FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Now what? Hm. I've been looking for good crawdad care sites for a while(most of the care sheets I can find are sorely lacking other than to say no heater is fine, max 1 per 10 gallons and they eat anything and everything) since I've wanted one, and this weekend I got one. I was at petco and the lady was fishing(no pun intended) a lot of them out of the feeder goldie bags and was going to take them home for her cichlids, so I asked if I could have a baby one. She gave her to me, but I've got no clue what to do now.

Little one is in about 3 gallons of water(Cray[named after a star wars character. unless she's a he, then she'll be named something else XD] is about 1" long. teeeeennnnnyyyy little thing!) at the moment, since I've read that they can drown in too deep of water unless it is well oxygenated. I've got her in a 20 gallon(which'll be her home) tank and right now all it's got is a couple of pieces of driftwood.

I was planning on using a mix of sand and gravel, that should be alright, right? Or should I go for all gravel? I've read that they like to dig, which is why I was going to use sand with it, but if they don't need to have sand then I'll just use gravel, since I've already got plenty of that. I know I need an air pump for it, but I also need to have a Tight fitting lid, which the lids that are sold here can't fit tightly unless they don't have anything in the tank through them. So should I get a regular metal screen top and cut a hole in the middle somewhere to put the air line through, or would she be able to get out through there?

Also, get more driftwood, or get rock instead?

Thanks!



[url=http://dragcave.ath.cx/viewdragon/bNFR][/url]

First off, welcome to the wonderful world of crays! They're loads of fun!

It should be fine without a heater (most species are able to survive temps below 40F). For now, a 3 gal tank will be alright, but plan to move it to something larger (10 gal would be good unless you heat the tank (he'll be more active and need more space)) fairly soon.

Do keep the tank well oxygenated. Have an airstone in the tank and/or a powerhead/filter/pump blowing water across the surface, deflecting down into the lower part of the tank. In the wild, crays live in between the rocks in the rapids in shallow rivers, so they're in very well oxygenated water, but it's usually not to fast-moving where they actually burrow.

They'll eat just about anything. I've even seen crays attack, kill, and eat other crays in the wild (both big ones eating little ones, and LOTS of little ones eating one big one). I used to feed mine sinking pellets, pieces of cocktail shrimp, algae wafers, feeder guppies, etc. I wouldn't recommend feeding them people-food, tho... at least not anything that's been cooked and/or seasoned. They might eat veggies... dunno.

Don't try keeping them with other fish... they'll just kill them. I made that mistake. They aren't mass murderers or anything, but fish just bug them and they'll take 'em out (and eat them) when they get a chance. I once put one in a tank with a school of Corydoras catfish... the cray (about 1.5" would grab a pectoral fin with a pincer, roll around with the cory, grab the other pectoral fin with the other pincer, and wrestle the poor cory to the death! By the time I figured out why my cories were disappearing (witnessed an attack), I only had two left So yea, keep 'em alone.

Also, provide a few rocks or other solid things for him to burrow under.

That's about all I can think of...

If you've got other questions, just ask

Have fun

Edit: Don't mix sand and gravel, the sand will settle to the bottom and you'll end up with a smelly uncleanable mess. I'd stick to gravel (easier for crays to burrow in)...

She's in a 20 gallon tank, I just don't have it filled since I don't have any extra air pumps. . .

What about the lid? What sorts work well? I was considering a mesh top(since I'm assuming she can climb out the air stone's cord) but would I need to cut away a section, or just leave that part propped open a bit?

Thanks

[url=http://dragcave.ath.cx/viewdragon/bNFR][/url]

A plastic window screen over the top would work well. I used a sheet of 3/8" acrylic with notches cut out of it for the filter and air hose.

fly screen or acrylic (plexiglass) will work fine, just be certain that the hole is only big enought for the hose and that the top is weighted down... do not prop the top off as a strong specimen could easily push it up...

GOOD LUCK!

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

How would the window screen work? I've got a big screen SOMEwhere I think that I could probably use, but it has no frame. How do you make one?

[url=http://dragcave.ath.cx/viewdragon/bNFR][/url]

go get a 1x2 peice of lumber and cut a fram the correct size for the cover... get soe short brads or nails to connect the boards or some short screws (also a L shaped bracket could also add more studyness to the frame... then paint with the desired color(optional) and cut your screen to fit and staple crew, nail or w/e it to your frame... then cut your hole put a lghter then poke it with a knife or metal pen to create a tighter fitting hole for the chord... be sure to get straght lumber that isnt bent as it could bring problems (use a heavier wood to avoid the need to wieght the top or you could simply put a few flat river stone on the top.)

GOOD LUCK.. PM me or reply back if you need more help...


\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"