crayfish in aquaria

[landon21]

i found a crayfish on my front porch today, noticed it was missing a couple legs and was trying to get away from some red ants.. at first i moved him to the other side of the yard and a couple hours later noticed he was in the same place and wasnt moving much, not to mention the ants were after him again..

being the animal lover i am i felt a little concerned for this guy so i placed him in a spare aquarium i have with about an inch of water with some gravel above to provide him with a place above water, he seems to be doing better but still not too active.. ive kept saltwater and freshwater fish for years but never a crayfish.. ive done some research and im not sure but i think this guy could be molting possibly...? hes about 2 1/2 inches long and light brown with hints of darker brown and red.. can these guys live in a full aquarium or do the have to have area above the water? i have a 5 gallon aquarium i could setup for him with filtration and etc if he recovers but im just wondering what i should do next... any help would be greatly appreciated and sorry for sounding like a newbie lol..

[Brhino]

crayfish can live in a normal freshwater aquarium. They do not need land access. You have to pick their tankmates carefully (if any) because the crays will catch and eat what they can. They're also escape artists, so you have to make sure there's no nooks or crannies they can get out of.

You could certainly put him in the 5 gallon fresh water and a filter, and see if he molts or dies or recovers. A bigger tank would make a better long term home, but it wouldn't hurt to put him in the 5g to see how he does.

[landon21]

good to know! how soon would this crayfish recover if this is just the molting process? also; whats a good temp for these guys?

[Brhino]

not sure how long it takes them to complete a molt... a couple days, maybe.

As for temperature, it's a native (or invasive and thriving) species, so you know that it does all right at whatever outside temperatures you normally have! Apart from that, I don't know offhand.