Fishproblem’s 11g Crayfish Tank

Hi all, looks like I’ve got myself a little too busy. As I collect the components for my first high tech planted tank, I also picked up a little crayfish. It was an incredibly impulsive move. A local animal shelter posted that they had a few for adoption, so I gave them ten bucks and became the proud owner of a rescue crayfish.

I’m also fresh out of space for another tank, but that’s never stopped me before.
I’d been keeping the little guy temporarily in a kritter keeper while I picked up a tank, and today my girlfriend and I mounted the TV on the wall to create some real estate.

Got lucky and scored an Aqueon frameless 11g on sale at petco for $25 planning to fill halfway and build something of a palaudarium in it using local plants. Today I used up the last of my 50lb bag of play sand and filled the tank up halfway with water. I’ll condition it and wait for the dust to settle before I move the crayfish.

 

Hi all, looks like I’ve got myself a little too busy. As I collect the components for my first high tech planted tank, I also picked up a little crayfish. It was an incredibly impulsive move. A local animal shelter posted that they had a few for adoption, so I gave them ten bucks and became the proud owner of a rescue crayfish. You will want no holes that the crayfish could fit through.

I’m also fresh out of space for another tank, but that’s never stopped me before.
I’d been keeping the little guy temporarily in a kritter keeper while I picked up a tank, and today my girlfriend and I mounted the TV on the wall to create some real estate.

Got lucky and scored an Aqueon frameless 11g on sale at petco for $25 planning to fill halfway and build something of a palaudarium in it using local plants. Today I used up the last of my 50lb bag of play sand and filled the tank up halfway with water. I’ll condition it and wait for the dust to settle before I move the crayfish.

Cool concept! Do you know what species of crayfish you have? All except the dwarf species tend to eat plants.

Also, you will likely want a lid. Crayfish are escape artists and can even climb up plastic filter tubes to escape. You will want no holes that the crayfish could fit through.

 

Awesome! Crayfish are so much fun!!

Aqueon frameless 11g on sale at petco for $25

Also... tell me more about this sale

 

Cool concept! Do you know what species of crayfish you have?

Also, you will likely want a lid. Crayfish are escape artists and can even climb up plastic filter tubes to escape.

Thanks and not a single clue. I'm gonna try to get some decent photos of him this week to post for help with an ID.

Re: the escaping - yeahhhh my understanding thus far is they they're little trash menaces. Eat everything, escape everywhere, kill your fish, tear up your plants, pinch. I had it in a kritter keeper with a lid and an airstone with a little terracotta pot to hide in, and gave it a bunch of java moss to try to keep the water a little cleaner for it. It cut the java moss into small pieces and ate it all. I've watched it climb a glass thermometer. Insane. So my plan is to go filter free. I've only got about 4 gallons of water in there, so 50% every two or three days won't be a trial. For the hardscape, I'm giving him rocks and wood only under the surface, and mosses and grass above. I'd really like to try building up the last of my flourite in a mound surrounded by rocks to plant emergent grasses that will help the water quality. We'll see how it goes.

 

I’m interested to see how this works. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cray decides it wants to eat terrestrial plants, but you never know. If it’s not a dwarf, you will want to upgrade the tank size.

 

Awesome! Crayfish are so much fun!!


Also... tell me more about this sale

Just checked and there's no longer any sign of it. They only sell the tanks in a handful of Petco locations (mostly east coast), and they don't ship them. I had to look hard for a place I could order one for curbside pickup. Ended up picking mine up in Jersey on the way to go hiking down Palisades Parkway. I have the 30 gallon version as well, and they're honestly a great choice for a larger rimless tank without the absurd expense. They are NOT low iron glass though, and the panels on the 21 and 30 gallon ones are thick enough that you can sortof tell the visibility isn't perfect. The 11 gallon glass is thinner and clearer. I also got the 30g on sale, for $80. They're selling for $130 rn, and $80 for the 21g. Looks like the 11g isn't currently available. I only bought mine like a week ago!

 

Thanks and not a single clue. I'm gonna try to get some decent photos of him this week to post for help with an ID.

Re: the escaping - yeahhhh my understanding thus far is they they're little trash menaces. Eat everything, escape everywhere, kill your fish, tear up your plants, pinch. I had it in a kritter keeper with a lid and an airstone with a little terracotta pot to hide in, and gave it a bunch of java moss to try to keep the water a little cleaner for it. It cut the java moss into small pieces and ate it all. I've watched it climb a glass thermometer. Insane. So my plan is to go filter free. I've only got about 4 gallons of water in there, so 50% every two or three days won't be a trial. For the hardscape, I'm giving him rocks and wood only under the surface, and mosses and grass above. I'd really like to try building up the last of my flourite in a mound surrounded by rocks to plant emergent grasses that will help the water quality. We'll see how it goes.

“Little trash menaces” is a good way to put it! When I was young, we used to keep crays we caught in the creek - my mom would sometimes feed them little chunks of whatever meat we had for dinner and they loved it! (Not sure how healthy that was, so you much wanna check lol)
If you make the hardscape into a little cave he will be insanely happy! Crayfish naturally like hiding under rocks and in caves, so giving them a place they can duck into is good.

 

I’m interested to see how this works. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cray decides it wants to eat terrestrial plants, but you never know. If it’s not a dwarf, you will want to upgrade the tank size.

I won't be surprised either! There's a lot up in the air, so I'm not getting too emotionally invested in any of it yet. (Except, of course, the crayfish.)

“Little trash menaces” is a good way to put it! When I was young, we used to keep crays we caught in the creek - my mom would sometimes feel them little chunks of whatever meat we had for dinner and they loved it! (Not sure how healthy that was, so you much wanna check lol)
If you make the hardscape into a little cave he will be insanely happy! Crayfish naturally like hiding under rocks and in caves, so giving them a place they can duck into is good.

Based on the research I've done, at least one breeder has said you can feel free to feed them table scraps! Not sure how I feel about that, but I might change my mind lol. For now, it's brine shrimp, bloodworms, veggies, and whatever else the fish are eating.

Caves are a must. I hate the terracotta pot, but it's staying until I can build a cool cave system for it. I've been doing some reading about how deep their burrows can go, and it's pretty crazy. Hiding places are a priority.

found the tank... sale's over, but $50 for an 11g frameless isn't bad, and it's good quality. You'll want a razor blade to scrape off the excess silicone on the corners, but it's a great tank and it comes with a leveling mat.


Someone in the Q&A on the page did some awesome legwork to find out which stores carry them. It's probably worth sharing here so I always have it.

By state and store number (you can google "Petco Store #_____" to find the address): AZ -1156,57,5 & 1173, CA - 1206,2123,1162,548,579,1504,924,586, & 598, CT - 762, MA - 950 & 758, MD – 1754 & 2739, NJ – 2794, 1770, 1843, 734, & 2873, NV – 1105 & 1115, NY – 764, PA – 2852, RI – 3705, VA - 2857

 

found the tank... sale's over, but $50 for an 11g frameless isn't bad, and it's good quality. You'll want a razor blade to scrape off the excess silicone on the corners, but it's a great tank and it comes with a leveling mat.


Someone in the Q&A on the page did some awesome legwork to find out which stores carry them. It's probably worth sharing here so I always have it.

By state and store number (you can google "Petco Store #_____" to find the address): AZ -1156,57,5 & 1173, CA - 1206,2123,1162,548,579,1504,924,586, & 598, CT - 762, MA - 950 & 758, MD – 1754 & 2739, NJ – 2794, 1770, 1843, 734, & 2873, NV – 1105 & 1115, NY – 764, PA – 2852, RI – 3705, VA - 2857

Thanks! Pretty sure my petco just started carrying them recently! I’ll check!

Best of luck with your cray - they’re so much fun!!

 

Welp! It looks like... something?
Water’s clearing up as the dust finally settles (you can only rinse play sand so much).

I’ve got a little bubble wand air stone moving the water around while I work next to the tank during the day, and pull it out at night because I’m paranoid about escape. Obvi not permanent, nor is the little led light I’ve got up there. Going to definitely build up an emergent growth section with large stones and fill with gently used fluorite/caribsea eco complete to plant marshy grasses in. That’s gonna be the whole filtration system, I think. Will include water lettuce too.

One person on my ID thread said they think the crayfish is a self-cloning one. I think it’s a papershell, but I know nothing! hoping for more clarity soon on that front.

 

Looks really nice. An idea for a custom lid, is to use a sheet of Polycarbonate. I bought a sheet at Home Depot for about $32.00. You can get lids for several aquariums out of one sheet. It is easy to cut with a skill saw or table saw. This way you can really tighten up on the lid to keep the little guy from escaping, by cutting out custom tight places for accessories to pass through used in the tank.

Polycarbonate

 

Looks really nice. An idea for a custom lid, is to use a sheet of Polycarbonate. I bought a sheet at Home Depot for about $32.00. You can get lids for several aquariums out of one sheet. It is easy to cut with a skill saw or table saw. This way you can really tighten up on the lid to keep the little guy from escaping, by cutting out custom tight places for accessories to pass through used in the tank.

