never tried keeping “normal” size cray fish…

[Magnum Man26 140]

I’m contemplating getting a couple full sized crayfish ( I love my dwarfs ) I have a 45 gallon tank, with only an adult bushy pleco in it ( it could be relocated ) I’m looking for something larger and easier to see, as it’s by a hallway, so it’s a walk by, rather than sit in front of tank… I’m looking at orange morph Procambarus alleni, and looking for thoughts on tank mates ( I suspect a pleco would not be a good tank mate ) but short of a total surface swimmer ( like a hatchet fish ) not sure what would hold up to a larger cray… this will also be a harder water tank… so, maybe a couple African cichlids??? anyway, anyone raise the bigger crays???

 

[GaryE25 140]

We had a partly blocked drain that would pool on the local park water fountain when I was a kid. We put normal sized crays in it, and when people would lean over for a drink, they'd pop out. It was good for hours of amusement, and at the end of the day, we'd drop them back in the creek.

Word on the street was that no fish was safe with a crayfish when night time arrived. Friends kept them, but always alone.

 

[Uberhoust4 3]

I haven't raised any but would be interested in how it works out for you, if you try that is.

 

[Boundava4 2]

Word on the street was that no fish was safe with a crayfish when night time arrived. Friends kept them, but always alone.

I would agree to that. I would do a species only tank and not chance the late night buffet

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

thoughts on mixing different colors of this species… this orange variety is a color morph of the electric blue, but there are also white, I know they are going to have a pretensity to fight, but not sure if they’ll squabble over territory, there are lots of hidy holes, and line of sight breaks, or if it will be a death match, at 1st sight

 

[Back in the fold]

Where would a guy go about acquiring these creatures ?

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

I’ve seen them listed several places. but I do order quite often from these guys…

Electric Blue Crayfish (Procambarus alleni)

The Electric Blue Crayfish (Procambarus alleni) is native to the Southeastern United States. Known to be an active forager, these crayfish will appreciate a myriad of spaces to hide and explore in your aquascape. The Electric Blue Crayfish is omnivorous and will readily accept both meaty and...

www.aqua-imports.com

White Crayfish (Procambarus alleni)

The White Crayfish (Procambarus alleni), also known as the White Specter Crayfish or the White Lobster, is a rare variant of the Electric Blue Crayfish. Growing up to 5" and prized for their impeccable bright white coloration, this crayfish is a popular choice for those looking for a larger...

www.aqua-imports.com

 

[Alice B]

My neighbor kids caught me a couple of babies one year when water was running down the street and they were swimming up it. I tossed them in a pond and forgot about them. went to clean the pond and they were huge, had the kids mom come over to help me and when I pulled a 7 inch crayfish out of a lily pot she screamed and took off running. took in the house and put in an aquarium. He stole the pleco's algae pellets

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

BTW… Aquatic Arts, sells many interesting varieties of full size crays, as well as many deaf species…

Freshwater Crayfish | Next-Day US Delivery | 100% Live Arrival Guarantee

Order Freshwater Crayfish online in the US. Collection of Beautiful Crayfish available for your aquarium. Shop Now & get Next-Day US Delivery with Live Arrival Guarantee.

aquaticarts.com

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

so, I’ve been looking at potential tank mates ( orange crays sold out while wait for retirement check ) so that leave me just a few of the electric blues, on order yet… digging deeper the #1 safest tank mate is listed as zebra danios, as they are fast, and top water fish… but I suspect they won’t really like my hard water… rift lake cichlids, didn’t make the list, so the one I already bought maybe come food, or attack a freshly shed cray??? surprisingly live bearers like guppies and endlers make the list, as long as they aren’t long fin variants, and they are likely to better handle my hard water…

I’m liking these guppies, as they are fancy, but not long finned, I may have to try a pair, and see how that goes… I'll still need to catch out the adult super red bushy nose, as I’m sure that would easily become food…

anyway I’m really liking these guppies…

 

[Alice B]

so, I’ve been looking at potential tank mates ( orange crays sold out while wait for retirement check ) so that leave me just a few of the electric blues, on order yet… digging deeper the #1 safest tank mate is listed as zebra danios, as they are fast, and top water fish… but I suspect they won’t really like my hard water… rift lake cichlids, didn’t make the list, so the one I already bought maybe come food, or attack a freshly shed cray??? surprisingly live bearers like guppies and endlers make the list, as long as they aren’t long fin variants, and they are likely to better handle my hard water…

I’m liking these guppies, as they are fancy, but not long finned, I may have to try a pair, and see how that goes… I'll still need to catch out the adult super red bushy nose, as I’m sure that would easily become food…

anyway I’m really liking these guppies…


View attachment 383264

I think I have a picture of my crayfish stealing the algae pellet from my bristle nose catfish. but it could have been a shrimp, I've kept fish a long time.

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

so, I now have 3 electric blue crays, Procambarus alleni between 2 and 3 inches long… so far no issues with fish, and they ate some algae cookies… but of coarse it’s not been dark yet… most of the crays have found hiding holes for during the day hours… it’s evening now, and less over head lighting, but back lit for sunset.

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

I have a “breeding pair” of white “Spectar”
crays coming as well, to try…

 

[GaryE25 140]

Controversy, trouble making post alert!

Procambarus seem like dangerous pets to me. I know there's only one species that is officially invasive and banned for sale in many places, but it's a group I stay far away from. There is a market for the illegal one (if it gets out it causes ecological mayhem, and there is always an idiot who releases these things - many idiots we can count on being out there even if we're not the fools in question).

They strike me as the Channa of inverts - where all had to be banned in many countries because smugglers were using misidentification scams to bring in the banned one.

Exotic crays are super popular locally with brand new aquarists who don't know or care what species they are. They're where shrimp were 20 years ago popularity-wise. I dunno if this is a good thing. There are too many people that would ban the entire aquarium hobby for us to lead with our chins.

 

[Magnum Man26 140]

in my researching of cray fish, I came across this article, while looking for a potential medium sized cray, a little smaller, and more conductive to adding to a tank with fish… some other reading seemed to indicate this Frankenstein was created for the aquarium trade and got released into the wild…

Marbled Crayfish | Nebraska Invasive Species Council | Nebraska

neinvasives.com