Adrian
09-14-2009, 06:16 AM
I have owned crayfish, or as I call them, crabs, as this is the term I used when growing up....old habits die hard. Though now I know they are not really a crab. Anyhoo...on to my post.
Today I picked up a cute yet very potent crayfish, (crab). Nothing fancy like the blue, red, white (ahem lobster), though not a lobster either. I have always enjoyed seeing them, as they make excellent scavengers, and are very formidable to fish within the tank. Here's my questions, as I have a few.
1.) What exactly do they eat? Do I need to give them a special diet? I know that in the past, they like meat, so do I need to supplement?
2.) Will they harm my fish? In the past, and if I remember correctly, at night time, when the tanks lights are out, they tend to come out to scavenge. Problem being, while most of my fish tend to head to the bottom of the tank to sleep, this is the prime location of my newly aquired crab. Those pincers are not only for defense, and I know they can catch the unwary fish unawares and make quick work of devouring my inventory of fish. Will this pose a problem?
3.) To make my crab happy, as well as my fish, what would you suggest I do to keep my tank in balance?
Any thoughts or comments will be appreciated. Bear in mind, it is a small, crayfish roughly an inch and a half long. Has two well defined pincers, and is currently hiding amoungst the driftwood that I have in my tank, which, unfortunately, is the same place my kuhli's are hanging out.
Today I picked up a cute yet very potent crayfish, (crab). Nothing fancy like the blue, red, white (ahem lobster), though not a lobster either. I have always enjoyed seeing them, as they make excellent scavengers, and are very formidable to fish within the tank. Here's my questions, as I have a few.
1.) What exactly do they eat? Do I need to give them a special diet? I know that in the past, they like meat, so do I need to supplement?
2.) Will they harm my fish? In the past, and if I remember correctly, at night time, when the tanks lights are out, they tend to come out to scavenge. Problem being, while most of my fish tend to head to the bottom of the tank to sleep, this is the prime location of my newly aquired crab. Those pincers are not only for defense, and I know they can catch the unwary fish unawares and make quick work of devouring my inventory of fish. Will this pose a problem?
3.) To make my crab happy, as well as my fish, what would you suggest I do to keep my tank in balance?
Any thoughts or comments will be appreciated. Bear in mind, it is a small, crayfish roughly an inch and a half long. Has two well defined pincers, and is currently hiding amoungst the driftwood that I have in my tank, which, unfortunately, is the same place my kuhli's are hanging out.