Anyone here share the same interest as me in rearing crayfish? I know all petshops call them lobsters but in fact they're crayfishes. Why? coz crayfish = freshwater; lobster = saltwater.

I have 1 electric blue crayfish and 1 red one (what do u call them?..i think there's some fancy name). Will post more pics later.



This post has been edited by shadowcaster: Sep 5 2006, 04:48 PM

hey can u tell me more on it, interested to have some. what u feed? how frequent need to change water and need oxygen stuff?

i feed them sinking fish pellets that i bought from the shop. They eat those pretty happily everyday but if u want variety, try giving them other things...practically anything that u can give to hermit crabs. Or if u want it to be interesting, get some live feeding fish for them to hunt. Of course u can make it easier by slightly hurting the fish before putting them into the water.

i change the water only when it's dirty or i see lots of residue floating around. The most important part is not overfeeding..i only put in like 5 pellets max for each crayfish per day. If u want a submerged tank (coz its nicer with all the plants and maybe put in some chiclids too), then u need a pump. Filters are sufficient i guess...but pumps are better coz they aerate the water more efficiently.

For me, i didnt need a pump or filter coz my water level is just 1 - 2 inches above their body when all their legs are fully on the ground. If u submerge the entire tank with water but with no pump, the oxygen will go to the top of the tank rendering ur crayfish to suffocate due to lack of oxygen.

If u want extensive information go to this site - www.bluecrayfish.com.

thanks for your reply
looks like not too hard i might consider then. can feed them with gold fish food? haha..

I saw some pet shop in melaka selling it.........but the crayfish staying with other types of fish........

Any fish food will be fine..but most importantly it must be sinking pellets coz if the food float too high they cant reach it. Another thing to note is they need a hiding place like drift wood or something as simple as cheap pvc pipes. Btw they're pretty cheap to purchase too (about rm 5 - 15 depend on the species)...so dont get con by fancy petshops.

wow....quite cheap ah.....RM5 only.......

yep..surprise surprise...haha. But if u wana get those cooler looking ones like zebra crayfish...prepare to dish out > rm 15 la.

actually crayfish & lobster the same kind, just salt & fresh water diff? not easy to die one lar them?
eat once per day? they not hungry?

yes from what i understand they're pretty much the same thing...except lobsters can grow to much larger sizes than crayfish. To answer all ur questions = yes.
Later i set up my new aquarium edi then i post up new fresh pictures.

I like crayfish too, plan to keep one someday. Do post pics when your setup is ready

Here are the pictures as promised!
My red female crayfish named 007. I name all my pets with codenames. Lolz.




My blue crayfish codenamed 006. She's smaller in size compared to the red one.




My crayfish habitat. It's pretty basic...quite small coz there's no space in my house to put a bigger glass tank.




This post has been edited by shadowcaster: Sep 5 2006, 08:20 PM

I had a zebra but it died of sickness... loss of appetite and it slowly died... then 3 australian red claws died from killing off all my fish in the aquarium and suffocating themselves in polluted water.... it happened over night coz my filter and pump died a day before and I couldn't get a new replacement fast... sigh....

I wanna get Purple exotic and orange ones... gonna cost RM30 over each.

In Pudu market.... 3 medium size crayfish only RM10 ehheeh... large ones RM5 or RM8 each... The RM10 for 3 is the same one as 006, same size too.

where to get the purple and orange ones? i've never seen them before anywhere..lol. And the large ones u mentioned maximum size only about 6 - 7 inches wat...how much larger can it be? haha

Large means reached full size... about 7 inches... the medium ones are like 5 inches... if I remember correctly... I know crayfish don't grow big, they are just nice for us to have in our aquariums but I heard the maroon can grow quite big.... and it cost Rm110 hahaha....

Pet Safari got lah.... you go and see... left 1 orange only.... I wanna see when got new stock lol....

oh...so sad..1 left only ar...but orange not so cool. Purple sounds cooler! LOLz .. How many pets u have man? Seems like u have everything under the sun

Hahaha... The purple looks real nice... I like the zebra too.... well, I wanna get a zebra and the purple when I got money.... coz now my tank is left to become dusty ahahah...

Now ah? Hm... got about 50 pets....

There's some zebra ones at the pet family near my house. Cost rm 18 each. How much u bought your previous one?

I bought Rm15.... hmmm... I was at Pet family 2 days ago but I forgot to view the fish part lol.... wasted... how big are they? Mine was quite small... less than 4 inches I think... or was it 3 inches? Can't remember...

the one i saw is in pet family KLANG! lolz. 4 inches i guess.

Ohhhh... Klang... lol... so far for me... well, I'm trying to locate for healthy ones... near my home the fish shop sells electric blues for Rm8 each... but the thing is he breeds them himself!!! So amazing.... and his set up so simple, just a 4 ft tank with lots of drift wood and hiding pots, water that is about 6 inches high and an air pump with an air stone.

so simple can be used to breed ar? wow!

