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Crayfish, Crawdads, Ditch Bugs
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition
Related Articles:
Forget
Crawfish Pie, Let's Make a Crawfish Tank! By Gage Harford,
Invertebrates for Freshwater Aquariums by Neale Monks,
Freshwater Shrimp, Crayfish, "Lobsters",
Prawns
Freshwater to
Brackish Crabs
Related FAQs:
Crayfish 1,
Crayfish 2,
Crayfish ID, Crayfish Behavior,
Crayfish Compatibility,
Crayfish Selection,
Crayfish Systems,
Crayfish Disease,
Crayfish Reproduction,
Freshwater Invertebrates/Use in Aquariums,
Freshwater Crustaceans for the
Aquarium,
FW Crustaceans 2,
Fresh to Brackish
Water Crabs,
Hermit Crabs, |
MD.JPG)
JBL produces an excellent leaflet on crayfish you can download from
their web site, here:
http://www.jbl.de/factmanager/index.php?lang=en |
Blue Crayfish not eating... same ole referral, reading
11/9/09
Hi. I have a quick question concerning my blue crayfish that lives in a
75 gal tank with Danios, catfish, black shark, green Pleco and silver
dollars.
We purchased our little man back in June and he quickly made a home in a
shelter that I bought for him.
<Nice prose>
Over the next 3 months he went through 3 molts all the while having a
wonderful appetite. We felt that he was outgrowing his shelter so we
purchased a new larger "home" for him to live in, even put it in the
same spot as the last one, as he had dug out much of the gravel in that
area.
Since that time he has not been eating. I waited a week before going to
the local fish store where an employee recommended we test the water. I
brought back a sample and found the ammonia and nitrites were mod-high.
<How high?>
As per the employee, we did a 40% water change and cleaned out the
gravel.
It has been almost a week since that day and he still is not eating well
if at all.
When he was eating, he would eat a variety of food from freeze dried
krill, algae chips and any type of sinking fish food. Now we have tried
a whole variety of sinking fish food and blood worms but still the
little guy won't eat.
Please any information that you can offer us would be greatly
appreciated!
<Very likely the "stock" reply/reason... a lack of biomineral and/or
alkalinity and/or iodide/ate... Please read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishbehfaq.htm
and the linked files above... particularly "health" & "feeding" &
"systems". Bob Fenner>
Crayfish Questions - 05/03/09
Hello crew,
I am going to say about two months ago I came home to find something
hiding behind a plant in my tank. I quickly asked my father if he had
put anything in there and he said he had put a royal blue “lobster” in
there.
<Oh dear... fun as Crayfish are, they aren't really good additions to
aquaria with either fish or plants, since they view both as food! Do
make sure you read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
It's a great primer to these interesting animals.>
I was ecstatic since I did not know you could keep such a pet and had
always wanted to keep a lobster as a pet (in freshwater anyway…I later
learned that it is not a true lobster but a crayfish from reading many
sites devoted to this type of thing). Anyway, he lives in a 10 gallon
tank with 1 beta (which he has attacked the other night), 4 ghost
catfish, 1 bright yellow cichlid (which is separated off since he
attacked the beta before the arrival of the "lobster"), 2 mollies, and 2
guppies (was three but he ate one of these before I noticed he was in
there).
<Way overstocked for 10 gallons! Mollies need much more space than this,
and Guppies, well, I'd sooner keep them in 15-20 gallons. I'm assuming
the cichlid is Labidochromis, which really has no business being in this
system at all, and yes, by community tank standards it is far too
aggressive. It's actually a fairly mild Mbuna, and a good one for
beginners... but not a community fish.>
I realize this probably is a crowed tank for him but like I said I did
not know I was getting one so there was really nothing I could do since
the other three tanks in the house were not acceptable homes for them.
The five gallon tank was full of goldfish, the 55 gallon is saltwater,
and the 75 is freshwater with very large Oscars, Pacus, parrot fish,
upside-down catfish, and etc, which would have eaten all of my fish in
one swallow.
<Hmm... okay....>
The last water change was two weeks ago and another one is going to
happen today. When my father purchased the “lobster” he also purchased
Spirulina discs for him which the lady at the store said he would eat.
