Breeding electric blue crays?

[sweetpickles7]

I would like to find a mate for my cray, he just looks lonely since he ate his other tankmate[goldfish].So i would like to learn how to breed them.I need to know a lot of info.Like how to sex them, what size of tank to have them in, and so on.If you know of a very helpfull site, or if you would just like to answer the questions either will do.He/She has purple on it to.

 

[Big Vine]

Hate to burst your bubble here, but what you've got isn't an "Electric Blue Cray" (term generally reserved for the North American cray, Procambarus alleni) at all---yours is an Australian Redclaw (Cherax quadricarinatus), which I believe reaches about 10-12" in length.

Sexing is completely different with these crays, and thus the whole breeding project will require more expertise than I am able to provide at this time. Check out Crayfish Mates - Home for some good info. It's an Australian-based site which should easily cover everything you need to know---including the fact that you'll be needing a much larger tank than 10 gallons...even for just a single specimen like the one you've got now, which I'm almost certain is a C. quad female.

BV

 

[sweetpickles7]

Thanks good thing i know now instead of later when its 10in big.Im taking it back.

 

[Big Vine]

You're welcome.
The orange on the joints is the key giveaway, but the body is also a slightly different shape (takes more of a trained eye though).

If you do decide to go with a N. American 'Electric Blue,' just look for ones with a more uniform, more vibrant blue coloration (with no orange on the joints at all).

BV

 

[sweetpickles7]

Wait?My cray doesnt have orange joints?It has white joints.

 

[Big Vine]

Well, they're 'orange' compared to the joints on an alleni.
But like I said, my specialty is not Australian crays, so if you want a second opinion from a more suitable source, why not post over on that forum I linked to and see what they say?

Australian Redclaws (C. quad) are sexed differently from the N. American crays. You still need to look on their undersides, but instead of modified swimerrettes (like the ones which cover the gonopodium on an alleni male) the quad males have a set of slight pointy protrusions on one of their pairs of legs (not sure which pair offhand). The males also have red adorning the outside of each of their claws. Females lack this red, and instead of having protrusions on their undersides, you'll notice a pair of 'pits' in one of their pairs of legs (not sure which pair offhand).

BV

 

[sweetpickles7]

Okay, it goin back.