newbie on crayfish and soil to use

[14litre]

Hi,

I have a small tank of 14 litre and I am interested to get a crayfish to add to the family.

34nnrx1.jpg

few questions,
- how many crayfish can this tank accomodate?
- do I need to buy separate food for the crayfish or the normal fish pellet food will be sufficient?
- I want to get soil too, any particular type of soil that will go well with the crayfish?
- any other things to take note?

Thank you in advance.

[Jhontan]

Hi,

The question is how many hiding places you can provide. Some use PVC pipes to make housing for crayfish. The crayfish is territorial.
I use normal pellet to feed. These are what I am doing.

[14litre]

Hi,

The question is how many hiding places you can provide. Some use PVC pipes to make housing for crayfish. The crayfish is territorial.
I use normal pellet to feed. These are what I am doing.

I end up getting 4 mini crayfish and a new bottle of crayfish/shrimps pellet food.

I also bought a small drift wood to create hiding places and this is hope it looks like now.

zjgdib.jpg

xeq6gl.jpg

I also read that crayfish are great escapist. Any idea where do they normally escape? climb up via the filter tube?

[Jhontan]

Crayfish are indeed great escapists. I have 2 crayfish escaped from my towhua containers. They were no where to be found. Personally I do not think that they would climb up the filter to escape, the chance is slim.

Looking at your pics, you may consider getting small pot or the best pvc tube to keep the crayfish. CHeck youtube on the crayfish.

I intend to get a pair of white crayfish and they look gorgeous!

[14litre]

Crayfish are indeed great escapists. I have 2 crayfish escaped from my towhua containers. They were no where to be found. Personally I do not think that they would climb up the filter to escape, the chance is slim.

Looking at your pics, you may consider getting small pot or the best pvc tube to keep the crayfish. CHeck youtube on the crayfish.

I intend to get a pair of white crayfish and they look gorgeous!

I also liked the white crayfish (and the red one too) when I saw it at the LFS. Was struggling to get these or the mini ones, and end up with the latter due to the small tank that I have.

I still have some stones, let me see if I can DIY, glue it to make a cave. Do you happened to know if there's any specific silicon that is suitable for aquarium?

[phyxated]

CPOs don't need much space and your tank should be ok for 4. just make sure that you have at least 5-6 hiding spaces. u can just use PVC pipes as JT suggested. a lot easier. you can also use those larger transparent pipes for the filter system also since the CPOs can crawl in.

Looking at your tank i doubt CPO can escape cause you dont have large vertical structures. One of my crays climbed my vertical driftwood and 'boarded' my cluster of floating water lettuces and tried to sail away. really funny.

You can use selley's or any type of silicone. just remember to let it cure for at least a week before placing into your tank.

wah jhontan... you left your crays overnight in an open tauhuey container?

[phyxated]

oh and regarding soil, unless you have plants i would advise against it. in a small tank, the pH can swing quite fast and crays like to dig.
if the soil and wood can buffer properly it should be fine, but once the buffering wears out, pH might spike.
sand and gravel has been working well for me so far.

[14litre]

CPOs don't need much space and your tank should be ok for 4. just make sure that you have at least 5-6 hiding spaces. u can just use PVC pipes as JT suggested. a lot easier. you can also use those larger transparent pipes for the filter system also since the CPOs can crawl in.

Looking at your tank i doubt CPO can escape coz you dont have large vertical structures. One of my crays climbed my vertical driftwood and 'boarded' my cluster of floating water lettuces and tried to sail away. really funny.

You can use selley's or any type of silicone. just remember to let it cure for at least a week before placing into your tank.

wah jhontan... you left your crays overnight in an open tauhuey container?

Thanks for the info.

I have 2 tau huay container full of stones, so I thought of "recycling" it by making it into caves. let me checkout the LFS on the silicone that they have. Otherwise I will find those pvc or transparent pipes.

heng.. good to hear that my setup is unlikely for them to escape.

wow! your crays are adventurous and it would interesting to see them escaping in action.

btw, what does CPO stand for?