<Indeed; an ideal food for them, though fresh greens and the odd whole
lancefish or unshelled prawn is even better.>
He did eat them but then I learned through my research that they also
like other types of food which contain protein.
<Plenty of protein in algae wafers. Turn the bag over and look at the
nutritional breakdown; if it's the same as the wafers I'm using, there
will be around 25-30% protein in there, far more than these animals
would get in the wild. Just as a reminder, Crayfish are largely
herbivorous animals that do some scavenging on the side. Mostly they eat
algae and organic detritus, but once in a while they'll find a dead fish
or something. Their requirements for food are not major, and it's
actually calcium and to some degree iodine you need to worry about, not
protein.>
So my mother said I should go out and get some of the Pollack from the
freezer and give him some of that. So I went out and cut off a tiny
piece and gave it to him. He quickly grabbed it up and devoured it.
<I bet!>
The next day I gave him an algae disc and he did not eat it. I figured
he was probably just not hungry after eating the fish the day before. So
the next day I did the same thing and have been doing so for the last
few days. I have not seen him eat an algae disc since his first
experience with the fish I gave him, but will eat fish when I drop it
in. Is the fish just more filling or should he be eating something
different?
<He certainly doesn't need daily feeding.>
What is the ideal diet for him?
<Anything, provided it's varied, rich in calcium, contains fresh greens,
and is fed SPARINGLY. Do see the linked article mentioned above.>
Also, I noticed the other day that his tail was red where it is normally
white, but when I came home that night he was back to normal so I didn't
think any more about it until the next morning when he was redder than
the day before and then when I came home that night he was back to
normal again. Is this something that should be taken care of or nothing
to worry about?
<Difficult to say; assuming water quality is good, the main health issue
is iodine, and you want to be adding some to the water, otherwise
moulting tends to go wrong. Buy some iodine supplement from your local
marine aquarium pet shop, and add at half the quoted dose.>
He does not act like anything is wrong with him. He is very active and
attacked one of the fake plants in the tank last night when I went to
turn out the light. Any help with these matters would be greatly
appreciated.
Thank you,
Dee
<Good luck, Neale.>
Help for
crayfish 8/21/08
I've searched the site for additional information on this topic and haven't
found anything that could help me at this point. Maybe you can help me. I have a
rusty crayfish that I recently collected from the local lake. He was fine until
he molted. I found him repeatedly upside down. Since then, his claws don't seem
to work right. They hang under him and when he lifts
them (took him two days to do this), it looks like he's punching himself in the
face. He also has white feathery things hanging out from the sides since he
molted. He eats the goldfish flakes and bloodworms that make it to the gravel.
Is there anything I can do for him?
-Nate
<Nate, assuming water chemistry and water quality are good, then the thing that
may be critical is diet. German aquaristic company JBL produces an excellent
leaflet on crayfish you can download from their web site, here:
http://www.jbl.de/factmanager/index.php?lang=en
Among other things, it makes the point that crayfish that are given too much
protein in captivity moult prematurely, and this fails, causing problems. So
what you've described is not at all uncommon. The key thing is that we often
give crayfish the wrong food: they are HERBIVORES more than anything else.
High-protein food like fish flake and bloodworms may seem nice, and they
certainly eat them, but they are VERY BAD for them. Instead concentrate on plant
matter, or better still, foods formulated expressly for crayfish (JBL make a
couple of such products, and so likely to other manufacturers). Also remember
not to feed them daily, but perhaps every other day. These animals have a low
metabolism, and during winter especially may be hardly eating at all. Sabrina
(another member of the WWM crew) recommends adding iodine (sold for marine
tanks, e.g., Kent Marine Iodine) to the water as well. Iodine is related to the
moulting process, and may be another way to help regulate moulting frequency and
make sure that when it happens, it happens in the right way. She recommends a
rate of one drop per ten gallons each week. Hope this helps, Neale.>
Re: Help for
crayfish 8/21/08
Thank you so much!
-Nate
<Happy to help. Cheers, Neale>
Itchy electric blue lobster... using WWM
5/5/08
I am now housing my second blue lobster. The first lobster molted after a
month and lost every one of her legs/arms, even the very small front ones that
they use the put food in their mouths. She was just a torso, head and tail.
