Blue Lobster/Crayfish Care Tips (Procambarus alleni)

Hello again.

Will these guys eat snails?

Also what do you provide for them to climb since wood drops pH levels?

 

Hello again.

Will these guys eat snails?

Also what do you provide for them to climb since wood drops pH levels?

I'm not sure about big snails but the small ones I throw in when they arise in my community tank always disappear lol.

For climbing, silk/fake plants, big rocks, terracotta pots. Any tall fish tank ornament

 

I'm not sure about big snails but the small ones I throw in when they arise in my community tank always disappear lol.

For climbing, silk/fake plants, big rocks, terracotta pots. Any tall fish tank ornament

Okay. Was wondering if I could feed it baby mystery snails if I get an accidental clutch once I get another mystery. Does that sound awful?

Also, could I keep two females in a standard 20 gallon? Sorry about all the questions, and some duplicate ones. Just keep coming up with more variables.

 

Okay. Was wondering if I could feed it baby mystery snails if I get an accidental clutch once I get another mystery. Does that sound awful?

I reckon they would have a go at a full size mystery snail as long as they can crack the operculum, although they might not need to if they catch it while it's moving about.

Also what do you provide for them to climb since wood drops pH levels?

I keep a variety of fake "driftwood" hollows and a few pieces of driftwood and bark in my tank. PWC every 1-2 weeks + mineral blocks and/or wonder shell bits and a few bits of coral under the substrate keep the KH, GH & pH relatively stable (mostly related to the buffering in my tapwater). My Freshwater Cray / Yabbie chews on the driftwood and thick bark, makes a mess of wood shavings all over the place but he appears to enjoy it.

A couple of photos of my 13G (too small for the full sized Yabbie)
Chelsea & Nippy
Natural 50 (more wood and bark has been added since this photo to increase tannins).

Also, could I keep two females in a standard 20 gallon? Sorry about all the questions, and some duplicate ones. Just keep coming up with more variables.

Personally I wouldn't but it could work if you keep plenty of hiding places for them. If you get small - medium sized juvenile Freshwater Crays, keep the temp down in the lower end of the range and feed sparingly every 3-4 days they shouldn't grow out of the tank size too quickly.

 

I reckon they would have a go at a full size mystery snail as long as they can crack the operculum, although they might not need to if they catch it while it's moving about.




I keep a variety of fake "driftwood" hollows and a few pieces of driftwood and bark in my tank. PWC every 1-2 weeks + mineral blocks and/or wonder shell bits and a few bits of coral under the substrate keep the KH, GH & pH relatively stable (mostly related to the buffering in my tapwater). My Freshwater Cray / Yabbie chews on the driftwood and thick bark, makes a mess of wood shavings all over the place but he appears to enjoy it.

A couple of photos of my 13G (too small for the full sized Yabbie)
Chelsea & Nippy
Natural 50 (more wood and bark has been added since this photo to increase tannins).




Personally I wouldn't but it could work if you keep plenty of hiding places for them. If you get small - medium sized juvenile Freshwater Crays, keep the temp down in the lower end of the range and feed sparingly every 3-4 days they shouldn't grow out of the tank size too quickly.

How do you keep a betta with one of these things?

Would I need to use real wood? Don't want brown water or have to fight my pH level.

 

The big claws make him a lot slower then when he was a jouvanile, plus the Betta is a female so there is less tail to grab and faster swimming compared to a male. He would never manage to catch Endlers, Tetras or feeder gudgeons but that said I wouldn't share his tank with anything larger than the female betta unless it was larger/taller and they were top dwellers.

You don't need real wood, all my "wooden" caves are plastic, only the stick is real driftwood in the photo.

 

Hello.

Finally saw some of these in person, and my girlfriend actually liked them!

Posting on here again to avoid making a new thread, to reclarify some info, and to ask a couple new things. These questions are based off of the 2.5" ones we saw at PetCo today.

1. What size tank for 2-3 females?

2. How to determine gender? Large claws male, small claws female?

3. How to tell if a female is pregnant? Just look for an egg cluster?

4. Do they all have to be put in the tank together, or can they be added separately?

5. Any additional advice.

 

1. I'm not sure, but I have one female Marbled Cray and she loves it in a tiny temporary bowl

2. Its hard, you have to wait until they have eggs

3. Yes, look for one under the long part before the tail

4. I don't think they have to be put in seperately but the ones in the tank first might already have claimed territory.

5. If one stops eating, It might be ready to molt. Take it out or else its tank mates will eat it while it has a soft shell.

 

5. If one stops eating, It might be ready to molt. Take it out or else its tank mates will eat it while it has a soft shell.

How long does it take the new shell to harden?

 

Around a day for most I think After mine shed a few days ago she was sorta floating near the surface probably to let it dry, but after a day she was pushing around rocks again.

