crayfish

Big Vine

Elite Fish
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
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Florida
#43
Excellent! What kind of cray did you order?
www.bluecrayfish.com (link for the forum is on the lower left-hand side of the page) has a very informative forum too, in case you're interested. I've been posting there a fair bit recently. It's a lot smaller than this forum though, so it takes a little longer to get replies to your posts...
Still, it's quite helpful, so you oughta check it out sometime if you haven't already!

Big Vine
 

#45
hey big vine, i registered but it wont let me post yet. maybe you can answer some questions. is it alright to keep my p. alleni at around 68? is that too cold? also, i will be feeding it rosies for the meat part of the diet, and algae pellets for the plant part. is this an ok diet? i have been feeding this to my test crawdad, and ni ill effects... yet. just wanted to check those out.
 

Big Vine

Elite Fish
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
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Florida
#46
yahoofishkeeper,

I noticed that you were the latest member to register on bluecrayfish.com a few minutes ago...the site admin. should send you an email within the next 24 hours that will allow you to access the forum.

68 degrees F is just fine for an alleni---I would say that anything between about 50 degrees F and 72 degrees F is typically fine. I keep mine a little warmer...at about the mid to upper 70s most of the time.

The disadvantage to keeping it warmer is that it speeds up its metabolism; making it more active (feeds more, etc.), which makes it moult more, which in turn shortens its lifespan---by how much, I don't know.

I personally feel it's safe to keep it in water up to about the lower 80s...much higher will probably have adverse affects.

As for feeding...what are "rosies"? Minnows of some sort? If so, then I'd be careful about giving it feeder fish. It creates a mess, so you'll need to really clean up after it, and you never know what sorts of diseases and/or parasites you may be introducing to the tank...

That's why I'm too nervous to use "feeders." I keep other healthy fish in with my cray though, and so far he's not quite able to catch them.

I feed mine shrimp pellets. I haven't tried algae wafers yet, but it's probably a good idea (esp. to curb their appetite for live plants that you might have in your tank).

Hope this helps. You'll learn A TON about crayfish once you get posting on that bluecrayfish.com forum! See you there soon! :)

Big Vine
 

Jan 24, 2006
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#47
you should feed your cray shrimp pellets as a staple. one every day. if you want, you can feed it vegetables(carrots,peas).
uhmm 68 is fine but if it goes lower then your cray will slow down and not be active at all.
and like big vine said too warm will cause it to moult faster causing shorter life span.

keep us updated;)
 

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Big Vine

Elite Fish
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#49
yahoofishkeeper,

If you have another, larger cray in there with "that little one," then yes---you should be worried, because it will probably try to eat the little one while it is still soft from having moulted.

Otherwise, then no, don't worry. Crays usually stay fairly reclusive for a little while after a moult---leave the old moult in there, and if it hasn't been eaten in 3 days, remove it so it doesn't rot.

Have you checked on this sort of thing on the bluecrayfish.com forum? There's plenty of info. there...lot of cray 'experts' too.

I recently posted pictures of my new brown female cray ("Sunny") there as well.

Big Vine
 

Big Vine

Elite Fish
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#55
Ahhh...congratulations!
Thanks for posting those pics...he's a little cutie. Hehe. ;)

Did you check his underside for male appendages to make sure he's really a "he"? Lol...I'm sure he is though...especially if that's what you ordered. Crayfish bob knows his stuff.

Plus, you can often tell just by looking at their claws---males have longer, slightly more slender claws (which is what yours looks like to me); whereas females tend to have noticeably shorter, yet fatter claws...
Okay...enough babbling. :eek:

I can't wait to see the setup you've got going for him! Got a name for him yet? Again, congratulations. *celebrate

Big Vine *thumbsups
 

Big Vine

Elite Fish
Feb 7, 2006
3,895
9
0
47
Florida
#57
Haha! Is the little one a lot smaller than him? Is the little one a male or a female?

It'll be interesting to see how the two 'get along' during feeding time! Those blue male allenis can be pretty darn aggressive. :eek:

Big Vine

yahoofishkeeper said:
i was thinking of just calling him blue. that little one and blue havent fought. as soon as i put blue in there, he kicked the little one out of the best hiding spot though. other than that no fighting. everyone is happy and chasing fish.
 

fishlover1

Large Fish
Jan 24, 2006
202
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0
#59
sry im alittle late but CONGRATS on your new cray.
i was just like you when i ordered mine. hope he gets along with your other cray.
just to tell you that little cray you got there will get pretty big: