Crayfish Store Ideas

[warmouth]

Heeeeeeeeey! It's been forever since I've been on this forum, I missed you all! How's it going with everyone?

In any event, I had a few general questions for anyone who keeps, buys and sells crayfish:

I'm subletting space from an LFS to breed and sell my crayfish. And while getting everything started I had a few idle thoughts that I'd like opinions and answers to from "general public" lol


1.) P. alleni, C. quad, P. clarkii (and here, in NJ/NY, Marmorkrebs and P. acutus) seem to be fairly staple sights in the LFS scene. What other species would you personally want to see in a LFS for sale on a more regular basis?

(P. alleni are the electric blues and occasionally whites, C. quad is Australian blues/Yabbies and P. clarkii are the dark reds and occasionally oranges)

1a.) Do you think your selections are feasible ideas, or would they be too hard to sell/maintain/etc in an LFS?

2.) Of the species you do buy, do you find the prices too high, too low or reasonable?

2a.) Do you think certain species should be priced differently than they are?

3.) If a LFS offered printed pamphlets that had general care information, and in some instances, species specific care information, do you think this would be a good idea? Or just a waste of ink and paper?

4.) Got any other ideas, comments, etc... feel free to share! I can't wait to get this going and I hope it lasts!

Thanks!

I would like to see more crayfish that are compatible with fish. Ive heard that the Shrimp Crayfish (orconectes lancifer) eats mainly dead things and detrius and would be a good crawdad to keep with non-aggressive fish. I have never seen these for sale even though its native to the US.....I think the Dwarf Crayfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii) would also be a good candidate for tanks of small non-aggressive fish (or even feeders for big aggressive fish). Just my 2 cents, Joe.

 

[black_sun]

1.) I'd like to see some of the more exotic colorful ones from Indonesia more commonly available. Cherax sp. "Hoa Creek", Cherax sp. "Blue Moon", and Cherax sp. "Tiger".

I would, too. They're a little more sensitive to water changes and have stricter dietary needs, but still easy to care for. I know I could get Tigers/Zebras and Hoas, those are easy, I haven't seen Blue Moons in a bit, though. Hmm... But I'd love to bring in more exotics, you so rarely get to see them and for the most part, they're available from importers.

2.) Most prices are fairly reasonable from what I've seen. Except the crazy people trying to sell Marbled Crays for more than $10 each.

Don't have to worry about my Marmorkreb pricing, I refuse to sell them (though, I do keep them). They're becoming invasive issues in a lot of places and the vast majority of people I encounter don't see an issue with this. But I won't contribute to the sale and spread of them (save for places like MFK, BC, and AC where I can monitor and see people's actions on regular basis to make a decision).

4.) Just happy to have another Crayniac around.

Crayniac, I love that! <3

 

[black_sun]

I would like to see more crayfish that are compatible with fish. Ive heard that the Shrimp Crayfish (orconectes lancifer) eats mainly dead things and detrius and would be a good crawdad to keep with non-aggressive fish. I have never seen these for sale even though its native to the US.....I think the Dwarf Crayfish (Cambarellus shufeldtii) would also be a good candidate for tanks of small non-aggressive fish (or even feeders for big aggressive fish). Just my 2 cents, Joe.

O. lancifer is fairly compatible with fish. The claws are too small to do much hunting and damage and it's fairly laid back and shy personality wise. It's one of my favorites in the collection of entirely too many crays I've owned lol. Beautifully patterned, small size, non-aggressive. Doesn't breed in captivity, though.

I was thinking about bringing in things like Cajun Dwarfs, CPOs, and then trying to get some of the smaller natives if I could. Some of the larger natives aren't horribly fish aggressive, like O. virilis, but the coloration on the majority of the natives leaves something to be desired. I'm not sure if they'd sell, but hey, I guess I can find out haha.

Thanks for the thoughts and input!

