De-clawing Crays: Tank Management or Plain Ole' Torture?
- Thread starter Manny Stiles
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Page 2 of this thread, posted on 7-20-2008 second paragraph he said "And I plan on mini-farming crays in the future for food purposes and as pets (depending on the species I collect). I would not recommend de-claw for pets. Food- ok since you need to reduce losses just like any other person farming animals for food. Also in some states certain species are illegal (he knows that in AZ but should check MI too before raising- could require a license). He is right- people are not reading everything before judging.
dzb912;2066723; said:
he is.
he's said that much more than once.
he's not keeping it.
anyway,
i wouldnt have cut the claw off myself, but i can understand your reasoning behind the procedure.
keep us updated on how the cray does.
No, this particular cray was a test for future farming, indeed. I don't want a pool full of thick, juicy crays ripping each other's claws off because there's good meat in there!
BTW, the cray is doing FINE. The part where I cut has hardened over and I can see where the new claw's thumb will be a little smaller when he molts again. I suspect this might have even hastened the molting process a tad but he has yet to do so. He has even adapted to using his spears/claws together to grab things and to pull things apart.
In my estimation, this has done absolutely no harm to the fella other than irritate him by getting yanked out of his home, handled and examined.
I am moving in a little over a month and have already shut all my tanks down except for what was my quarrantine tank - it is now my examination tank for this crayfish.
And yes, I will eat this one when it comes time to shut the tank down for the move. I'm waiting until he molts first so I can get all the data.
I think this procedure will prove effective once I have a kiddie pool full of invasive crays for the boils! There is a little meat in the claws, but it is GOOD meat and if you gather enough of it, you can make 'em just like crabcakes.
Also note: I will keep "pet" crays in my aquariums as well - mostly yabbies - and I won't subjugate them to de-thumbing like the feeders...
Thanks to all the people who actually read the thread!
BTW, the cray is doing FINE. The part where I cut has hardened over and I can see where the new claw's thumb will be a little smaller when he molts again. I suspect this might have even hastened the molting process a tad but he has yet to do so. He has even adapted to using his spears/claws together to grab things and to pull things apart.
In my estimation, this has done absolutely no harm to the fella other than irritate him by getting yanked out of his home, handled and examined.
I am moving in a little over a month and have already shut all my tanks down except for what was my quarrantine tank - it is now my examination tank for this crayfish.
And yes, I will eat this one when it comes time to shut the tank down for the move. I'm waiting until he molts first so I can get all the data.
I think this procedure will prove effective once I have a kiddie pool full of invasive crays for the boils! There is a little meat in the claws, but it is GOOD meat and if you gather enough of it, you can make 'em just like crabcakes.
Also note: I will keep "pet" crays in my aquariums as well - mostly yabbies - and I won't subjugate them to de-thumbing like the feeders...
Thanks to all the people who actually read the thread!
How 'bout we just keep compatible animals with other compatible animals? whatever happened to that kind of logic?
Imagine the posts I'd get if I started a thread like this:
My piranha keeps nipping the fins of my bubble-eyed goldfish. would it be cruel to "manage" this situation by routinely clipping all his fins nice and short, so that the slower goldfish can get escape these attacks?
its the same thing. choose which you like more, and get rid of the other. or, let "survival of the fittest" rule in your tank.
It would be pretty frickin' ]v[onster to see a crayfish catch, kill, and eat a pleco!!
Imagine the posts I'd get if I started a thread like this:
My piranha keeps nipping the fins of my bubble-eyed goldfish. would it be cruel to "manage" this situation by routinely clipping all his fins nice and short, so that the slower goldfish can get escape these attacks?
its the same thing. choose which you like more, and get rid of the other. or, let "survival of the fittest" rule in your tank.
It would be pretty frickin' ]v[onster to see a crayfish catch, kill, and eat a pleco!!
pcfriedrich;2069352; said:
This is true. Don't maim animals to make them live together. Just put them in a suitable environment.
Nabbig2;2072570; said:
So it seems the people who are against what I did aren't following the bouncing ball by reading the thread and the people who read the thread actually grasp the concept of what I was attempting to learn.
For the millionth time, I didn't do this so the creatures would get along with each other - as previously stated, they get along for the most part - I did this to squelch the curiosity inside me to learn something for future use when I am packing hundreds of crays into a pool (for FOOD PURPOSES, yum) and don't want them de-clawing EACH OTHER.
I wondered if there was aquarium applications as well, but have no intention of doing this to my future cray pets. I actually LIKE when they down an dead, sick or injured fish and eat them in my tank - I am a true fan of nature, jeez...
Q. How is it "maiming" a creature who NATURALLY will lose and re-grow their appendages multiple times?
People, please... read the thread, educate yourselves on crustaceans, find answers to the questions you don't have answers to (you don't know it all just because you "love" animals) but for the love of God, DON'T accuse me of being blatently cruel to animals. You make yourself sound foolish in doing so...
Well, it's been almost a month since my "experiment". The cray is as healthy and happy as ever. In fact, he just molted this morning and his "thumbs" have re-grown enough to grab with but are still shorter and stubbier as expected. (pics soon)
He is in my quarrantine tank as my other tanks have been de-commissioned and/or sold in preparation for our move East in a few months.
He is in a 10 gallon tank with a 4 inch Rainbow shark and a male betta - these are the only fish I don't have a suitable home for yet. Yes, these three get along JUST fine and without incident. The betta couldn't be happier as he gets to share some of the shrimp pellets of the other creature's diets. Plus he seems to enjoy the company!
The cray and rainbow shark have always been companions, sharing the same hiding spaces - even when they were tankmates in the 90 gallon tank.
I will not clip the thumbs again as I want to see how much they will grow again with the next molt.
He is in my quarrantine tank as my other tanks have been de-commissioned and/or sold in preparation for our move East in a few months.
He is in a 10 gallon tank with a 4 inch Rainbow shark and a male betta - these are the only fish I don't have a suitable home for yet. Yes, these three get along JUST fine and without incident. The betta couldn't be happier as he gets to share some of the shrimp pellets of the other creature's diets. Plus he seems to enjoy the company!
The cray and rainbow shark have always been companions, sharing the same hiding spaces - even when they were tankmates in the 90 gallon tank.
I will not clip the thumbs again as I want to see how much they will grow again with the next molt.
Riddle me this, aquaculturists!
The molt is over, his new shell is hardening and the claws are BLUE. You can see in the pics above there was some bluing but as the new shell has hardened, it has really come out... Also, the antennae and some of the legs are smoky-bluish as well. I know that some color variation will occur with molts, but this guy when from deep burgundy to grayish-blue!!!
Did it have anything to do with the claw-clipping? It would seem to be a cause since the bluest areas are the claws. I also moved him to a smaller tank but his diet hasn't changed. I've had this cray for almost two years and he has never indicated bluish tendencies before!
It's really fascinating to me.
The molt is over, his new shell is hardening and the claws are BLUE. You can see in the pics above there was some bluing but as the new shell has hardened, it has really come out... Also, the antennae and some of the legs are smoky-bluish as well. I know that some color variation will occur with molts, but this guy when from deep burgundy to grayish-blue!!!
Did it have anything to do with the claw-clipping? It would seem to be a cause since the bluest areas are the claws. I also moved him to a smaller tank but his diet hasn't changed. I've had this cray for almost two years and he has never indicated bluish tendencies before!
It's really fascinating to me.
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