 

Around a day for most I think After mine shed a few days ago she was sorta floating near the surface probably to let it dry, but after a day she was pushing around rocks again.

A lot of people say lots of hiding places are fine for multiples while new shells harden. True or false?

 

True. If you have multiple and do not have an extra tank give them lots of places to hide. Stacked PVC pipes, though not as pretty as professional carved ornaments, are pretty good and very cheap.

A picture I found online of this type


I think the didn't come out before

 

Another couple questions.

Do these guys need a heater? What's their ideal temp range?

Does bright light stress them out? What kind do you suggest?

How much filter current can they handle, and how much agitation for oxygen exchange do they need?

 

Okay I was looking up stuff all evening last night, and planning.

Originally, I was thinking about grabbing a 10 gallon tank while they're still $1 Per Gallon. Realized that this isn't realistic though. I'd still have to buy all other equipment. So then a new idea struck me. Could I buy a 10 or maybe even 15 gallon starter kit, replace the filter with an Aquaclear 20 or 30 and maybe keep the heater on 72-74?

I've read that they don't need a heater, but figured that one would help keep the water a more stable temp. I don't really know what temp to keep them at though. I've read all different things, but of course don't want too warm thus speeding up all biological processes, killing it quicker. Also, about the coolest I can keep water at my place is around 71-72.

If I get an Aquaclear filter, can they handle the output on full blast so it gets full filtration capacity? I've read they can be quite messy.

If I got the 15 gallon starter kit, could I try to put maybe two females together? The only store I've found sells them at about 2.5". I know they can easily reach 5", maybe even 7".

Oh and I also thought about adding some floating hornwort for a couple reasons. One, to block out some light. Two, in case I decided to try 6-8 fast nano fish (tetras most likely), they have somewhere to hide. Can hornwort survive under a basic LED starter hood though?

 

Still open for advice/suggestions.

My questions are below

Another couple questions.

Do these guys need a heater? What's their ideal temp range?

Does bright light stress them out? What kind do you suggest?

How much filter current can they handle, and how much agitation for oxygen exchange do they need?

Okay I was looking up stuff all evening last night, and planning.

Originally, I was thinking about grabbing a 10 gallon tank while they're still $1 Per Gallon. Realized that this isn't realistic though. I'd still have to buy all other equipment. So then a new idea struck me. Could I buy a 10 or maybe even 15 gallon starter kit, replace the filter with an Aquaclear 20 or 30 and maybe keep the heater on 72-74?

I've read that they don't need a heater, but figured that one would help keep the water a more stable temp. I don't really know what temp to keep them at though. I've read all different things, but of course don't want too warm thus speeding up all biological processes, killing it quicker. Also, about the coolest I can keep water at my place is around 71-72.

If I get an Aquaclear filter, can they handle the output on full blast so it gets full filtration capacity? I've read they can be quite messy.

If I got the 15 gallon starter kit, could I try to put maybe two females together? The only store I've found sells them at about 2.5". I know they can easily reach 5", maybe even 7".

Oh and I also thought about adding some floating hornwort for a couple reasons. One, to block out some light. Two, in case I decided to try 6-8 fast nano fish (tetras most likely), they have somewhere to hide. Can hornwort survive under a basic LED starter hood though?

 

The tank, temperature, and filter you're supposing are ok for one crayfish. I would not recommend having two crayfish of any sex in a 15 gallon, they're too territorial. Which species specifically are being sold at the store? The most commonly sold kind of blue crayfish don't normally get any bigger than 5 inches, and even that's not super common. Unfortunately I don't know too much about lighting for plants, so hopefully someone who knows more about that drops by.

 

The tank, temperature, and filter you're supposing are ok for one crayfish. I would not recommend having two crayfish of any sex in a 15 gallon, they're too territorial. Which species specifically are being sold at the store? The most commonly sold kind of blue crayfish don't normally get any bigger than 5 inches, and even that's not super common. Unfortunately I don't know too much about lighting for plants, so hopefully someone who knows more about that drops by.

Yeah, I've pretty much decided to just go with one in probably a 10 gallon. Hopefully some day I can upgrade to a 20 long for it and get 1 (maybe 2?) more? Also, preferably all female. Don't want 1500 babies. Also, if I start with one in a small tank and upgrade then I can have 2 quarantine tanks. Lol. I believe the ones I've found are Procambarus alleni. Which temperature exactly do you recommend for them? Also, can they handle a fair amount of filter current?

I've read that it's a bad idea to give ghost shrimp to crayfish as feeders due to disease since they're both crustaceans. Is this true?

If so, then would it be better to every once in a while give it a live feeder minnow?

 

You probably shouldn't add fish unless you are getting a peaceful type of cray. Bright light seems ok. They can live pretty cold, but not function as well. Mine does ok without a filter for agitation.

minnow? idk. My cray ate a ghost shrimp and looks ok

 

You probably shouldn't add fish unless you are getting a peaceful type of cray. Bright light seems ok. They can live pretty cold, but not function as well. Mine does ok without a filter for agitation.

What temp do you keep yours? The coolest I can get water is 71 in my home. Don't want lots of fluctuating though so figured a small heater set to 72-74 might work? Or is it too warm, thus causing them to molt and die faster?

 

Mine doesn't need a heater right now because it's summer and without a heater my regular tank is 80...
I hear some can live at 60s, but with slowed metabolism. 70s are fine.

 

Too hot is same as too cold. Not reproducing as well, less active.

Here is a passage from marbledcrayfish.com
It probs doesn't apply to all crayfish, but it overall means that crayfish are VERY hardy
Experiments - Marbled Crayfish Original Website Since 2007. True Clones!

 

Does anyone know where I could find a 15 gallon aquarium starter kit?

 

Sorry for the delayed response, I'm camping so not online that much.

I have an aqua clear on full blast in both of my cray tanks and have no problems. I don't have a heater and my crays don't seem to mind the temp changes. But if you want tetras you'll need the heater. 15 might be small for 2 but you could try it and if you see aggression return one if your store lets you. Just make sure the 15 gallon has lots of surface space and isn't a tall tank. You'll want to make sure the kit has a bubbler.

As for hornwort under LED light, probably, especially if it's floating because it will be near the surface. I'm not super familiar with it but I think it's one of the easier plants.

 

idk for the tank try petsmart, I got my topfin 10 gal kit there

 

Mine (procambarus alleni) first lived in a 20 gallon but I found him to be MUCH less destructive in the 55 gallon I put him after a few months. In the 20 gallon he seemed more frustrated and wrecked almost all plants and went after fish a lot more. Both were/are community tanks by the way, which I wouldn't recommend unless you're totally fine with the crayfish catching and eating one of their tank mates once in a while. He's lived at around 78 degrees since I got him in October last year and has molted regularly and is gigantic now :') These crayfish can be a bit of a terror in your tank but they're fascinating and I adore mine!

 

Sorry for the delayed response, I'm camping so not online that much.

I have an aqua clear on full blast in both of my cray tanks and have no problems. I don't have a heater and my crays don't seem to mind the temp changes. But if you want tetras you'll need the heater. 15 might be small for 2 but you could try it and if you see aggression return one if your store lets you. Just make sure the 15 gallon has lots of surface space and isn't a tall tank. You'll want to make sure the kit has a bubbler.

As for hornwort under LED light, probably, especially if it's floating because it will be near the surface. I'm not super familiar with it but I think it's one of the easier plants.

Do they HAVE to have a bubbler? If so how do you prevent them from cutting the hose with their claws?

 

They

Do they HAVE to have a bubbler? If so how do you prevent them from cutting the hose with their claws?

need the extra oxygen or they can drown, I'm not sure if an aqua clear causes enough oxygenation but I wouldn't risk it. They have never tried to cut the tubing. they'll climb it so you have to keep the tank well sealed but I don't think they're claws are sharp enough to cut it...

Also My tank goes from 68-80 degrees throughout the year

 

Also, I agree with TerryCat, mine will climb the tubing but has never tried to cut it.

 

You can have crayfish and such with fish tank mates. You just have to give them somewhere to hide. And they will more than likely act as they would in the wild and hide. Crayfish being out and about isn't natural

 

They

need the extra oxygen or they can drown, I'm not sure if an aqua clear causes enough oxygenation but I wouldn't risk it. They have never tried to cut the tubing. they'll climb it so you have to keep the tank well sealed but I don't think they're claws are sharp enough to cut it...

Do you just put the bubbler on top of the substrate? I'm planning on using black sand. So I probably can't bury it right? Do you leave the bubbler running 24/7?

Also what size pump, and do you just put an airstone on it or a bubble bar?

 

Do you just put the bubbler on top of the substrate? I'm planning on using black sand. So I probably can't bury it right? Do you leave the bubbler running 24/7?

Also what size pump, and do you just put an airstone on it or a bubble bar?

I have a volcano ornamental bubbler in one tank and a bar in the other. I think it probs doesn't matter what type you have as long as it bubbles from the bottomish part of the tank

 

idk for the tank try petsmart, I got my topfin 10 gal kit there

Yeah they have a 15 gallon kit, but it's a column tank (narrow and tall).

 

Do not go for a narrow and tall, the crays really need the walking room

 

Do not go for a narrow and tall, the crays really need the walking room

I know. I don't like those tanks anyway. Thank you for the advice though.

 

Don't do column cuz they don't swim up. They don't really go up so a pretty flat and fat one would do.

 

Don't do column cuz they don't swim up. They don't really go up so a pretty flat and fat one would do.

Yeah. Like I said, I don't like those tanks in any situation. Thanks though.