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Haven't Seen Crayfish in a Long Time

Started by Guest_dsaavedra_* , Aug 08 2009 08:08 PM

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11 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 08 August 2009 - 08:08 PM

it's been over a month since i've seen my devil crayfish in my 55 gallon tank.

i have a big artificial log in there, and its hollow on the inside, and there are two holes in it to let air escape. the crayfish used to crawl in these and hide during the day and come out periodically throughout the day and be out all night. it would also go in there to moult and stay in for a week or so, then come out after its new shell hardened.

well this sucker's been in this log over a month now, i have not seen it come out ONCE, and i look at the tank a lot throughout the day since its right next to my desk.

think its still alive? i was thinking of taking the log out and seeing if i could hear the crayfish crawling around in there, or smell if it had died in there.

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#2 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 08 August 2009 - 11:03 PM

They do get less active as they get older, but I'd be tempted to look for it, too.

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#3 Guest_njJohn_*

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Posted 09 August 2009 - 01:10 AM

They just fall apart if left dead too long. That can't be good for water quality.

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#4 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 09 August 2009 - 08:58 AM

it's been over a month since i've seen my devil crayfish in my 55 gallon tank.

i have a big artificial log in there, and its hollow on the inside, and there are two holes in it to let air escape. the crayfish used to crawl in these and hide during the day and come out periodically throughout the day and be out all night. it would also go in there to moult and stay in for a week or so, then come out after its new shell hardened.

well this sucker's been in this log over a month now, i have not seen it come out ONCE, and i look at the tank a lot throughout the day since its right next to my desk.

think its still alive? i was thinking of taking the log out and seeing if i could hear the crayfish crawling around in there, or smell if it had died in there.

Check log. If now form 1, it may just be hunkering down since not in growth mode. If not there, then check behind / under furniture.

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#5 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 09 August 2009 - 01:05 PM

Check log. If now form 1, it may just be hunkering down since not in growth mode. If not there, then check behind / under furniture.

what do you mean form 1?

i'm going to check in the log today, i'll report back later.

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#6 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 09 August 2009 - 02:07 PM

well the crayfish is [amazingly] still alive, inside the log. took it out, sat it in a bucket, listened closely. i could hear it crawling around. after i shined a light in it for a while i saw its antennae waving around infront of one of the holes.

i'm suprised its still alive, it hasn't been fed in over a month, because i can't feed it while its inside the log, and i didn't want to leave frozen minnows on the gravel overnight and risk the crayfish not coming out and getting them.

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#7 Guest_panfisherteen_*

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Posted 09 August 2009 - 04:16 PM

then stick the minnow inside the log, crayfish will get territorial, attack the inturder, and eat it most likely

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#8 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 09 August 2009 - 05:35 PM

what do you mean form 1?

i'm going to check in the log today, i'll report back later.

First identify the sex. Most north American species have not only morphologically distingishable juvenile and adult males but also among the adult males, those that are for 1 = sexually competent / active versus those that are form 2 = sexually incompetent / inactive. With some species, females show the same pattern.

What species do you have?

Edited by centrarchid, 09 August 2009 - 05:37 PM.

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#9 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 10 August 2009 - 12:11 PM

its a devil crayfish, Cambarus diogenes http://www.dnr.state...ilcrayfish.html

i haven't taken it out of the tank to check or anything, but from what i've seen of it trying to crawl up the glass, i think its a female.

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#10 Guest_centrarchid_*

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Posted 10 August 2009 - 09:58 PM

I think you are very near, geographically to where the real Cambarus diogenes was originally described (so could be real deal) but I suspect you have other species as well in your area.

This link you have is not adequate for comparison / identification. Lets see a picture of your critter.

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#11 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 11 August 2009 - 02:33 PM

there are other species around here. this one is a devil cray though. i have a spinycheek cray in my other tank that i caught from a stream around here.

here is a pic of my devil cray though: