never tried keeping “normal” size cray fish…

[Magnum Man]

I was worried when the seller shipped the white, ghost, crays, USPS… but they came a day early, and look good… pretty young, but here is my male and female ( I can’t tell them apart, specially at this size and age ) these are just slightly larger than a mature dwarf cray, right now, but will still grow to 3-5 inches at maturity…

 

[Magnum Man]

a bit un-nerving… my 1st bigger crayfish shed… I guess that’s a good sign

 

[Back in the fold]

Can you fish it out and dry it ? That would make a nice decoration . You could coat it with something like Varathane to preserve it and make it harder .

 

[Magnum Man]

well I’ve heard they like to eat them to get the nutrients back… the cray with the new shiny shell is sitting the plants about 8 inches above the shell, I assume staying away from the others, until the new shell is fully hard…

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I kept a wild crayfish (we call 'em crawdads around here) with wild plains minnows, longnose dace, and feeder goldfish back in my college dorm days in the 90s. The wild minnows did ok with him--I'm sure that in a stream with brown trout there's strong selection for light sleepers--but he would catch goldfish and eat them, even in broad daylight...much to the amusement of my friends.

I'd guess the colored domestics are a little more tame? Maybe not.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I was worried when the seller shipped the white, ghost, crays, USPS… but they came a day early, and look good… pretty young, but here is my male and female ( I can’t tell them apart, specially at this size and age ) these are just slightly larger than a mature dwarf cray, right now, but will still grow to 3-5 inches at maturity…


View attachment 383739

THis is the cutest invert pic I've seen all day. It demands a caption.

 

[Magnum Man]

Hi, I’m new here… sorry best I had tonight

 

[JCinPA]

Did a search on these to learn more and came across these. Yowza!

Tasmanian Crayfish Profile. The Largest Crayfish in the World - Shrimp and Snail Breeder

The Tasmanian giant crayfish is equally noted as the largest freshwater crustacean/invertebrate on earth, and it can live for 40 years!

aquariumbreeder.com

 

[Magnum Man]

OMG

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Wow, that thing looks a little scary. And delicious.

 

[Magnum Man]

picture from the linked article…. scary is right… however the picture looks “fixed”

 

[Uberhoust]

Looks like you have your crayfish but here is a concise reference to crayfish in Canada. https://invasivecrayfish.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Field-Guide-to-Crayfishes-in-Canada.pdf

 

[Magnum Man]

Minnesota must be realistic about it ( highly unusual ) as they seem to only ban crays that could likely survive through the seasons… seems like about 1/2 to 3/4 are banned here…

 

[Magnum Man]

these guys hide a lot, but this one shed shell the other day, and must be staying away from the others, until the new shell hardens

 

[Magnum Man]

and even as tiny as this albino cichlid is, none of the crays has made a play for it…