Crayfish or Lobster???

burtoncb47 · Nov 20, 2006

i dont know if this is the right section for these but whatever?....

for christmas i might be asking for a new tank and i was at my LFS the other day and i saw a blue lobster/crayfish (i dont know which one it is and i dont know the differences) and i thought how awesome would that be to have one of these in a tank in my room....but i dont know much about them the guy said they were not community fish so i couldnt get one unless i get a dwrf crayfish for my 55 community which i might do....but i want a regular size blue lobster/crayfish for my room he said i could put like tetras or something very fast moving in a tankwith it that wont get caught by it so is this a good idea or not????
please if you have any knowledge about crayfish please help it will be greatly appreciated!!!!

Mahamotorworks · Nov 20, 2006

I would say Crayfish, Lobsters are Saltwater. Big Vine has one.

MAHA

burtoncb47 · Nov 20, 2006

ok so a crayfish got it....thanks maha... and there are blue crayfish also right??

and for a crayfish what size tank would i need...it has to be kinda small cuz it will be going in my room something like a 10 gallon would that work?? and what other things would i need for it??

Mahamotorworks · Nov 20, 2006

A 10 G should be fine. I would say a nice place for it to hide. You might need a fine substrate.

MAHA

burtoncb47 · Nov 20, 2006

opk so a 10 gallon would work
and would like a hollow log or something work for a hiding place??
and whats the fine sand for??
what else could i put in the tank with him??

usacutie81 · Nov 20, 2006

Blue Crayfish get to at least 6 inches (sometimes up to 12), so I'd go for at least 20 gallons. They may snap at things that come close to them, but I never saw mine do it. They will eat dead/dieing fish, however. They like caves and lots of places to hide, they are sometimes very shy. A hollow log would work fine, but I'd give it more than one place to hide. A fine substrate is because crays like to burrow (making yet another place for them to hide). It doesn't have to be sand, but definitly something it can easily move around.

As far as other fish, I'd say something that swims fast and prefers the top area of the tank. Schooling fish may be better, the cray isn't as likely to take a snap at a big school as he is at a lone fish. No bottom dwellers, they'd just fight for territory.

Mahamotorworks · Nov 20, 2006

As far as tank mates they would have to be fast moving so they dont get caught. I would also go with some plants.

MAHA

burtoncb47 · Nov 20, 2006

so would i be able to have a pleco in the tank or would he get snapped at??
and would a school of like black tetras work??

usacutie81 · Nov 20, 2006

Plus, you may want to keep in mind that crays are cold water fish. I'd get something that can tolerate colder water with them. If you kept the temp above 76 the only time you may see the cray is at feeding time.

usacutie81 · Nov 20, 2006

burtoncb47 said:

I wouldn't recommend it. Crays mostly keep to themselves, unless someone else is butting in on their turf. A pleco is on the bottom a lot and the cray would definitly have issues with that. If it comes down to a turf war, the cray is going to win.

I don't know much about black tetras, but I'd assume they'd work fine. As long as they aren't too small.

burtoncb47 · Nov 20, 2006

ok and i was wondering a 10 gallon might be my limit so how big does a dwarf cray get?

usacutie81 · Nov 20, 2006

Fish and Aquatic Invertebrates » Freshwater Inverts » Crayfish - Blue Florida Main Page

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1641

As you see, even the Hammers Cobalt Blue Lobster that only gets to 5" is still recommended to have 20 gal.

YahooFishKeeper · Nov 20, 2006

ARGH!!! so much INCORRECT and general info in this thread. you need to find the exact species of cray. not all crays burrow. not all blur crays are the same, and i have one too. dont forget me! just because big vine has one in his avatar doesnt make him the only one who has one. crays are cold water and would not like temps above around 74... even that is a little warm.

Igor The Cat · Nov 20, 2006

YahooFishKeeper said:

ARGH!!! so much INCORRECT and general info in this thread. you need to find the exact species of cray. not all crays burrow. not all blur crays are the same, and i have one too. dont forget me! just because big vine has one in his avatar doesnt make him the only one who has one. crays are cold water and would not like temps above around 74... even that is a little warm.

Someones got a rubber hose up their nose...

-Java

VirgoWolf · Nov 20, 2006

I'd say get a 20gal (long) and a blue cra with a school of danios (your choice of the many varities), white coulds, or something similar (stay in the minnow family if possible). They can all withstand the cooler waters and are fast enough to stay out of the cray's way. Also, don't be supprised if he does get 1 or 2, they sometimes get too close and the cray gets free lunch, but not too often.

I would avoid real plants as a cray would make a salad of them pretty quickly, my cray used to trim my plastic plants when she got in a mood, so you can imagine the damage to real plants. Any type of hiding spot will work, hollow log, secure rock formation, any ornament you can find with a hole big enough for an adult crey to get in/out of.

burtoncb47 · Nov 20, 2006

ok thanks every one this thread has been a big help

and yahoo no one was forgetting you its just that big vine has a cray in his avatar so he is a person who for sure has one and you dont have a pic or one in your sig so im sorry

and again thanks everyone!!
JJ
p.s. and still any more info is greatly appreciated

YahooFishKeeper · Nov 20, 2006

www.bluecrayfish.com/forum has some nice info. you still need to find out what species your getting in order to help make the habitat more suitable. there isnt just one almighty blue cray. its a color morph. so many species are available in the blue color. not all crays grow to be 6 inches, and i have seen pictures of a cray around 2 feet long.... so i'd know what you were getting before your purchase. you will need a relatively cool tank (around 72 or lower) so you'll have to be careful about what you put in there. usually crays are too slow to catch live fish but it does and will happen. i came home one day to see my cray holding a barb in its claw while the barb was still wiggling around, and half of its tail was gone... dont go out and buy something expensive or something that you really care about.

usacutie81 · Nov 20, 2006

YahooFishKeeper said:

I was actually hoping you'd chime in, Yahoo, you definitly know way more about the crays than me. *PEACE!*

Big Vine · Nov 21, 2006

Of course my internet service goes down last night so that I can't get to this thread until now. Better late than never.

burtoncb47,

I'm going to clear a few things up for you.

First off, yahoofishkeeper is right---your setup really does depend on the type of cray you'll be getting. Fortunately, choosing a blue cray is fairly simple, because you will mainly be confined to one of two choices:

Cherax quadricarinatus (common name "Australian Redclaw")
Avoid these, because they grow quite large...up to about 12 inches.

Procambarus alleni (common name "Florida Electric Blue Lobster"...ignore the 'lobster' part---they really are crayfish)
P. alleni is the kind of cray that you will want to get. The cray shown in my avatar is a P. alleni, and it will get to be about 6-8 inches, max.

Tank Size:
-you are limited to about 10 gallons...no problem (for P. alleni)
-most crays will get along just fine in a tank that size
(crays spend most of their time in confined spaces, and they don't experience 'stunting' like many fish do when they are kept in smaller tanks)

Substrate:
-stick to regular gravel or something that can be vaccumed easily
-avoid sand and finer substrate, which will foul fairly quickly (crays are messy!)

Temperature:
-just make sure you don't put a heater in there, and your cray will be very happy...don't even worry about it
(ALL of my crays tolerate temps in the high 70s and even low to mid 80s just fine---they are quite hardy and adaptable to virtually any temperature that you would have in a freshwater tank)

Tankmates:
-no snails
-no shrimp
-no other crays
-no plecos or any other type of bottom-dweller
-stick with smaller, faster-moving fish...such as tetras, white clouds, or danios (cherry barbs or rasboras would work well too)
-guppies, platies, swordtails would also work, but they would get eaten at a higher rate...which is pretty entertaining (that's why I'm raising guppies as feeders

)

Decor/Plants:
-no live plants...stick with fake plants (which will also get nibbled on!)
-a cave-type dwelling that is large enough to accommodate the size of cray you get is perfect

*Note: I also recommend putting in fake plants or other decor that is tall enough to let the cray reach the surface of the water. This is not an absolute necessity in a tank that has a filter or some other form of aeration in it (definitely have a filter on any tank with crays in it!), but it is still nice in case the filter stops working because it ensures that the cray won't drown. (cover up any escape holes in the hood of your tank)

Finally...
yahoofishkeeper is right on the money---check out Bluecrayfish.com and join the forum...you'll learn a ton of info. about crays!

Hope this helps.
Big Vine

Stevie · Nov 21, 2006

YahooFishKeeper said:

When I saw the name of this tread I knew you would post somthing like this! lol

Rember kids; NOT A LOBSTER*SUPERSMIL

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