest is coming back. Most definitely only one in 10 gallons though? How hard is it to keep a male and female together? Also, if you do, how often do they breed if at all? Don't want overrun by them.

I believe if you can get your hands on a mated pair they aren't too difficult to keep together. In terms of breeding, let me put it this way... my cray was pregnant when I got her (didn't know this) and I now have 17 babies to try to sell lol. I believe they can mate several times a year and produce 50-100 babies once the female has done it a few times. If you don't want to be over run with them I would suggest getting 2 females or just keep one.

Make sure if you do get one you don't get a marbled cray. They can self replicate and produce a lot of babies. My LFS is selling them for $2 each just to try to get rid of them all lol. :
Marbled crays can also be very blue but have almost calico like spots.

Also , I feed algae wafers and blood worms (1-2 times a week). I also dose with Prime and equilibrium

 

I believe if you can get your hands on a mated pair they aren't too difficult to keep together. In terms of breeding, let me put it this way... my cray was pregnant when I got her (didn't know this) and I now have 17 babies to try to sell lol. I believe they can mate several times a year and produce 50-100 babies once the female has done it a few times. If you don't want to be over run with them I would suggest getting 2 females or just keep one.

Make sure if you do get one you don't get a marbled cray. They can self replicate and produce a lot of babies. My LFS is selling them for $2 each just to try to get rid of them all lol. marbled crayfish - Google Search:
Marbled crays can also be very blue but have almost calico like spots.

Well then, if I do get one I'll probably just order either a 1" or 2" male from Imperial. Those are the only options besides a mated pair. Thanks for all the info. Could lead to a new interesting pet. I enjoy the unusual.

 

Well then, if I do get one I'll probably just order either a 1" or 2" male from Imperial. Those are the only options besides a mated pair. Thanks for all the info. Could lead to a new interesting pet. I enjoy the unusual.

No problem! Just make sure, if you decide to get one, that you monitor the gH and keep minerals in the water using equilibrium or something else. I lost a white cray to a bad moult because of the mineral content

 

No problem! Just make sure, if you decide to get one, that you monitor the gH and keep minerals in the water using equilibrium or something else. I lost a white cray to a bad moult because of the mineral content

I keep cuttlebone in the 20 long for the snails. Think that would work?

 

I keep cuttlebone in the 20 long for the snails. Think that would work?

Probably, it's high in calcium right? I'm pretty sure I've heard of people using it before

 

Probably, it's high in calcium right? I'm pretty sure I've heard of people using it before

It's pretty much just a big hunk of calcium.

 

It's pretty much just a big hunk of calcium.

Yah, That should be ok then. I personally haven't tried it though.

 

... and keep minerals in the water using equilibrium or something else.

I add 1/3-1/2 dose of reef iodine with PWC and also use a tiny bit of ornamental shrimp blocks or Wonder Shells. No molting issues so far, although the jury appears to be out as to whether Iodine is required (I soak a crayfish pellet in diluted iodine).