Helping or Feasting?

**14litre** · 2nd Jun 2012, 21:36

This was my first time watching crayfish moulting live in my aquarium, initially I thought one was helping the other in the moulting process, then realised that it was a feast for it.

how do you guys manage the moulting process, do you leave it alone in the aquarium or put it in a separate (hospital) tank?

the corpse

and when it was still alive, it was moulting on the surface of the water at times.

**HeMan** · 3rd Jun 2012, 09:48

I do have 2 red crayfish now, but i dont keep them in tank, i keep them in a pail with a just a sponge filter.

So far they have been with me for like 4 months already and i only pick up only 3 times of molted shells , i think they molt like once a month or 2 months.

I do have rock i made for them to hide if no hiding space they will be fighting among themselves.

**14litre** · 4th Jun 2012, 09:53

Originally Posted by HeMan

I do have 2 red crayfish now, but i dont keep them in tank, i keep them in a pail with a just a sponge filter.

So far they have been with me for like 4 months already and i only pick up only 3 times of molted shells , i think they molt like once a month or 2 months.

I do have rock i made for them to hide if no hiding space they will be fighting among themselves.

oh i see. May I know the reason for keeping your crayfish separately from the tank? Is it because it will attack other animals?

**HeMan** · 4th Jun 2012, 10:07

Because i do not have enough tank so i keep them in a pail, my tanks are for my shrimps.

**14litre** · 4th Jun 2012, 10:29

Originally Posted by HeMan

Because i do not have enough tank so i keep them in a pail, my tanks are for my shrimps.

oh i see. thank you once again for the information.

**stormhawk** · 6th Jun 2012, 20:51

It would be much safer to have the molting crayfish in a separate breeding trap. A pity to see it being eaten while it was trying to molt.

**14litre** · 6th Jun 2012, 21:16

Originally Posted by stormhawk

It would be much safer to have the molting crayfish in a separate breeding trap. A pity to see it being eaten while it was trying to molt.

yup, it was sad to witness that.

thanks for the advice. does that mean it is safe to use a fish net to transfer the moulting crayfish to a trap, probably a floating breeding trap?

**stormhawk** · 7th Jun 2012, 06:09

It is safe or you can opt to keep the crays in a partitioned tank. DIY tank partitions work very well for this purpose but prevents you from seeing them interact with each other. However, it ensures that each cray is safe whenever it molts and gets adequate food because in a normal setup with several crays, one will always be dominant and bully the rest.

**14litre** · 7th Jun 2012, 09:17

Originally Posted by stormhawk

It is safe or you can opt to keep the crays in a partitioned tank. DIY tank partitions work very well for this purpose but prevents you from seeing them interact with each other. However, it ensures that each cray is safe whenever it molts and gets adequate food because in a normal setup with several crays, one will always be dominant and bully the rest.

I see. Thanks for sharing. You have triggered another idea for me to create a diy parition using styrofoam. Let me see how far my cave-tunnel goes before I embark into this new partition project.