Crayfish questions?

Hello!

So I bought a "blue lobster" a few month ago from the LFS, obviously it is a blue crayfish. However, it is not bright blue like the electric crays I see online. So I'm wondering if anybody can identify the type of cray it is. It is seemingly healthy, it just molted for the first time in my care, and after its molt it definitely got brighter blue. Still not as bright as the electric blues I see, and it has also developed these pink/purple marks on its tail. Is this normal? They almost look like stretch marks. ALSO, I noticed this white "fuzz" on its claws and a little on its face. I noticed it before it molted and thought it went away but after looking at him today I notice he still has it. It that normal?

Sorry for the questions, I'm still fairly new to crayfish care.

 

crayfish get their color from the food they eat, therefore a varied diet will result in brighter colors since the diet will be balanced. I hope this helps but not everything is known to crayfish owners, even experienced owners have questions. in general your crayfish seems healthy.

 

I would look to see if this is a Cherax Qu. That would explain the color and tail. If it is, you got a small monster on your hands. They are cool, but at 12" they can be a handful. The fuzz, I have seen this on some of my marbles. It doesn't seem to harm them, but I honestly don't know what it is. It has bothered me, so it looks like I'm going on a mission. Keep this post updated.

 

I looked up photos and he definitely has an uncanny resemblance to the Cherax Qu. The only difference I see is he doesn't have that red/orange strip on his claws. Now you've got me worried, 12 inches?! Hes probably a solid 6 or 7 inches right now and I originally had him in a 10 gallon, we just upgraded to a 20 gallon and I figured that more than enough room. for a 12 inch cray what would the proper tank size be? I also want to mention hes a very sweet little cray, he doesn't attack any fish or shrimp tanked with him, hes very shy when people are around, this is normal, yes?

 

Ok, first if your crayfish is a female it likley will not develop the red patch. A 20L would maintain / contain it at full size, but I would recommend and 30L or 55. Unless you have bottom dwellers the chances of the crayfish catching a fish are not good at all. The Cherax for all their gurth actually get worse and worse at catching anything alive. The front claws are too heavy for the crayfish to move them with much if any speed. There are some fish with long flowing fins that might be a little at risk if the tank is small. As for the personality, most crays are shy. Mine are trained to rush the front of the tank when they see me as I feed them all at once. Once they get their half of a blanched pea they are off to hide and feast. Funny, my Endlers and Leat Killies try to pick at their food unless they hide.

One more thing, they love to eat snails shell and all.

 

Funny, after I posted that I did a little more research and figured out he is indeed a she. I sure wish there was more information on crayfish as pets in general. I wonder if mine is behaving normally? She has a habit of laying on her back or her side and it really looks like she's dead but really if you turn the light on she pops up and acts like everything is fine. And now, about 20 minutes ago she has her tail tightly curled under and seems more defensive towards her tank mates... What is this all about? Like I mentioned she's seemingly healthy and normal otherwise. She's eating, although she's becoming more picky about her diet, and she comes out every now and then to change hiding places.
Any info will help, dare I say searching the Internet has failed me.