Kenneth The Blue Lobster... Crayfish

[Matthew Lee Newell]

today i got a blue lobster, hes about 3 inch long at the moment,
i gave him his own tank and named him kenneth. dont ask why, just looked like a kenneth
lol
anyways... what is there favirote foods? and the best way to make these lobsters show there colour and be happy?
i have made a cave in there, put some plants in, havent put a heater in there, because they dont need one...
but yeah, i want to make a great habitat for him....

 

[8inary]

Ive had these guys for many years. I had originally tried them in with fish, but there were always issues. In a tank of peaceful fish, the cray would eat them, in a tank of cichlids, the fish would eat them, when they shelled.

Couple of things, as I am not sure what you know about these guys....here goes.

1. Seal up any holes in the back of your tank, these will find a way to get out, tape up and holes etc
2. The cray will shell every so often. You may wake up to find, what appears to be a dead cray, double check as it may
just be the shell. Also, I leave the shell in, as its good for them to eat.
3. Even if they lose a claw(s) during shelling, these will grow back, albeit will look smaller than the originals
4. Mine loved prawns..yup the cheap ones from your local shop, also try them with lance fish, these you can pick up from your lfs
5. Try sexing the one you have and maybe get the other sex, see if you can breed them.

 

[Spishkey]

i am a breeder of these cuties!
but think you'll find you do need a heater..! im guessing as you are in uk this is an australian red clawed crayfish you have? cherax quadricarinatus

there are some great crayfish 'rings' you can buy to feed these, they love them, also chopped veg goes down extremely well. ive never had a problem with these guys with fish but know many who have.

breeding them is not as simple as sticking a male and female together..you need to reconstruct their natural pattern by altering light, water temp etc to induce mating. i have a coupme who live happily together but will not tolerate any other cray in their tank (2m long) whereas i have 3 females who love the company of others!