sick red claw cray or just molting?

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allconfused

Small Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2006
16
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#1
hi everyone,
I've got a 2 year old red claw who's about 8 inches long. I've put her in my new 45 gal (4ft) tank about a month ago and she's been doing fine.
She was very active (exploring, ripping up plants and eating fresh water prawns etc.)

Over the last few days she's been lying on her side and not moving much at all.

I've done a full water test suite (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph) and the only thing out of the ordinary was a ph of about 7.5 but I don't really think that's a problem.

The water temp is a little high (between 20 and 22 degrees celcius, less after I add a bunch of frozen bottles of water), but it has been the same since I put her in this new tank and she hasn't really seemed to have had trouble with it up 'til now.

She hasn't molted in a few months and after a little reading on the net I think she may just be having a difficult molt but I can see no indications on her shell that she's molting (it's still fully intact and isn't red) She has never had trouble molting before.
I'm wondering if anyone else has had the same thing happen? Or does anyone have any advice? I hear that adding a few drops of special Iodine per gallon of water can help with molting.

can anyone offer any advice?

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Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#3
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
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Florida
#3
allconfused,

Your water temp is actually on the low side for RedClaws.
Remember, Australian RedClaws (Cherax quadricarinatus), unlike the N. American crays, generally require slightly higher temps---closer to about 26 degrees celsius.

Still, I don't think your temp is the cause for her unusual behavior...unless the temp keeps fluctuating a lot. What did you keep your temp at in her old tank?

Either way, I agree with YFK and recommend not putting in anymore frozen water bottles.

Your pH is fine.

As for moulting...
Check for a space (read: "break/gap in the shell") between the carapace and the tail. If there's one there, she's moulting. If not, she isn't.

One other thought...depending on your filtration, your cray may not be getting as much dissolved oxygen in the water as she did in your previous setup. If this is the case, you'll want to hold off on upping the tank temp. until you get airstone(s) in there and/or provide the cray with plants/decor that will allow her to reach the surface of the water.

You may want to check out Bluecrayfish.com for more info. on all of this.

Big Vine
 

Big Vine

Big Vine

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#5
Yup...that's good that you keep a lower water-level, YFK. *thumbsups
The waterfall effect that it creates definitely helps with oxygenation. Also, it helps to tremendously reduce the likelihood of a cray escaping!

So far I've managed to have zero fatalities and zero escapees, and I keep the water-levels even with the tops of the tanks. They all have fairly escape-proof hoods though, and the filters seem to agitate the water just fine---even with the tanks being full. Also, I make sure that there are ways for the crays to reach the water's surface in case the filter stops working. So far, so good.

Big Vine
 

A

allconfused

Small Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2006
16
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#6
Hi Guys, thanks for the great replies!

In the old tank I put a heater in for winter and had it set to 24 celcius, she got a bit quiet then as well so I dropped the temp to 21 and she seemed happy enough.

I did have an airstone (about 5cm long) in the big tank but it was the same pump and stone from my 2ft tank so it obviously wasn't powerful enough. I went yesterday and bought a much bigger air pump and also got a "bubble wall" that's 50cm long so there's alot more surface action so that should help the oxygen absorption and saturation!

Do crayfish die for the same reason as fish in hot tanks? i.e. mostly to do with the lack of absorbed oxygen in the water or is it purely a temp thing?

Anyway that's an interesting point you made about the temp not being the problem but the fluctuating temp from the frozen bottles that could be causeing the trouble.

The other thing I did was clean the filter as I hadn't in the 2 months I've had the tank, I had been putting it off because I've never had a big canister filter before and I wasn't sure how to clean it (it didn't come with cleaning instructions) so I just muddled through it and cleaned out the filter media (not the bio-balls) a few days back. I know I shouldn't need to clean it that often but it had a bit of gravel dust in it and other stuff from when I set the tank up (no matter how long you wash gravel for it still has more dust on it when you put it in the tank!)

The Nitrate levels were very low last weekend, I'm going to run my tests again this weekend to see what difference all my changes have made.

She seems a bit happier now, she's still staying in her hidey corner but she doesn't seem to be lying on her side anymore.
I'm going to go a few days without the frozen water and see if the massive increase in oxygenation will help.

I'll keep you posted! I'll also try and post some photo's now that I've got my new camera.

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A

allconfused

Small Fish
#7
Oct 22, 2006
16
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#7
just thought I'd post an update.
I bought a bigger air pump and a 50cm long air wall and my red claw came good.
It took a few days but she seems back to her old self!!

The temp is still around 23 degree's celcius but as long as I don't add the frozen water to lower the temp she seems to have gotten used to it.

It seems as thought temp fluctuations and low DO (dissolved oxygen) are the enemy of the crayfish!!!

Thanks so much for helping me guys!
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