Yah... I asked him how and he just told me and showed me his breeding tank.... the breeding crayfish so nice also, reached max adult size too.... and when I went there, can see baby crayfish swimming... so tiny and cute.

breeding quite tedious i thought....must remove the babies from the mother when they can climb on her back or something...lolz

Hmmm... not sure about that... never read up on breeding hehehe.... but the shops way seems very successful heheeh...

how many different types are there? i used to keep australian ones, red and green. cheap. lasted quite a while. but they like killing each other. i also used to have a wood shrimp. doesnt have pincers, uses mantis folding limbs thingy. thinking of getting a mantis shrimp. beautiful, can make u bleed easily.

where do u get green ones?
And i think those wood shrimps are also known as mountain rock shrimps? lol..mantis shrimp can rear as pets wan ar? i only know they taste good

Mantis shrimp can rear but I heard that they can hurt you, lol...

Whats the minimum size of a tank for crayfish? My spare plastic tank quite small only.

Aiyoh, crayfish.... max is like have 2 in a 2ft tank... they kill each other coz territorial. Never keep more than 2 in a 2ft tank.... coz they really like living solitary. Keeping a bigger one with a slightly smaller one is also a big NO NO.

can eat wan ah this crayfish? i see those crayfish in restaurants quite big leh

You sure crayfish? Restaurant normally carry lobsters and tiger prawns... rarely or never crayfish...

They eat sinking fish pellets, algea pellets, dried krill, dead fish, carrots and peas.... they can eat a lot of things.

aiyo. its crayfish le. stated on the menu, it's definitely crayfish cos i don't think surf and turf using lobster would be around 50bux. hehehe

Wahhhh! Rm50 for crayfish? expensive loh heheheh.... crayfish so cheap to buy and eat. Normally the ones for eating are the Australian Yabbies and the US Red ones.... they cost like RM5 each actually.

it's quite big la.... it comes with a steak and veggies a bit. it's about say 8-10 inches lor... including the head and tail. so quite cheap la rm50 got crayfish n steak. cost rm5 but then to rare until that big i think take quite sometime n food for it oso rite

This post has been edited by eyerule: Sep 6 2006, 05:19 PM

Ohhh... no wonder Rm50 lah... got steak haahha.... But crayfish are cheap to eat, a bit small but they are widely available as food and pets in other countries... my friend said that can get 1 for a few Rm in Singapore... hahaha.... too bad can't get any from there.

Yes, crayfish takes time to grow. Some crayfish love mud hehehe...

can put live fish and let them catch? but those in the lfs one seem lazy. lol. they sell the blue grey one for RM5..

yes u can put live fish. But they will have a hard time catching those fishes unless u injure the fish beforehand.

Btw i use a 1ft tank only wor...they rarely fight unless provoked....and important thing is with small tanks u definitely need some hiding place for the crayfish like drift wood or those custom-made reptile rocks with holes.

Mine fought... even though I put 2 in the tank... and my tank is about 1.3ft, they fought and tore each other's limbs and pinchers... so now I only limit 1 tank with 1 crayfish if I were to get new ones soon.

Only give live fish when needed. Coz fierce crayfish will kill all the fishes you put in sometimes and then you will have polluted water and it can suffocate. Better give frozen fish. I buy Rm1 of guppies or feeder goldfish and freeze them.

oh..freeze dried guppies...sounds delicious! LOL. anyway, my red crayfish kinda weird leh...she always like to stand like senget one side. I thought died edi...but when i go near she goes back to normal standing position. swt.

how do u guys keep the water in the tank clean? since the water level is less than half a tank, do u guys use filters for it??

If you fill up the tank then u can use filters, but for me i just simply change the water when it gets dirty since it's just half tank and my aquarium is not big. Also to reduce the possibility of the water getting dirty, don't put in too much food when feeding.

Ic, i was thinking wat about a bigger tank like say 3 or 4 feet, with bog wood, rocks and so on, how isit possible to keep it clean without having to change water everyday..

it would be fun to set up a really large place for the lobsters to live and breed maybe, yet keeping the water clean and visible..

if the tank's big and filled with many things...very likely it's gonna get dirty. lol. use a filter system then. Of course if the water level is high (tank setups look nicer when it's filled with water.. ), you need a pump too.