[14litre]

oh and regarding soil, unless you have plants i would advise against it. in a small tank, the pH can swing quite fas4 and crays like to dig.
if the soil and wood can buffer properly it should be fine, but once the buffering wears out, pH might spike.
sand and gravel has been working well for me so far.

Thanks again for the valuable info.

I will keep telling myself that "no, this is awful" whenever I am tempted to buy nice plants from a LFS.

[Jhontan]

CPOs don't need much space and your tank should be ok for 4. just make sure that you have at least 5-6 hiding spaces. u can just use PVC pipes as JT suggested. a lot easier. you can also use those larger transparent pipes for the filter system also since the CPOs can crawl in.

Looking at your tank i doubt CPO can escape coz you dont have large vertical structures. One of my crays climbed my vertical driftwood and 'boarded' my cluster of floating water lettuces and tried to sail away. really funny.

You can use selley's or any type of silicone. just remember to let it cure for at least a week before placing into your tank.

wah jhontan... you left your crays overnight in an open tauhuey container?

I have no slightest idea whether my newly purchased crayfish would snack on my existing sakura shrimps. I kept them there and suddenly both were gone overnight. I tried to comb the area thoroughly but they were no where to be found. Their escapism really amazed me! hahahaha

[Jhontan]

I also liked the white crayfish (and the red one too) when I saw it at the LFS. Was struggling to get these or the mini ones, and end up with the latter due to the small tank that I have.

I still have some stones, let me see if I can DIY, glue it to make a cave. Do you happened to know if there's any specific silicon that is suitable for aquarium?

I bought a brand called Selleys, a silicone sealant (Made in Aust) for my aquarium tank.

[Jhontan]

oh and regarding soil, unless you have plants i would advise against it. in a small tank, the pH can swing quite fast and crays like to dig.
if the soil and wood can buffer properly it should be fine, but once the buffering wears out, pH might spike.
sand and gravel has been working well for me so far.

I heard that crayfish can literally destroy a planted tank. By the way, where is the best buy for white crayfish?

[14litre]

I bought a brand called Selleys, a silicone sealant (Made in Aust) for my aquarium tank.

I bought one from the LFS last night. Will start my mini cave diy project soon.

[phyxated]

my 3 girls destroyed abt $20 worth of ferns and fiddisen already. coconut shells also got stripped of the nice moss they came with. sigh...
lucky anubias are a lot hardier. so far only 2 leaves chopped after 2 months.

C328 sells for 1 red and 1 purple. not sure about other places.

from what you guys are telling me, i'm beginning to suspect that my adult sakuras are actually being eaten without my knowledge. hmmmm... time to do a roll call.

[phyxated]

btw CPO stands for Cambarellus Patzcuarensis (var. orange ). comes from mexico, that's why good at sneaking across borders. hahaha
errr just joking no offence intended...

[14litre]

btw CPO stands for Cambarellus Patzcuarensis (var. orange ). comes from mexico, tt's why good at sneaking across borders. hahaha
errr just joking no offence intended...

haha.. no problem lah. that's a good one.

didn't know that's actually the name of the species of crays I'm keeping.

good to know now, so now I know which country to go if Singapore runs out of stock.

[kermit13sg]

Seaview has a lot...white, orange, blue... bet you guys are in the west.

[Navanod]

I bought a brand called Selleys, a silicone sealant (Made in Aust) for my aquarium tank.

Not just any silicone can be used.
Make sure it says its safe for aquarium and that it does not "prevent mold & mildews". Most silicone are for bathrooms and comes with an anti-fungal agent that will kill off all the shrimps.

This Selleys is safe
http://www.selleys.com.au/sealants/silicone/glass

This one will wipe out the aquarium denizens
http://www.selleys.com.au/sealants/silicone/wet-area