Dwarf Crayfish not doing so well

[kona97]

Hi! I was hoping someone could help me... My dwarf crayfish has slowly started losing colour since the summer but seemed happy. I spoke to the person I bought my crayfish from and they said the might just be old because they start to lose colour as they are aging? Lately, the crayfish doesn't move around a whole lot and likes to hang out in one spot of the tank. Sometimes I see it very active and sometimes barely moving. I have two neon tetras in the aquarium and they are super happy. I've checked my water and the levels seem to be good as well as the temperature. I've had the crayfish all year and it has moulted several times and grown a lot. I just don't understand what's wrong. Any help/advice would be appreciated.

 

[Willj626]

It may be that it is growing old, one of my dwarves was like that before he passed. I made sure to hand feed him when he didn't want to leave his little area so he could get food still. Just make sure he's fed and keep the water clean. Thats about all you can do if he is aging. Do you know how old he was when you got him roughly? They only live 2 -2 1/2 years in my experience.

 

[kona97]

It may be that it is growing old, one of my dwarves was like that before he passed. I made sure to hand feed him when he didn't want to leave his little area so he could get food still. Just make sure he's fed and keep the water clean. Thats about all you can do if he is aging. Do you know how old he was when you got him roughly? They only live 2 -2 1/2 years in my experience.

I'm not sure, he was already a decent size when I got him so maybe it's possible he's coming around to 2 years. Well if that's the case then I'll just try to keep him comfortable

 

[Willj626]

I'm not sure, he was already a decent size when I got him so maybe it's possible he's coming around to 2 years. Well if that's the case then I'll just try to keep him comfortable

Another thought I had was if you've added anything new to the tank that might contain copper. Low levels of copper exposure would have a similar affect on your crayfish.

 

[kona97]

Another thought I had was if you've added anything new to the tank that might contain copper. Low levels of copper exposure would have a similar affect on your crayfish.

Oh ok! I haven’t added anything so I think my crayfish is an old man. Thank you for your advice