Yah, a large tank needs a filter and an air pump. Coz my crayfish were fine until my filter died... then all my crayfish died... coz they go pollute the water with their uneaten food... well, they are very hardy to keep, easy lah, I think it's good to change the water every few days if there is no filter... well, still experiementing on what's the best way to keep them in.

i just realise my tank also get dirty very easily after i put in the driftwood. My tank only 1ft...water gets yellowish.

yellowish water is the driftwood effect loh.... heheheh.... but you no need to worry coz I think yellowish water is normal when you got driftwood and crayfish likes it.

driftwood doesnt kill crayfish as far as i'm concerned. crayfish are the hardiest types of shrimps available. other shrimps are very sensitive to dirty water.

today i realise there are algae growing on my driftwood. haha...will that be an issue?

my crayfish, dr zoidberg (blue) and fry (red).

nice pictures. crayfishes seem to be more popular nowadays and it's getting cheaper and cheaper. Althought all those are just rather common blue/red ones.

The common blue and read ones easy to breed... also it is widely available as food in other countries. Well, still make great pets to see and keep.

does that mean that other colours are difficult to breed? haha, sad, my pets are all edible.

no, all are easy breeders and can have any type of water condition to breed, as long as not too soft or hard.

You are right....

I just think the blue and red people breed more coz easier to get stock... Oh well, I'll never know till i meet a supplier heheheh...

yup easier to get stock. Until now i havent seen a single purple or orange crayfish around.

Can I keep a crayfish with my two crabs?
The crabs are in a 2 1/2 feet tank, half filled with water, has a driftwood and a lava rock, and an air-driven sponge filter.

This post has been edited by xecton: Sep 16 2006, 09:57 AM

crayfishes are territorial creatures...i wouldn't mix them with crabs if i were you. If fishes can la coz fishes are fast and they can swim around the tank. Crabs on the other hand are just like the crayfish and they're smaller, making them easier targets. I'm not sure on their compatibility but to be on the safe side i suggest you dont mix them.

Har? mix crayfish with crab? Die loh.... crayfish will tear the crab to pieces and eat it.

yups, crustaceans are primitive animals, they won't learn to get along with each other hehehe...

They both have pincers, why cannot fight evenly?

Isn't in cruel to make them fight? Also, their pinchers is for defending againts predators and also to catch food, not fight. So a crayfish would catch the crab to eat and the crab cannot fight back coz it's not as fast as crayfish.

Nolah... I don't want them to fight.

I just want to know why the crayfish is portrayed as Godzila-like while the crab is like a little hamster.

So the crayfish is faster than the crab and that is why they got more powah. Okay

This post has been edited by xecton: Sep 16 2006, 03:17 PM

Yups.... crab is like... I dunno how to say, you see them walk, side ways and slow.... if crayfish, they can shoot away, they got this spring effect from their body, so they can swim fast but mostly backwards. Still, they are faster and their pinchers more painful and powerful than crab. I personally experienced before hahahh...

yeah but then also crayfish easier to catch than crabs coz their body longer. lolz. thats what i think la.

my friend cousin ate his housemate lobster ....

not only that, crayfish are naturally aggressive compared to crabs. crabs will most of the time runaway if adversaries are stronger. they will only fight with the same species.

o.0 lobster or crayfish?

haha....you mean crayfish...they are edible...

just saw some zebra crayfish in pet safari for rm 14...and one miserable orange one for rm 30.

is it possible to breed cray fish in captivity ?

can anyone pm me the ways ... of breeding them ... ocz i have a pair ... very sure about that ... heheheh

they wont fight lar ... if u were to purchased them at the same time and introduced them at the same time ... plus ur tank must have lots and lots of hiding areas ... lol

hiding areas for then to hide when they are shedding their shell ... hehehehe

Please restrain from posting like this (spamming in multiple posts) from now on. Merge your posts.

And it is very possible to breed crayfish in captivity. You just need a large tank (maybe 4ft or more) with the correct environment (substrate, hiding places, water condition, temperature, etc.)

really? can breed kah?

so ... how old must they be before u can eat them?

i gave up rearing rabbits after we grew sick of eating them ...

??!!! u breed to eat 1 ar?

crayfishes are the way to go! i have 4 crayfishes in a 2ft tank and they seem to get along nicely, except for the once-in-a-while u-come-to-my-spot-so-i-pinch-u antics. i used to have another crayfish in the tank with them, but it ran away. so i guess 4 is the right number for a 2ft tank.

it's okay to keep fishes in the tank, as long as you fill up the aquarium with water and have pumps or filters in it. i have 3 mini filters in my tank and the fishes and crayfishes seem fine with it. the crayfishes will usually hide in the driftwood or behind plants while the fishes will be swimming around them or above them. as long as the fishes are fast enough, they will be safe. crayfishes are also laggy creatures.

i have a few comets, guppies, mollies, algae eaters, 2 snails and a fighting fish in the tank. oh, i even have some feeding fishes in the tank. not as food. but to add color to my tank. my snails were fine and crawling around the tank until recently when they just stopped crawling, and dropped off from the aquarium wall. any idea why is this happening? i think they're sick.

