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Can anyone recomend Crustaceans that will be OK with more agreesive fish such a Cichids or Red tailed Black sharks etc not snails though

Dwarf crays, and possibly electric blue and related crays (smaller species).

I've seen crayfish do some damage to Cichlids, not to mention lots of other kinds of fish. It's a bad idea to mix the two...

Well, red tailed black sharks aren't aggressive fish at all. They typically do not bother tankmates, unless they are "sharks" themselves.

As for the crustaceans, how large are your fish? Crawdads would be okay with larger fish, but they'd eat/beat up smaller specimens. If crawdads are out of the question, I've seen freshwater hermit crabs that would work. These critters don't need to exit the water at all, so they'd be okay in a fully-fledged fish tank. I just can't think of what species they are, though.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Your cichlids would be seriously torn up, crays would be a bad idea; mine ate 3and 4 inch goldfish and caught them without trouble.

koi keeper attached this image:


Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

I disagree, crawdads will tear up larger fish. I have had it happen in my own tanks. They are really inappropriate for any fish you don't want eaten or to have shredded every now and again. All it takes is for the fish to get close enough, crayfish/crawdads are opportunistic.

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

Wow dude, I am thinking big styly about getting anything that'll do that to my fish. For some reason I never thought the'd grab a fish like that. What a photo !!

As for the crustaceans, how large are your fish? Crawdads would be okay with larger fish, but they'd eat/beat up smaller specimens. If crawdads are out of the question, I've seen freshwater hermit crabs that would work. These critters don't need to exit the water at all, so they'd be okay in a fully-fledged fish tank. I just can't think of what species they are, though.

Are you sure you meant "hermit crabs"? There is only one species of hermit crab (a likely descendant of marine anscestors or otherwise a marine/estuarine species possessed of broad salinity tolerance or an amphibious terrestrial form) confirmed to enter freshwater - Clibanarius fonticola of Vanuatu, which I don't believe to have ever found its way into the aquarium trade.


Last edited by Veneer at 18-Mar-2005 20:42

crawfish, i wouldn't ever recommoned it. ghost shrimps will be good for food, try FW clams?

Both views of crayfish amongst cichlids - aggressor and prey - are valid; most larger species are capable of maiming and consuming cichlids, but the predatory potential of the latter (namely the more belligerent South American piscivores and a broad selection of aggressive riverine and rift lake Africans, most of which have evolved to consume large crabs and similar crustacea) must not be disregarded; one aquarist has reported a three-inch jewel cichlid (Hemichromis bimaculatus) to have "dismantled" a five inch red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) with no regard to its large chelae.

crawfish, i wouldn't ever recommoned it. ghost shrimps will be good for food, try FW clams?

Bivalves might be risky - they require great quantities of microparticulate organics; may suddenly die, unbeknownst to the aquarist (with the potential to instigate a biofilter crash); might have incompatible temperature tolerances (some unscrupulous dealers attempt to pass off native fingernail clams as Asian golds); and could potentially be consumed [some species spend most of their time buried in the substrate]; in addition, mussel (as distinct from "clam" larvae are generally parasitic [while most are selective in host choice, the more generalistic species will latch onto any available fish, typically to the latter's detriment].

However, mixing bivalves with any cichlids incapable of utterly crushing them is certainly not out of the qeustion; their armored form and lack of "nippable" appendages makes them uniquely suited to potential cohabitation.

See this site]http://www.pnl.gov/ecology/Rivers/Aquarium/Clam.html[/link] for some background and sample setups; look to [link=this site for some more detailed insight.

Note: Corbicula fluminea, a native of Asia, occurs as an introduced species across much of North America, possibly accounting for the second site's statement that they were likely natives of the United States. [Of course, it may well be that the clams in question are indeed indigenous.]

Sorry for the multiple posting, but I must note that there is one potential crayfish cohabitant - the "Yucatan crayfish".

What sort of cichlids and "aggressive fish" do you seek to keep alongside crustaceans?

EDIT: At second glance, an updated section states several 2/3-grown specimens to have consumed several black moors, thus invalidating prior claims of suitability with fish.


Last edited by Veneer at 18-Mar-2005 21:01