<... something/s missing nutritionally, perhaps water quality wise as well>
It was very tragic! When I got her I was not educated enough on water balance
and the nitrites were toxic for about a week, I feel this could have been the
cause. I got a new one yesterday and he is pretty active but spends most of his
time itching and scratching himself all over his little body, head and tail. He
is in a 10 gallon tank, with filter and air pump. His house mates are 2 Neons, 2
rosy reds, and 4 ghost shrimp, all of which have been with me for a month and I
understand he may eat all of them which is fine. I tested the water, nitrate
about 10 in safe range, nitrite 0, water hard, chlorine 0, alkalinity about 160
which says ideal, and pH about 80. The water temp. is about 78 degrees. I do not
see any parasites. Should I be concerned?
Any other suggestions so I can keep little Liam healthy? I have added about 2
drops of iodine once a week for 3 weeks and will now reduce it to 1 drop. I also
use API stress zyme once a week since the aquarium is only 2 months old.
Your site is wonderfully insightful, thank you for all that you do.
Dena
<Have just skipped down. You obviously have not followed directions, read...
Here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlvstkind2.htm
scroll down to the articles, FAQs on Crayfish, health... systems,
foods/feeding/nutrition... BobF>
Clawless Yabby; beh., fdg.
12/20/07
I am looking after an Australian Freshwater Yabby for a friend who is
overseas. Two days ago, he escaped from his tank & fell off the kitchen bench
onto the floor, & was found about 4 metres away from his tank. During this
trauma he lost both of his claws. Once returned to the tank, he has been
floating upside down, but still alive. My question is- if he stays alive, how do
I feed him without his claws to grab the food? Or will he die?
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Kind Regards,
Jodi O'Connell
<This crustacean can, will consume foods of use still... really only uses the
large claws for defense and seizing prey items... Maceration and manipulation
are done via other smaller elements closer to the mouth. If this animal can be
recovered, kept nourished, well-maintained, it will regenerate the larger claws
with time, successive molts. Bob Fenner>
My blue lobster/crayfish, fdg., beh.
– 9/29/07
Hi. I have a blue lobster/crayfish, which i brought some time in march. my
lobster/crayfish was eating fine, until he/she shelled on Monday (24th
September), now he/she just doesn't seemed interested in anything food what so
ever. is there something wrong with my lobster/crayfish? any suggestions please.
thanks.
<Greetings. Crayfish tend to be extra-shy immediately after moulting. This is
natural. For a couple of days their exoskeleton isn't strong enough to provide
useful defence, so they stay hidden in their burrows. So give it a couple of
days, and then see what happens. Do remember to vary the diet. Crayfish are
primarily herbivores in the wild, and a lot of their diet is algae, soft plant
matter, and decaying organic detritus. So you could try tempting your pet with
something different. Sushi Nori would be ideal and especially rich in iodine,
which crayfish apparently need for good health. You can pick this stuff up at
any Asian food market or decent grocery store, and it's very cheap (over here in
the UK, around £1 for 10 large sheets). Algae pellets (of the type sold for
catfish) make a good alternative. Top this off with the other major part of the
crayfish diet -- carrion. A nice bit of frozen whitebait or lancefish would be
just the thing. The bones in these little fish would be a handy source of
calcium. One last thing: crayfish, like most freshwater invertebrates, are
sensitive to water quality. Check the nitrites are at zero and the nitrates
fairly low. There must be no copper in the water (e.g., from fish medications)
or salt. Not all species are tropical animals, so check which species you have,
and if required adjust the temperature accordingly. Do also read this and its
related articles:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishfaqs.htm .
Cheers, Neale>
My new pet Crayfish 11/27/06
Hello. I work at PetSmart, and every now and then, strange animals
will show up in the shipments of feeder fish,
<Ah, yes... always a delight, adventure>
and I usually enjoy taking one or two
home with me. Usually the stow aways are tadpoles, but yesterday, I picked up
a Crayfish that I named Garth.
<"He's got friends in lowww places....">
Right now, he is living in a tiny little bowl, but after reading up on your
page and others, I am ready to purchase and set up a tank for him tomorrow.
