my blue cray and some questions

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Jess.in.WI

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 2, 2006
55
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Abrams, WI
Ok, I admit, he was an impulse buy... got him at walmart for $8. I've always wanted a blue cray because they're different, but now I'm afraid it was a mistake, maybe not, but I could use some advice.
I've been giving him shrimp pellets, and he hides in the loc-rocks and a big shell that he fits in. I have been reading here and saw that someone gives their cray algae wafers, so I dropped one in and I looked a few minutes later to see him scooting under his rocks with it clutched like such a prize!
I really like this critter... but my corys have clipped tails now so I'm thinking the cray should go into the 72g?
Currently he's with neons, corys and congo tetras.
The 72g contains two 7" long pimelodus blochii, a large green severum and a large firemouth, 2 5" african brown knifefish, a 4" long clown loach and a 6" common pleco, 3 giant danios and a smallish parrot cichlid.
Would the cray be safe in that mix? Would he be more safe in there than the neons, etc, are safe with him in their tank?

Thanks for any advice!

hehehe, just added a pic of him tucked into his shell...

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That's a tiny little guy, and not very blue (but for $8).

Mine loved pretty much anything he could get his hands on. I moved mine from tank to tank until he ended up surrounded in a pile of corpses. He had to go.

If you leave him where he is, he will kill your fish. If you move him, he will get eaten or wreak havoc until he molts and then get eaten.

You might consider keeping him for a while to see if he colors up and then trade him in to a reputable pet store.

Brandon
 
Yep, you are going to run into problems with these guys no matter where you put them. Your best bet would be to get a little 20G Long and get a couple of them in there.
 
if he went into a tank by himself would I need to add feeders every so often for live food? Can I just get minnows from a bait shop, or do they need goldfish feeders? Also, would he need a heater in that 20g? I do have a 20g if/when he needs to be moved.
Thanks! Oh, I thought I read that someone had a couple and they ended up killing each other, that's why I wasn't going to get another one... would two be ok together in a 20g? In the warmer months, would they like nightcrawlers added for food?
 
I keep mollies, goldfish, and plattys with my Cherax Quads and I have no problems at all. The only time that my crays have caught a fish is when it was sick or dying and slow enough to catch on the bottom. Its not like your crayfish is going to swim to the top and catch them.

I also keep Cherax Tigers with tetras and bamboo shrimp and ghost shrimp and I havent lost any there either.

I only keep my crayfish with small, non aggressive live bearing fish. Because if not; when the cray molts he is basically the consistancy of jello and will be eaten by anything aggressive enough to go after him. Your cray is fair game after a molt for 24 to 48 hours(till it hardens up again).
 
Jess.in.WI;625412; said:
if he went into a tank by himself would I need to add feeders every so often for live food? Can I just get minnows from a bait shop, or do they need goldfish feeders? Also, would he need a heater in that 20g? I do have a 20g if/when he needs to be moved.
Thanks! Oh, I thought I read that someone had a couple and they ended up killing each other, that's why I wasn't going to get another one... would two be ok together in a 20g? In the warmer months, would they like nightcrawlers added for food?
Click to expand...


From your pics of your cray I would say that you have a very poorly kept( I am talking about Walmart and not you) Cherax Quad but I will not know for sure unless you post a picture of just the face from the side up close and the top of the head.

http://www.texasaquaponics.com/guidetoidentify.htm
Use this page to identify your cray as a Redclaw or you will know for sure that it is not a Redclaw. You can do it yourself..

Walmart is natorious for not feeding its stock and it appears that you have a very washed out cray. The color will return after a while and it sounds like you are feeding it well.

IF it is a Redclaw then you should probably use a small heater in your aquarium for the winter because Redclaw prefer to be about 80-85 degrees. But they can survive in water in the 70's and be ok. Once the water goes to 60 they get very still and dont move much or eat and they start to die. If the water gets below 60 it will die.
 
thanks for all of the great replies! I assumed it was a hammer cobalt blue... it was labeled as a blue lobster (rolls eyes). Do you assume it was poorly kept just by the color? Also, why do you assume it's female? I'm curious to learn these things... :)

does this help at all? I have a macro lense but I need more light, and when I shine a light on him(her?) she scoots back under a rock... argh. I have to get ready for work so I don't have time to play either. So I just tried to zoom a bit on a side shot, does it help at all?

I looked at that link and well, my cray is speckled like the one in their pics. I don't see any hint of red at all on my cray, other than the cheek area... here's one more pic of when it was acclimating... gotta get to work, thanks again and merry christmas!!!!!

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Jess.in.WI;625682; said:
thanks for all of the great replies! I assumed it was a hammer cobalt blue... it was labeled as a blue lobster (rolls eyes). Do you assume it was poorly kept just by the color? Also, why do you assume it's female? I'm curious to learn these things... :)

does this help at all? I have a macro lense but I need more light, and when I shine a light on him(her?) she scoots back under a rock... argh. I have to get ready for work so I don't have time to play either. So I just tried to zoom a bit on a side shot, does it help at all?

I looked at that link and well, my cray is speckled like the one in their pics. I don't see any hint of red at all on my cray, other than the cheek area... here's one more pic of when it was acclimating... gotta get to work, thanks again and merry christmas!!!!!
Click to expand...


Ok, let me try and answer all of your questions the best that I can.
Hammer cobalt blue lobster is not a lobster at all it is a freshwater crayfish. Next I believe that Hammers Cobalt blue lobster is first a Procambarus sp. Second, Hammers cobalt blue is a term used by LiveAquaria.com and the idiots Foster and Smith. Much of the information listed on their site is either incorrect or misleading. When dealing with them Please always do your own research so you can tell what you are getting even if they can not.

I do not think that it was miskept I can look at the faded and washed out color of the crayfish and tell you for sure that it was neither kept well or fed. Like I said; for the most part Walmart does not feed their animals. They sit there until they sell or die.
I am guessing it is a female because of the shape of the claws on it.

Next, the bit of red your are talking about is ONLY on the male Redclaw and only on the outside of the claw. The female of the Redclaw has NO red patch.

And from the picture that you supplied of the head with the shot from the side really gives me the impression that what you have is a Redclaw that is washed out and speckled in colorvariation from lack of proper nutrition. After a couple of molt and with you feeding her well her natural coloration should return to normal.... If you notice on the pic you supplied I believe that on the area that would be considered the nose on a human, there appear to be 3 spines or types of ridges? That would indicate that what you have is a redclaw. If you will go back to the website and the page that I posted earlier I think that there is a picture of those spines(I think I put one there). That site belongs to my husband and myself and there are lots of pictures of Redclaw on there to give you an idea of what yours may end up looking like.
Yours could look like any of them EXCEPT for the "Opals" because their color is genetic and nutrition does not effect their color.

There are many many different color variations of redclaw. From all blue, to blue green, to green brown. It just depends mainly of the genetics of the parents...
Ph and what you feed them can alter the color slightly but genetics is the real factor in color.
 
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