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i have caught a crayfish what do i feed him? how do i get him to eat? and is he a danger to my fish? thanks

DO NOT PUT IT WITH YOUR FISH! wild fish carry many diseases and parasites that you dont want in you aquarium. if want a crayfish buy one at your LFS.

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Brian

[This message has been edited by cichfreak (edited 06-11-2002).]

i dont know about the disease part, but if you decide to not feed it, eat it yourself. taste good with butter

Hey guys,

I haven't been posting for a while beause of my insane school schedule but now things are almost slowing down so I'll be on the boards alot more now.

regarding your question socom, since it sounds like you already put the cray fish in your tank, crayfish eat any scraps such as un-eaten food and (already) dead fish. I have heard of people catching them on pieces of bacon too. They're just scavengers, taking pretty much anything they can get. I don't think they pose any major problem to your fish except the chance of introducing disease. It may melee your fish if they try to eat it... what kind of fish do you have?

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Jamie

A proud FEEDER NAZI

Well I dont know if you have to worry too much about diseases, however parasites are always a concern with any animal not just wild caught ones. Native crayfish at least western american varieties I am used to are extremely aggressive and will kill and eat anything can get their grubby little claws on, they will even kill and eat each other if one is weaker or sick. They are also however excellent scavengers and will sift your gravel and in search of morsels... if you want to make sure he stays happy and away from your fish I recommend over feeding slightly so his belly stays fat. Provide it with a place to hide since it will shed its skin usually once a year if not more often then that. It will be soft when this happens and extremely vulnerable.

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Adam

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i have him in my tank and i caught him by hand by turning over rocks i plan on going to get a couple more sooni have 5 jack dempseys 2 texas cichlids and 3 oscars and 2 small albino channel cats they are all an inch or so long. thanks for the replies

wait wait wait... what size tank is this again? Sorry but that just sounds like an aweful lot unless you are talking about a 180 or 200 gallon tank... I certainly hope it is not less then 120 gallons. Also I hope you realize that with what you have stocked in that tank that within 3-4 months at the most any and all crayfish you put in there will be lunch... maybe this is the ultimate goal, but if not you need to not get attached to them. And not to get nosey but you do know how big a channel cat will get right? That they can get 36-48"?

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Adam

Come see my website!
Adam@cichlidfish.com
Got ?'s about HITH? Read this to learn more!

[This message has been edited by Adam (edited 06-12-2002).]

the oscars get about 12" the texas cichlids get about 12" and the JDs get to about 10" and these species dont get along. why didnt u just get a pacu?

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Brian

and btw those fish will eat or at least kill crayfish when they are about 5-6 inches!

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Brian

Originally posted by Adam:
wait wait wait... what size tank is this again? Sorry but that just sounds like an aweful lot unless you are talking about a 180 or 200 gallon tank... I certainly hope it is not less then 120 gallons.

Wouldn't 10 large cichlids and two huge catfish call for a tank about 350 - 400 gallons? 50 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 + 30 = 320 gallons for the cichlids plus 90 gallons for the two 48 inch cats? that's like 410 gallons. IMHO

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Jamie

A proud FEEDER NAZI

[This message has been edited by Jamie (edited 06-12-2002).]

like i said they are all around an inch long. i realize their potential and i will let them pair up and then trade off the outcasts. i wont get attatched to the crayfish as i plan on getting a few more and i also plan on purchasing more aquariums in the near future. i also have a qustion, are blue "lobsters" dyed? i see them all over and was wondering if it is a dyed crayfish. thanks

[This message has been edited by socom (edited 06-13-2002).]

no they arent dyed, but i wouldnt get any because they cost about $20 (around here) and they will probably get eaten.

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Brian

Blue crayfish are not dyed. I have two and they have shed their shells a couple of times and always remain blue. I keep mine with some small severums. I definately would not put them with my oscars, I like my crayfish and want to keep them. This link has info on how blue crayfish came to be and also some guidelines on how to care for them. http://www.bluecrayfish.com/

Candace