 

[black_sun]

this is setosus, also know possibly as rotundus. More known as rotundus. from my understanding they can be exported but no one has gone through the process to get the permission to do it.
there is a rotundus setosus. this is not the same!! the first is more known as rotundus. rotundus setosus is smaller than just rotundus.

Okay, okay first... the new avatar? Gator? Tell me you have a gator!
Second, your quote/tag line/thingy at the bottom of every post lol. Reporting you? What did you do now?

Hmm, alright. I'll look for it. Sounds interesting...

 

[Bubbles2112]

Welcome back Black Sun!! It is great to see you setting up shop to spread the joys of crays!! I definately think that you should stock Cerax species as they are so much more colorful/attractive to buyers. I think they'd fit better with new keepers as well as they don't always need a seperate tank and a lot of folks keep heated tanks already. I also really like the data care sheets to be given out when people purchase a cray. Really great idea!

 

[Lepisosteus platyrhincus]

Okay, okay first... the new avatar? Gator? Tell me you have a gator!
Second, your quote/tag line/thingy at the bottom of every post lol. Reporting you? What did you do now?

Hmm, alright. I'll look for it. Sounds interesting...

i did get a female smooth front caiman, named claudia. My enclosure build is in my sig. check it out!!

second, i didnt really do anything. its....... complicated. Iv had a handful of infracts and warnings recently.

third, it looks awesome! huge nasty claws and get some size! If you can get them, that would be AWESOME!!

 

[Pyramid_Party]

Might want to try some dwarf crayfish. The orange ones (CPO) are pricey so might want to go with the regulars. As far as the crays already at the LFS, I think for the most part they are priced reasonably. Although I have seen some blue crays, white and orange at several LFS, and the prices vary. I saw blue crays I believe for like $20 and at another LFS the same were under $10. Printing pamphlets I think is a good idea.

 

[zapatower]

I am searching one apricot crayfish Cherax holthuisi, more difficult in Europe. I'd like to get this future guide about crayfishes. What happened with crayfish forum? I sent one picture for a ID crab, is the only thread that doesn't obtain answer. Why? Where is crayfish lovers?

 

[warmouth]

O. lancifer is fairly compatible with fish. The claws are too small to do much hunting and damage and it's fairly laid back and shy personality wise. It's one of my favorites in the collection of entirely too many crays I've owned lol. Beautifully patterned, small size, non-aggressive. Doesn't breed in captivity, though.

I was thinking about bringing in things like Cajun Dwarfs, CPOs, and then trying to get some of the smaller natives if I could. Some of the larger natives aren't horribly fish aggressive, like O. virilis, but the coloration on the majority of the natives leaves something to be desired. I'm not sure if they'd sell, but hey, I guess I can find out haha.

Thanks for the thoughts and input!

Dosent breed in captivity......dang it! I was hoping someone would start breeding them for sale! We have some cool looking native ones here in Mo. like Ringed Crayfish (O. neglectus), Longpincered Crayfish (O. longedigitus) and my favorite the White River Crayfish (Procambarus acutus).

 

[black_sun]

Dosent breed in captivity......dang it! I was hoping someone would start breeding them for sale! We have some cool looking native ones here in Mo. like Ringed Crayfish (O. neglectus), Longpincered Crayfish (O. longedigitus) and my favorite the White River Crayfish (Procambarus acutus).

Yea, with the exception of Rusty Crays (there might be a few others), the Orconectes group will mate in captivity but the female won't berry and produce offspring. They, theoretically, need a chiller and specialized lighting cycles in the tank to trigger the seasonal changes to induce berrying. I remember a few people from another forum were talking about moving tanks outdoors to see if they could induce the berrying without aid of a chiller and creating simulated lighting cycles but I don't think they ever posted results to that.

Oooo... O. logedigitus! I've looking for those forever, you're lucky! Those are awesome looking crayfish! And P. acutus, I have here, too. They're really cool, I like looking for the color variants in the wild... they have some pretty wild stray color genes. ^_^