Compatibility with crayfish

**Slowerthnyou99** · 12-29-2012, 04:52 PM

Alright, before everyone jumps down my throat and say ditch the crayfish; I will not part with the crayfish I have had him for a while. I do have another thread in another part of the forum but since it has turned more into a compatibility debate I figured I would seek assistance here.

I am looking to add a large school of small fish. Initially I was full tilt on about 20 neon tetras but after a night of forum debate seems they will be possible food at night for my crayfish. Would bloodfins or lamplights or something along those lines be better suited?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

**scotchbonneteater** · 12-29-2012, 05:16 PM

I would try penguin tetra or harlequin rasbora, they both spend most of their time in the top half of my tank the penguin's wont even go to the bottom for food! 20 of either would look good in a school.

**AllenIsbell** · 12-29-2012, 05:42 PM

What about Tiger Barbs? If you have the room for them, about 5-6 should do good in there.

I'm not sure on the compatibility, just throwing the idea out there.

**Slowerthnyou99** · 12-29-2012, 06:06 PM

Originally Posted by AllenIsbell

What about Tiger Barbs? If you have the room for them, about 5-6 should do good in there.

I'm not sure on the compatibility, just throwing the idea out there.

I am not allowed to get Tiger Barbs lol. My Fiance refuses to have them in our new tank as we had a small school of them before and they terrorized everyone and killed one of her fish. As for myself I would love to get a mix of tiger, albino, and green barbs.

**AllenIsbell** · 12-29-2012, 06:07 PM

The key to Tiger Barbs is to have a big enough school of them so they will bicker among themselves. If you don't have enough of them, they will turn to other fish.

**Slowerthnyou99** · 12-29-2012, 06:12 PM

Had 7-8 if I remember correctly. I know they could work if tried again just don't want to risk the frustration again, and the possibility of having to re-home them.

**Strider199** · 12-30-2012, 01:47 AM

I too would go with post #2. Harlequin rasbora's stay at the top and a school of 8 or more really look nice in a tank. Your crayfish wont munch on them at night.

Good suggestion scotchbonneteater. Plus 1

**jocie1976** · 12-30-2012, 03:29 AM

Any fish that stays in the upper half of the tank will be fine. I kept crayfish for quite awhile so I know that they will eat anything that rests near the bottom at night. And forget about plants! That's just the salad bar, lol. All of my different tetras were fine with the crayfish though, even when I so many babies they looked like a carpet on the bottom, lol. I also had bristle nose plecos in with them without problems. As long as the crayfish and plecos each have their own hiding places/caves, everything will be fine.

**Slowerthnyou99** · 01-05-2013, 02:06 PM

Alright, well unfortunately I decided after a few months of trying to make my Crayfish "Azule" workout, it was time to re-home him. Thankfully I have a good LFS here and they took him in on trade. No more eating my plants, and no more fish scared to death when I turn the lights out. I could immediately tell a difference in my fish's moods when he was not in the tank.