Blue Crayfish Molting Timeline

[BTB0923]

My Cherax Quadricarinatus just molted for the fifth time. I had a short timeline on another thread where someone had asked how often they shed. Since I have been keeping track, here is a timeline of my C. Quad's molting thusfar for anybody who might be interested:

 

[BTB0923]

Here are some pics of how she looked after the fourth time she molted:

 

[bfhslilred93]

when i had mine it shed a lot too so its nice to know im not the only one that happened to

 

[BTB0923]

when i had mine it shed a lot too so its nice to know im not the only one that happened to

I don't think that this rate of molting is unusual for young crayfish. Mine was only 2 inches long when I first got her. I just find it interesting how the length of time between molts is growing exponentially as she gets older.

 

[black_sun]

when i had mine it shed a lot too so its nice to know im not the only one that happened to

Crayfish molt a lot. From juveniles to young adults, they'll molt roughly 11 times. Then after that it usually slows down to every couple of months, with the time in between gradually growing farther apart. Of course, that number varies a bit depending on the species and conditions it's in (i.e. light exposure, temperature, water quality, etc).

But, BTB0923, that time line thing is really neat. I've never really paid attention to the actual time in between molts before. I think I might try that with a few of my offspring from the next berry. ^_^

 

[BTB0923]

BTB0923, that time line thing is really neat. I've never really paid attention to the actual time in between molts before. I think I might try that with a few of my offspring from the next berry. ^_^

Thanks, I will try to remember to continue updating it.

 

[Yabbadoo]

Cool

When they get large, only moult once a yr.

 

[gran charismo]

yeah mine is very large and it only moulted the once

 

[BTB0923]

yeah mine is very large and it only moulted the once

Was there a noticeable size difference after the moult? I've noticed mine is a LOT bigger after every time she sheds. The first couple times she about doubled in size, but the size difference is becoming less noticeable every time. I'm wondering if the difference in size after a moult decreases with age.

 

[gran charismo]

yeah only i the claws tho, not noticable overall