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Crawfish Keeps Cutting Off Tails


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#1 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 28 February 2009 - 10:49 PM

woke up this morning and one of my creek chubsuckers was missing its tail!

top suspect is the crawfish.

this is the scond fish my crawfish has done this to. the first one was a feeder fish anyway though, so that was alright. but this time i'm kinda concerned.

what can i do to stop this? feed the crawfish more so he doesn't try to make snacks out of my fish?

also, what should i do about the tail-less chubsucker? it swims fine, and it was grazing all day like normal.

#2 Guest_Drew_*

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Posted 28 February 2009 - 10:58 PM

what can i do to stop this? feed the crawfish more so he doesn't try to make snacks out of my fish?


Get rid of it. Crayfish and fish just don't mix.

#3 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 28 February 2009 - 11:19 PM

I agree with Drew. The crayfish is just being a crayfish. I don't think you can overcome this problem with fish and crayfish in the same tank. I'm sure there are certain combinations you can get away with but as a rule they "don't play well together". As far as the chubsucker...you can try and nurse it back to health but I would keep it away from other fish (in a hospital tank) since it's probably going to get pretty ugly soon.

#4 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 01 March 2009 - 09:17 AM

awww i was afraid you would say get rid of the crawfish! i really don't want to get rid of it though! that and, i don't have another tank i could put it in.

so you think this chubsucker could get infected or get ich or something? i guess i'll try and remove it, but i don't have another tank i could put it in. what would i use as a substitute?

#5 Guest_ashtonmj_*

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Posted 01 March 2009 - 09:51 AM

Dave,

As I said a week or so ago and Drew said today your crayfish fish community mix will not work. Regardless of how much cover or how much space you will keep losing fins, tails, and fish. Seperate the two becuase we can't offer you any more help on the topic especially when it's the same answer each time. You can keep crayfish, especially the species you have, just fine in larger gladware/rubbermaid containers or small critter carriers. Just put in a small amount of gravel and refresh with water weekly. We have about two dozen of these containers in the office right now on a bookshelf with crayfish that have been in captivity for a year.

#6 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 01 March 2009 - 02:01 PM

ok, i might try putting it in a tub then.

#7 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 01 March 2009 - 02:53 PM

ok, i might try putting it in a tub then.



I have kept crayfish and minnows togther many times without problems. The key was to make certain the lights do not go off completely at night. Use a night light. The complete / rapid lights out affords the otherwise opportunistic predator (crayfish) with a chance to corner blinded fish. Streams seldom get as dark as an aquarium in the home with the latter sometimes approximating the bowls of a cave as far as some fishes are concerned.

#8 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 14 March 2009 - 10:50 AM

the chubsucker is recovering nicely, its tail is about halfway grown back, and it swims and eats fine.

#9 Guest_Keith C._*

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Posted 02 April 2009 - 09:31 PM

It may seem cruel, but I always just snap the large claws off the crawfish I put in aquariums or ponds. They quickly grow back so you may have to do it again.
Keith




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