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Okay, we went to some pet stores tonight and ended up with a Crayfish. The pet store lady said the Crayfish could go well in any aquarium and will NOT eat my fish. After I came home I did a search on crayfish and I am reading controversial stuff. Some sites say Crayfish will eat smaller fish another says that Crayfish will NOT eat your fish. I have a small pleco in the tank. Is that going to be a problem?

The crayfish will, in all likelihood, kill and consume your pleco.

Okay, I have another tank- a 15 gallon with an Oranda and a Black Moor. Perhaps it will be better to put him in there?

Last edited by SiameseCat at 04-Feb-2005 23:43

How large is he? It is almost a certaintly that your crayfish will consume your goldfish as well.

His size is impressive. He is about 3 to 4 inches. At the pet store I bought them, there were alot of them ( 10-12) together at the bottom of a tank with koi. I thought they were pond stock. We were there to buy tiger barbs. The kids really liked the crayfish so I mentioned them to the lady who was helping me and she assured me that they could go great in any tank.

Since last night I have been reading about Crayfish and I think this guy will do just fine in his own little aquarium. Since last night he has been tearing up the tank and uprooting plants and Ghost shrimp that I honestly thought were long dead. He hasn't hurt anything else but he has made a few suspicious gestures toward the tiger barbs as they have swam past.

The only thing I am puzzled about is that the lady assured me they are safe with other fish. She said I could put them "in any aquarium. They adapt to their environment".

The only thing I am puzzled about is that the lady assured me they are safe with other fish. She said I could put them "in any aquarium. They adapt to their environment".

Its the same reason while a used car salesman will sell you a car that he knows will break down soon. People that run businesses need to sell products to make money. Maybe, just maybe she didn't that much about the crayfish, but on the other hand lfs will sell people fish that will not work in their setup all the time. For the most part this is a definitely Buyer Beware hobby.
I also think that crayfish are really interesting animals, but at the same time I would personally not stock them in my tank at home. They can prey on fish especially at night when some fish "bed" down for the night. Also beware of keeping more than one unless the tank is really big. They are very aggressive towards each other. I imagine at the lfs when you saw the tank with them, some where missing claws or legs. Lfs can't afford to keep them in seperate tanks so they house together in a large group.
Its hard not to impluse buy in this hobby. I know I have before.

Hi SiameseCat and Veneer,

Welcome to Fishprofiles,

I personally own a crayfish and they definitly don't mix with other fishes. Well the crayfish actually belong to my mom in her goldfish tank. The goldfishes were at least twice it's size but yet he still try to snatch at them(although he couldn't kill it) but with small fishes he would definatly eat em. The last time I went to a lsf store I saw the crayfish snatched a platy and start consuming it (these bad lfs ppl). I think u should return the guy cause he doesn't mix with other fishes(especailly the smaller ones; the bigger ones will just get stressed) I serpeated mine and he is all by himself now.

Gee

Last edited by BigGee168 at 05-Feb-2005 13:01

Gee

!!I think I just learned somthing new!!

Thanks for the replies! Mine is separated and alone now , too!

I have mine with 3 feeder fish... at one point, there was 10 but these 3 are the smart ones.

They are very very good hunters.

Well worth the extra tank though

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

"Okay, I have another tank- a 15 gallon with an Oranda and a Black Moor."

Slightly off topic: Unfortunately both of those guys will get to be 8 or 9 inches and need a very large tank. Some say as many as 90 gal per fancy. How old and large are they?

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

About one year. 3 to 4 inches each and never had a sick day.

Even if they dont get sick, they are most likely stunted. Which is not fun for the fish. You should look into rehousing them.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.