one of my crayfishes has a cracked claw and satu antena putus but it just molted and now it looks like a brand new crayfish!

that's all i guess. if you want to find out more about crayfishes and how to take care of them, i would be more than willing to give advice and help!















kthxbai!

only the rabbits ...

nice crays matt!! i always wanted to have a set up like that but at the moment i'm low on space, so gotta wait!

i just saw some really huge pure blue crayfishes at a lfs today. They're like 7 inches long. Looks very cool indeed...even saw one with egg sacs under her. I wonder if they'll pop soon. Hmm...

hey hey,i have one escaper crayfish, anyone know how to find it back ar...
by the wya, where u all get the red and thoe purple crayfish,
coz wat i found jus is blue one and i found got 2 big one, around 7-10 inches, blue one, damn nice, selling rm 50 each...

The mother will only release / pop the " eggs " when they hatch and developed into tiny baby crays

If eggs turn white - meaning infertile the mother will sort them out to eat or throw away ...Neat pet to have around the tank to do cleaning up job

any pic of those eggs...seems interesting..

Ask shadowcaster to take those egg pic All my cray long gone

But if anyone dont know how to sex their cray ...etc I can help if pic posted of their underside

how to sex the crayfish ar ?

i used to have a few of this
but it seems tat they can die very easily but mayb its juz me not knowing how to sustain their life.

the longest one i kept is roughly around 6 months ++

If got pic of the underside easier to teach ppl how to sex
But basicaly

Female have a pair of openings on the 2 pair of legs ( exclude big pincher / claws , 4 pairs of legs )

Male - "penis " near the last pair of legs in the middle at the begining of the tail where the swiming legs are

got meh ?
which shop ?

i would like to try keeping them once more in the future

The crayfish can eat or not ??

No more liao loh hahah.... that was 1 year ago.

http://www.cambinatayabbies.com.au/

http://www.aquaculturecouncilwa.com/marron

http://www.marronmarket.com.au/

http://www.fish.wa.gov.au/sec/aqua/species/index.php ( look for red claw - commonly sold in Malaysian Aquarium shop)

http://www.homestead.com/atlaspubs/atlas1.html

They are farm for the table and excess sold to Aquarium shop for pet So you think can eat or not ???

yes crayfish can eat 1
1kg is RM20++
my fren is breeding it to sell
they said the meat is nice, but i never tried before
they tried it in overseas
i saw fishshop sellin RM12 for a roughly 600g clayfish =p
im stayin in penang btw...i think kl price is higher ?

where can i get crayfish in KL found some interesting recipes for this crayfish

i got 2 crayfish as pet now .. (those pond de .. )
any1 got tips for me how to raise them ?

what you mean by 'those pond"?
got any picture of your crayfish?

Hm... those river de...
i'll update my crayfish's photo soon ...
1 big and 1 small ,
big is aggressive 1 , small de still ok ..
but they are so shy >"<

hmm, you just post up some picture for us to see over the thread here.

If you wanna keep more than 1 crayfish in a tank, just get some PVC pipes, cut them up and glue them in stacks to make a crayfish condo.

Well ... these are the photos of my crayfish . Took it jz now when i change water for them.



*I don't have an oxygen pump, so i set the water level jz 1~2 cm above them ..



*the 2 pipes are currently their banglo home .. (do they recognize their own home ? becoz everytime i change the water , the red 1 seems like he know which are his home.. if the blue 1 goes inside his home , red will pull/push out the blue 1 and ocupy it.. pity blue , always get bullied by the red 1..)




*they like to collect batu and stuck their own pintu .. =.= anyway .. it's kinda cute ..


*they will scare if i watch them from on top of the aquarium. they will swim backwards quickly or hide in their banglo.
Instead , they will try to pinch me if i watch them thru beside of the aquarium .. (same height with them)




i already separate them with batu when i wanna wash the tank



the red 1 seems scared and wanna find his partner ..



finally they're together .. but sometimes they like to fight each other

*anyway .. gv some comment that what should i change or move ?
but pls dun flame me gao gao for anything i did wrong
this is my 1st time bela these crayfish

This post has been edited by hseyrann00: Dec 10 2008, 04:00 PM

Nice. Long time I no keep crayfish already. Anyway, the best is having a larger tank. Crayfish like lots of hiding places so a few PVC pipes like what funkychips said is good.

They also prefer some plants, but then they do shred it, so fake plants would be nice.

And becareful when they molt. Coz after molting, the freshly molted crayfish can get eaten or injured by the other crayfish. Last time I always had crayfish with missing claws.... it is caused by fighting and it wasn't even molting.

I saw some red crayfish at Pet Family last week.... along with some purple ones... I think they are called Tiger crayfish or something, damn, I forgot my research already.