<Ah, good>
I was wondering a few things, and if they are on your page and I missed them, I
apologize for the inconvenience.
1. Do you have any idea what he may be? I was trying to find pictures of several
species, but after reading up on them, I think he may be a juvenile. He is
probably 2 inches long, and he is a light tan color, but he has speckles
all over him, including his pinchers. They themselves are very small and thin,
but they are long. I live in Colorado, but our fish are usually shipped
from Arizona. Any species around that area that he may be?
<There are some 300 plus species that occur in N. America, but the vast majority
of those seen/used (for consumption as well as ornament) are Procambarus
clarkii>
I was just wondering, because I wanted to know about how big he would get.
<Do place the above name in your search tool... likely some 3-4 inch body length
maximum>
2. Exactly what/when should he be fed? I have read different things. Some say
stick to mainly vegetables, and don't feed too often, while others say feed
mainly meats, and feed frequently. What would be a good feeding/diet schedule?
<A mix of these... animal and vegetable foods... prepared or fresh will serve
you both well here>
3. How much space should he have?
<A ten gallon system would be perfect... with some rock work...>
I do not have the room for anything HUGE, as I already have a ten gallon fish
tank and a large critter keeper for my hermit crab. Would a large Critter Keeper
(15.875" x 8.375" x 12.083" ) be enough?
<Yes>
I know some aquatic animals don't need a lot of room, and some do.
<You are correct here>
Thank you so much for your help. I apologize again if I've asked anything that
was available on your web site. Sometimes Im not the best at searching
for information, lol. Thank you for your help.
~Amber
<Thank you for writing, sharing. Your genuine concern and intelligence are
refreshing, obvious. Bob Fenner>
Red lobsters
I have a red lobster which was very happy but just recently he has stopped
eating. he normally eats cockles and that crab and lobster food but as I say he
has just stopped. he has shed his shell once and keeps climbing up the plants to
the top of the tank. could you please help.<I would check your water quality
(check for nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, and copper) invertebrates are sensitive
to copper (which could come from your tap water) if this is the problem you will
have to purchase RO/DI water if you want your lobster to live, otherwise just
keep trying to feed him different types of meaty foods...like silversides,
krill, mussels etc, Good luck, IanB>
thanks, mark, United kingdom
Blue Lobster - Not for Eating..
>>Hi,
>>Hello, sorry for the delay, it seems that the folks best suited to help you
aren't available at this time.
>Hope you could assist me..
>>Me too.
>My freshwater lobster has not been able to eat lately; it puts food to its
mouth with its claws (legs I think) and yet the food seemed unable to go into
its mouth. It had molted a few times since I bought it - the tank size is quite
small but it is the only occupant as it will
attack other fishes like the tetras, goldfish or even the Betta.
>>Oh, yes it WILL. However, (be prepared, this may seem cruel, but I assure you
it is not), should you wish to house it with fishes, the large claws can be
pinched off. It is still able to feed with the small claws, though.
>Is this quite common as it did not eat before it molted some time ago?
>>Not unless there are water quality issues to the best of my knowledge.
>But then this time around , it did not molt and cannot eat its food.
>>This is problematic indeed. I do know that iodine (the lack of) can cause
molting problems with many crustaceans, but do not dose/add any unless you can
test for such. Have you tried searching our site? Start here (but this may not
be the entire inventory on site)
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishfaqs.htm
>Thank you so much. Cheers - Ho [from South East Asia]
>>You're welcome. Marina in the Northern Sierra Nevada Mountains. Yabbies
Fighting Over Dinner
I have 3 small Yabbies about 2 inches. They are fine but when it comes to
feeding they fight. 2 have lost limbs from this. So I started taking 2
out of the tank and letting 1 feed at a time. I do this about every
second day. How many hours can they stay out of water? Also occasionally
I've feed the others outside of the tank. Is this safe letting them eat
on land?
<I would not rely on taking them out for any length of time. In nature
they can come on land for a short time but how long they can stay out
depends on the temperature and humidity of the air. Try and feed
each one its own little piece of food in their own corner of the tank or
add lots of PVC piping so they can hide and get away with their
dinner.-Chuck> |
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