I was thinking about setting up a tank to breed them. Can I get some info about these dwarf crays please, not much out there about them. Thanks!
CPO's
- Thread starter MDK500
- Start date
General info for: Cambarellus patzcuarensis sp. Orange (CPOs)
Keep your tank temperature between the low-high 70's. A little lower and a little higher won't hurt, but the ideal should be around 75°F.
Adult size will be 1.5" for this species, and they are non-aggressive species. This makes them ideal to be kept in small groups in smaller aquariums (I still recommend using a 10gal as the minimum though). Provided enough food, hiding spots and proper male to female ratios (1m:2f) are given to them (otherwise they will fight amongst each other).
This species is pretty agreeable to almost anything that it's fed, the ones I've kept seemed to enjoy Hikari Sinking Pellets and cichlid pellets pretty well. They will occasionally munch on plants in the aquarium, but due to their size, they don't do much damage in the long run. Additionally, due to size and temperament they don't attack tankmates. They can generally be kept safely with shrimp, small fish, etc. But keep in mind, they may become meals themselves, so choose tankmates wisely if you are going to house them with anything.
This species will also readily breed in captivity, and with other members of it's genus. So, unless you're looking for hybrids... keep them away from Cajuns, Monts, etc.
Keep your tank temperature between the low-high 70's. A little lower and a little higher won't hurt, but the ideal should be around 75°F.
Adult size will be 1.5" for this species, and they are non-aggressive species. This makes them ideal to be kept in small groups in smaller aquariums (I still recommend using a 10gal as the minimum though). Provided enough food, hiding spots and proper male to female ratios (1m:2f) are given to them (otherwise they will fight amongst each other).
This species is pretty agreeable to almost anything that it's fed, the ones I've kept seemed to enjoy Hikari Sinking Pellets and cichlid pellets pretty well. They will occasionally munch on plants in the aquarium, but due to their size, they don't do much damage in the long run. Additionally, due to size and temperament they don't attack tankmates. They can generally be kept safely with shrimp, small fish, etc. But keep in mind, they may become meals themselves, so choose tankmates wisely if you are going to house them with anything.
This species will also readily breed in captivity, and with other members of it's genus. So, unless you're looking for hybrids... keep them away from Cajuns, Monts, etc.
Thank you so much! just one last question, can they be kept will small fish like endler guppies and will the guppies eat their babies?
MDK500;2588608; said:
Personally, I'm not particularly sure. The only time I've had guppies or endlers, I had them for feeders and they didn't last too long before some of my more carnivorous crayfish species ate them.
However, during the brief time they did "co-exist" with my crayfish, I'd seen them eat bloodworms I had in the tank for the crayfish. The bloodworms are bigger (well, longer) than the offspring crayfish are going to be... so, I'd be inclined to believe a few might fall prey to the fish.
Generally, one removes a berried female crayfish to a separate tank where she is by herself so nothing can stress her or her eggs (and so a male doesn't keep mating with her, replacing his own sperm plug over and over again). And then she is removed from her babies once they come off the tail, so she doesn't eat her own offspring. And with that process, you wouldn't have to worry about the fish eating the babies.
black_sun;2588817; said:
Yea, I was going to use a breeder net for this... so basically the endlers will be fine in there but with some risks?
MDK500;2589271; said:
Yea, I imagine just keeping the endlers well fed should stave off most of their attempts to eat the offspring. Perhaps buying a few bunches of hornwort and similar plants for the babies to hide in when they're ready to come off the mother's tail would be helpful. My P. alleni offspring used to use really bunchy plants to hide in until they were big enough to overpower or fight off larger siblings or tankmates. Though, P. alleni is a much larger and fast growing species, so you might have a longer wait.
But truthfully, try it. Give them lots of cover and hiding spots, keep the fish well fed, and if it looks like the fish are doing any real damage to the number of offspring, temporarily remove them or the crayfish to another tank (and then you know for next time). Some people are able to raise large broods in tanks with fish, some aren't. It's a trial and error thing (what tankmates, what conditions in the tank, etc).
I ordered them off aquabid today... Put them on hold to let my tank finish cycling... It's a 5.5 gallon for a pair of them. The pH is currently and 7 so I'm going to add some buffer to raise it a little higher. Thanks for the help Black Sun!