Definitely a consideration - I've done that for the lid on my killifish tank. If it doesn't have anything to climb up and out with, I think I'll go without a lid, but down the line if I add a filter I'll be locking everything up tight!

 

I have pretty good luck keeping my crayfish in with a Saran Wrap “lid”, cause you can pull it tight and tape it down into any shape you might need it to be. It’s also cheap and easy! Lol

 

Not the most thrilling update in terms of visuals, but I got a python for water changes for my birthday (my girlfriend is truly an enabler). The crayfish has molted for a second time, and is at least twice the size it was a month ago when I brought it home. So far our “scape” is still just play sand and a small flowerpot with some bubbles.

I have stones arriving in the mail for another tank this week (both God and USPS willing... we’re on day seven of 3-4 day priority shipping). Once I have the hardscape laid out in that tank, I’ll know how much aqua soil is left over for this one!

 

pH in this tank is at 6.8 - I've noticed that the play sand I use in most of my setups seems to lower the pH considerably (my shrimp tank, heavily planted in inert gravel, has a much higher pH than my other tanks). I am wondering if I should slowly add crushed coral to the substrate when I build out the scape to raise the pH closer to 7-7.5. Anyone more familiar with crayfish have input re: acceptable pH?

 

the crayfish got a hand me down last night! I spent the evening tearing down my 5.5g diy rimless betta tank (rip) to be replaced by my new 6 gallon high tech setup. So the crayfish got its first piece of driftwood! Eventually, this piece will work with other driftwood and stones (and some tunnel/caves) to shore up substrate for emergent plant growth.

The wood, it turns out, was the reason my 5.5 gallon fell apart. It was decaying, but the sponge filter in with it wasn’t powerful enough to blow the layer of rot off. The extra nutrients in the water made for some gut wrenching amounts of very long, green algae. I took a toothbrush to it in the kitchen sink and scrubbed that layer away before putting it in here, also hoping that the voracious little crayfish would eat rotting driftwood. So far so good. It won’t stop crawling all over, nibbling on the wood, and even crawled up to filter feed at the surface yesterday. Super cool.

Really glad I got to keep this piece because I love the java moss growth at the top.

 

Went for a hike yesterday and came home with more goodies for the crayfish. He (who has officially been sexed) now has some lovely acorn caps on his lawn, and two new sticks. I baked the wood at 200°F for a couple of hours and boiled the acorn caps before adding them to the tank.

I don’t think the new wood will be placed where it is forever. It’ll probably end up as part of a retaining wall, but for the time being I didn’t want to just throw it in. Some tannins are leeching which has me further concerned the pH will be too low in the long term, so crushed coral has become a priority.

I also grabbed a little sphagnum moss to try and propagate to eventually include in this setup. FTS and some pics of moss and acorns below!

 

Nice! If you ever put some dried leaves in there, the cray will eat them up.

 

Nice! If you ever put some dried leaves in there, the cray will eat them up.

Thanks! Yeah I really want to - planning on a bunch of beech leaves in there.

 

Well here’s an update! I ordered a light and it wasn’t supposed to be here until Wednesday, but here we are! It’s a terrestrial plant light, because I’ll be growing everything emersed. I may have to move it farther from the plants when the time comes, but so far, here it is!






so far I’m a fan... now let’s see if it’ll grow plants.

The crayfish actually molted again on Friday, his third molt since I brought him home April 15 (38 days). He’s growing fast! I’ve been feeding him predominantly fluval pleco sticks, supplemented by brine shrimp and whatever vegetable the people are eating. Seems to be working.




I found a few more things for the hardscape out hiking this weekend. Stones and gravel and a great piece of driftwood from a nearby river. Sterilizing it all today and then I just need a few odds and ends before I can bank the substrate and start planting.

 

Crayfish pic just because. I need to get some good identification photos so I can get confirmation on species. Hope I don’t get pinched!

 

Woo! It's been a while! The crayfish has GROWN, and the tank is looking great as a hardscape-only. Really happy with it. Unfortunately, I tried scaping in such a way that the cray can't escape, but he's proven pretty wily. Just put him back in the tank after his second venture into the apartment, so it's lid time. I already have brackets, just gotta go on a pilgrimage to lowes to get the glass (so much cheaper than buying the name brand lid for the tank). This means I also have to cut down the driftwood a bit to fit under the lid. Bummer, but you gotta keep the livestock safe!

In the meantime, I'm on the hunt for a deal on an aquamaxx 22 gallon long all glass aquarium for this guy....

 

hello from the blackwater crayfish tank! things have been stable and happy. the cray is eating less aggressively than he once did. i wonder if it's because he's not growing as rapidly anymore. i'm going to try to get a couple full tank shots tomorrow to post up here.