Crayfish Will Not Eat.

HI so my 1 year and 1 month crayfish has not been eating anything, When I put the food in she goes around picking it up but just does not eat the food I tried blood worms brine shrimp sinking pellets. Same thing with my orange cray. I mean everyone else eats fine I have 3 and the third a blue eats whatever I put in there it’s weird. Can’t figure out my parameters but I know the ammonia it’s 0.0 can someone help figure this out?

Also she is missing 2 front legs.

 

She's prolly getting ready to molt; they stop eating for a few days and up to a couple of weeks before.

 

You might be right but I feel like there is something else.

 

Her limbs will grow back with the next molt. Also, do you ever throw in some veg for them?

 

Not really I might try that right now but I have another crayfish problem, my other cray he is a orange one he won’t eat I don’t know why I trued brine shrimp the blood worms carnivore sinking pellets at this point I am willing to try and get goldfish at my LFS he definitely getting weaker the only thing I can test is ammonia which is 0.25 I do weekly water changes I just am willing to try anything at this point.

Can I have some advice on this?

 

The live food and them is not a big deal as they are more opportunistic eaters, so honestly, your diet for them is probably alright. What is your water hardness? Do you use any plant fertilizers with copper in them? How old are they? Mine tend to stop eating or disappear for a disturbingly long time periodically when they are getting ready to molt or berry. Or sometimes for no obvious reason at all. They typically need harder water with calcium and minerals.

Maybe a cuttle bone, or some shell on shrimp for a snack? A piece of zucchini?

But yeah, copper and zinc, while they need trace amounts, will mess them up in larger quantities, apparently.

The last time I had major cray death was when I had a wild caught. It couldn't molt properly, and died of the stress. I have marbled Crays now, and find that as long as I try to keep their water a little harder, they do well.

Do you have multiple species in there? are they from different parts of the world? if so, it is entirely possible that they have diseases or bacteria that are harmless to them but bad for each other.

 

Don’t know my water hardness I am going to petco today and getting testers for it I use no plants in my tank the orange is 5 months and the blue is a year and 1 month I might have some veggies for them the only thing that has copper or zinc in it is the sinking pellets, I don’t know where they got them I bought them from petco.

Unfortunately the orange crayfish has died there is definitely something going on his eyes had white on them, but I still have to worry about my other one that has to eat. RIP orange crayfish

 

Hmm. I would quarantine the other one for observation. sounds like maybe a fungus or some sort of illness. Is one of your crays fine, but the others are not? Basically, if you have crayfish that are different species from different parts of the world (like Marbled crayfish are from the U.S., Yabbies are from Australia, Dwarf crayfish are from mexico, I think, etc..) it is a very bad idea to keep them in the same tank. each one might carry diseases that their own species is adapted to, but the others cannot fight off. When you said you have an orange and a blue in the same tank, do you know if they are the same species? Because it might be that one of them had a fungI or parasite that the others can't adapt to.

 

I don’t know where there from. Yes one of them eats but the other does not I had them both for a year, well actually she eaten a worm a month ago but I can’t get any there snow on the ground I don’t know if there the same species
the first pic is the one hat eats it from a month ago I will get a picture of the second later

 

She's a beaut!

 

It’s a he! Well that one is, so it’s been a few days now and I noticed that her she’ll is actually soft still doesn’t eat but goes after the food she just spits it out


sorry the tank does not look clean in the picture that where all the poop goes lol

 

If it is still soft after more than 24 hours, your water might be a bit soft. I know marine iodine is supposed to be helpful too, but I am rather blessed with hard water in my location.

 

I might try iodine she is picky with her blood worms she eats some but does not eat others

 

Iodide is what you want, not iodine.

If you use iodine, you run the risk if killing everything in your tank - don't use ANYTHING that includes Lugols solution (a hospital grade cleaning solution and bacteriacide), which is most of the brands on the market.

Here's a safe one to use:

 

Can I ask for an update on this situation?

 

Ops sorry I completely forgot about this. I ended up not using the lodide because a little while later he started eating he’s very very strange some days he eats some days he picks it up and spits it out but he is doing very well now I am sorry once again for not answering.

And unfortunately the other crayfish the female passed away a few days later before I could get my hands on the lodide I believe she was way passed treatment.

 

It is sad but considering their biology is very very different from ours, it is often hard to figure out exactly what we can do to help until it is too late. I am sorry for your loss, but happy that the other one is doing well.