Crayfish - The beautiful blue creature
Crayfish originate from Australia and they are freshwater invertebrates. Most people call them 'blue lobster' and 'yabby'
There are many species within the Crayfish community. These beautiful creatures are hardy and can live to up to five years. Crayfish is much sought after as aquarium pets due to their fancy varieties and brilliant color.
How do you select healthy crayfish?
You have to avoid shops where they kept all the crayfish in overcrowded tanks with very little water. These crayfish tends to become stress and eventually die in such condition. Look for crayfish that is lively and full of energy. You have to also make sure that they have a complete set of limbs. You can test it by lowering your hands onto its back. When a healthy crayfish sense your hand, their natural reaction is to move back and raise both their pincers in a defensive stance. If the crayfish simply lie still and does not respond to your touch, you can be sure that it is not healthy.
Their pincers are used to catch prey and protect themselves. Sometimes you may notice that some of the crayfish have pincers that are smaller than most of the other crayfish in the tank, or they may have pincers that are not of equal size. This can be that the smaller pincer is a new appendage that grew while replacing the old one.
It is a little tricky to catch crayfish. You have to approach it from the back and hold the end of its carapace with both your thumb and index finger
Crayfish is unlike some of the fishes. They are territorial in nature, and so you must never over-stock your tank. So how big should a tank be? Well, 2ft by 1ft will be big enough to keep the crayfish happy.
Crayfish likes hiding space. You can place objects in the tanks. Objects such as PVC pipes or rocks will be able to provide them lot of good hiding places.
For aeration, a bubble filter will do just fine. And take note that crayfish do not need strong lightning and they do not do well in acidic water.
When it comes to feeding, it is the easiest! Crayfish eat anything they can find. It can be dirt, unwanted scraps, and feeder fish, sinking pellet or just some shrimps. Anything, everything goes for these creatures. Crayfish hunt at night, so turn off the aquarium light before you feed them.
Crayfish tend to grow by getting rid of its old shell. They will push itself out of the old shell through the space just behind the carapace which will split open. When they shed their shells, they will be covered only with soft tissue. These soft tissues will harden into new shells after a couple of days.. And usually, the crayfish will eat up its old shell.
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