Blue Crayfish

golsama

golsama

Corresponding Secretary
Last year I became interested in getting a blue crayfish. I found some that I felt were too expensive and instead got a regular one from a feeder tank. My "feeder" crayfish is getting closer to baby lobster size now, lol. I absolutely love watching him in his tank. He lives with a whole bunch of endlers. I happen to have another tank with a few spill-over feeder endlers set up and running, so today when I saw baby blue crayfish for a few bucks I picked one up with my early Christmas money. He looks very content in his new home that he only shares with endlers. He's so cute. He's about the size of one of my first crayfish's claws. The new guy is extremely entertaining to watch as he explores his new territory and tries to catch an endler not much bigger than him, lol.

Any other crayfish keepers out there?
 
verbal

verbal

CCA Members
I have a "blue lobster" in one tank. Another tank I have a group for blue "marbled" cloning crays.
 
D

dlfn1

Members
i have two, in separate tanks by themselves. i have been too afraid to add any fish as i'm afraid they will eat them. they have grown quite a bit since i got them as little guys/gals. i think one is male and the other female. not 100% sure on this though. every time one of them molts, i think 'oh know, dead crayfish', then i realize what it is. :) i got mine when sherry (from pvas) crayfish had babies. hers seem to like duckweed but mine could care less. was hoping for a way to get rid of the duckweed without just tossing it. oh well. they do like algae wafers and shrimp sticks.
 
Spine

Spine

Members
I just got a pair of blue crays the other day. I've had them before and even had them breed for me. Mine did fine with other fish in the tank it seemed like the only ones they bothered where the dead ones,lol.
I lost my original pair when the power went out(frozen) they produced quite a few baby's once they got settled in, the little ones are tiny versions of the parents. I enjoyed keeping them. Sexing cray isn't hard,you just net them and gently grab them just behind the claws and flip them over this link will help you tell what sex they are. http://www.crayfishworld.com/sexy.htm
 
George

George

CCA Charter Member and person in charge of the we
I have dwarf crayfish. They are only an inch to an inch and a half long. I think others in CCA should also have these since I have sold or given some away. They breed quite readily and are very hardy. Maybe I will have to put some more in the CCA auction soon. These are very interesting animals that can be kept in a very small space.

George
 
golsama

golsama

Corresponding Secretary
I love my new little blue guy. He just shed his exo for the first time with me this week. He's still blue but has some pink to him now even after hardening up. As small as he is, he's better at catching fish than my big guy.
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
You know they bleed blue-green?

Carry over from before iron-based hemoglobin became all the rage - crayfish (like lobster, crab, scorpion, octopus, squid, clams and mussels) all use hemocyanin which is organized around a copper rather than iron atom, hence the blue coloration of their oxygenated blood that's generally clear once depleted.
 
UNCLERUCKUS

UNCLERUCKUS

"THE ALL POWERFUL Q !!
Avatar said:
Carry over from before iron-based hemoglobin became all the rage - crayfish (like lobster, crab, scorpion, octopus, squid, clams and mussels) all use hemocyanin which is organized around a copper rather than iron atom, hence the blue coloration of their oxygenated blood that's generally clear once depleted.
Click to expand...
I READ A FEW YEARS BACK ABOUT THE BLOOD OF HORSESHOE CRABS BEING STUDIED FOR ITS HEALING PROPERTIES IN HEMATOLOGY. VERY INTERESTING BLOOD THESE CRITTERS POSESS.
 
ddavila06

ddavila06

Members
so in conclusion the blue guys are easy to keep, readily breen and do not bother fish in the tank and they could careless about plants? i been to afraid to get one because of my fish and plants...btw, noone posted pictures!!!
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
You might reconsider...

ddavila06 said:
so in conclusion the blue guys are easy to keep, readily breen and do not bother fish in the tank and they could careless about plants? i been to afraid to get one because of my fish and plants...btw, noone posted pictures!!!
Click to expand...

Was at House of Tropicals last year to buy some Anubias and all theirs were defoliated. Thought they were all dead/dying but then I noticed the leaves all looked like they'd been sheared with scissors. Looked closer and all three tanks had a large blue crayfish inside. Whoops. Owner was pissed when I told him, still wanted $3.95 apiece for the leafless stems. Whatever, but when they reach a size, I'm thinking one crayfish could pretty much clear-cut a tank in an evening if it gets the urge.
 
golsama

golsama

Corresponding Secretary
Both of my crayfish shred plants to pieces. The only plant that has survived is hornwort that I leave floating. Through a little research it seems that some aquarists have gotten blue coloration in their crays through feeding an extremely high protein diet. Diets that are plant-based result in brown or red coloration. Looks like I'll be experimenting with diet.

My little blue cray is growing like a weed, much faster than my first one. I came home from a weekend trip to find he redecorated his tank. He pile gravel in one corner, leaving another corner completely bare, dragged a fake plant to the other side of the tank, and completed overturned his HEAVY hollow log decor. I actually asked my dad (who took care of all the critters while I was gone) if he messed with the log. He looked at me like I was insane, lol...
 
Avatar

Avatar

Plenipotentiary-at-large
It's not so heavy under water...

..still, sounds like am impressive piece of work, for an invertebrate no less.

Beware the exoskeletals!
 
golsama

golsama

Corresponding Secretary
My blue guy is more of a decorator than my regular one, lol.

I fed both of my crays a hunk of cooked plain shrimp. They went nuts. So far they have been feeding for a straight hour on their pieces. The blue guy sucked the shrimp into his log (which I righted last night) and the regular guy is eating his in the middle of the tank out in the open. I've had him longer and he is used to people. He'll "beg" for food when someone walks near his tank.

As a side note, my RES turtle also greatly enjoyed his first shrimp... grabbed it right out of my hand before it could hit the water. :rolleyes:
 
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