Crayfish Care

Crayfish, also called crawfish or crawdads are fresh water crustaceans that resemble shrimps. They have legs, pincers and other appendages which are used for feeling and eating. They can survive on dry land as long as their gills are moist. Crayfish are aquatic creatures and have several bristles on their surface which are sensitive to chemicals and touch. Underestimating crayfish would be a big mistake! They can smell, feel, and hear though they are completely covered with a hard shell. You will find crayfish usually in cool and dark parts of rivers, etc. Crayfish only prey on other creatures (small or large) during the night. There is a particular method of taking care of crayfish when kept at home because they may be unique as pets and to look at; but they need some amount of maintenance as well. Explore the sections below to know how to take care of your marine pet properly!

How To Take Care Of Crayfish 

• Just as you create a special place for your dog at home, you need to create a special place (habitat) for your crayfish as well.
• Take about a cup of cold water and pour it into a tray about 3-4 cm deep. Keep it in a cool and dark place. Releasing chlorine from water is essential, so let it sit for some time before the fish arrives. This is just for the fish to get acquainted to its new surroundings. You can later shift it to an aquarium.
• If you are bringing in more than one crayfish, then make sure you have larger tanks containing at least 10 -15 gallons of water for each fish. Remember that crayfish are very territorial and might kill to survive.
• The bottom of the tank needs to have sand or gravel and has to be conducive for digging.

• The crayfish are obviously going to be coming in a packet with water. Practice picking up the crayfish from behind (to avoid the pincers) and transferring it to the aquarium. You need this tactic even while cleaning the aquarium.
• While introducing the crayfish into the tank, don’t just drop it! Air bubbles can enter its gills causing it to drown.
• Only crayfish must be placed in the aquarium because no other species of fish will be able to survive with them in such a limited space. Moreover, they are exceptionally fast swimmers; and this will make it impossible for other marine creatures in the same aquarium to escape from them.
• Remember to close the tank properly as these crustaceans can manage to slink out.

• As mentioned earlier, crayfish eat other fish. So, you can insert small fish into the aquarium as food. Shrimp pallets can also be fed to them.
• Other than small fish they can be fed lettuce, carrots, cucumbers and potatoes as well.
• Since they are brilliant scavengers, they will scavenge for food all over the tank and hoard remaining leftovers.
• You can add 2 to 3 drops of liquid calcium to the water to help them in the molting process.

• You will need to adjust the temperature of the water in the tank or aquarium in which the crayfish are placed depending on where the fish come from. For crayfish originating from colder climates, the water can be kept at an adjustable temperature. Nevertheless, tropical crawfish need more care and warmer water.
• About 25% of the water needs to be changed and de-chlorinated every week because crayfish have large bioloads.
• Reproduction in crayfish is slightly difficult to handle. Females lay around 200 eggs that require proper maintenance for them to hatch. Remember to keep the females in different tanks so that they don’t encroach on other’s babies.