Cherax quadricarinatus question?

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Oxydoras

Oxydoras

Candiru
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2009
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West Coast
:help2: I have a 3" male/female pair of quads and I was wondering if they'll be able to live in the same aquarium together. They have plenty of hides but it's only a 3 gal (untill I get something bigger of course ;)). I was wondering, will they'd cannibalize each other when they molt? I was hoping some of you craw aficionados might be able to help me out, as these are my first freshwater inverts :)

Cheers,
Greg
 
Being confined to such a small aquarium, there's a chance they'll have problems when molting. Keep a close eye on them.

I have 5 males about 3 to 4 inches living in a 15gal. It's getting a little over crowded & they need to be split up.....one lost a claw after he molted...

However they are a great species to keep in groups. Pretty quiet cray species.
The M/F thing won't be a problem....may even get bubbas!
 
An m/f pair will cut down a lot of the potential aggression, however, a tank so small will eventually cause an issue. I kept a small pair in a 5gal for a few months while making other arrangements for housing, it was okay in the beginning but eventually they started getting pissy with each other and trying to eat each other during molting. On the bright side, quads are generally a pretty docile species so a lot of your normal "crayfish" issues won't arise. Keep watch though. ^_^
 
How large of an aquarium would be recomended for the two of them? Would a ten gal with mltiple hides be acceptable? The male snipped off one of the females antenna so I moved him to a 3 gallon critter keeper with a bubbler and air stone, not ideal, but it'll have to do for now :irked:
 
Totally forgot to ask, about how big will they get? Also, does anybody have a picture of an adult with something next to it for a size reference?
 
Ultimately, a 10gal is not going to be large enough. General consensus on quads is that adults reach between 7-9" as adults. And various strains (like walkamin) can obtain much larger sizes than that, but generally, those strains are in the food trade and not the pet trade (though they are rather easy to obtain in the states).

I keep a single adult male in a 30gal, I could probably put a similar sized female in there with him successfully but personally, I think it'd be a little cramped for 2. Usually, I see adult quad pairs or trios in 50gal or larger. Wait for Yabba's answer, he keeps more of these guys than I do... he'll probably have more info for you.

And for size reference:
ebirah.jpg

There's my male with a 10" Pacu behind him... And now that picture makes me miss my Pacu :(
 
They'll be ok in a 15 gal / 2ft tank for a yr or so.
Then they'll need a larger tank......say a 3fter???.....bigger the better.

Most will easily reach around 10 inches......some old boys & girls may get to 14inches (Walkamin???)
A male & female pic....the male is Walkamin strain.....

Male
picture.php


Female
picture.php
 
Yabbadoo;2704914; said:
Trust you to have pink gravel...hahahahahaaaaaa :D
Nice Quad...:thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Pfft... You probably have pink gravel, too (and a feather boa to match :D)

Yah! That's Ebirah, he's my baby! You know... really big, giant baby lol
 
How long do you think it'd take my quads to reach the size of these two?

Yabbadoo;2704870; said:
They'll be ok in a 15 gal / 2ft tank for a yr or so.
Then they'll need a larger tank......say a 3fter???.....bigger the better.

Most will easily reach around 10 inches......some old boys & girls may get to 14inches (Walkamin???)
A male & female pic....the male is Walkamin strain.....

Male
picture.php


Female
picture.php
Click to expand...
 
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