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Spawning Crayfish

Started by Guest_dsaavedra_* , Nov 28 2009 11:59 AM

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16 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 28 November 2009 - 11:59 AM

i have two spiny cheek crayfish, one is a male and the other is a female. i've had the female for many months in my 5 gallon tank, and i've had the male for about 2 months in my 55 gallon tank. both tanks are room temperature.

i was wondering what it would take to get the two to spawn in my 55 gallon?

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#2 Guest_threegoldfish_*

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Posted 28 November 2009 - 01:02 PM

My experience with dwarf crayfish is have them in the same tank. Make sure there's enough food so that they don't eat each other or the offspring. Have a bunch of hiding places. That's about it.

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#3 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 28 November 2009 - 06:13 PM

Put them together in the 55. If you see the female is carrying eggs, (it will be obvious) move her to another tank. The eggs will hatch after a while, and the baby crays will let go of mama and swim off. When she is no longer carrying any eggs or babies, remove her to another tank. Then you can grow out the babies. They are easy to feed, any sort of fish food will do. I use a variety of different foods.

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#4 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 28 November 2009 - 07:21 PM

yeah when i got the female back in May it had a tail full of eggs and i actually hatched the babies. but i had them in my 5 gallon tank along with 5 golden shiners and 2 baby pumpkinseeds. only one baby survived but the last i ever saw of it was only like a month after it hatched. i'm pretty sure they all got eaten.

so basically put the two together in the 55 and feed em well? then transfer if she gets eggs?

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#5 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 28 November 2009 - 07:53 PM

Yes, that's all you need to do. Lots of fish like to eat baby crayfish, so if you want any, you need to keep the babies by themselves. Feed them well to avoid too much cannibalism.

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#6 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 03:21 PM

i was thinking about breeding them for food, so i might just let them stay in the 55 gallon with my sunfish.

does the mother still need to be removed if i'm going to let them become fishfood?

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#7 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 05:39 PM

Sure, you can leave them all in the 55. If you want to maximize the number of crays you get, I'd remove both parents and raise the babies in a separate tank. Cannibalism will probably be an issue, but the more space they have to spread out, the fewer you would lose. I think different species of crayfish are more or less cannibalistic, so your mileage may vary. Your sunfish will get most of them anyway!

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#8 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 08:16 PM

hmm, i've only got two tanks i could use, and both have fish! my 55 gallon is full of big hungry sunfish, and my 5 gallon has something like 2 blacknose dace, 1 golden shiner, and 1 pumpkinseed.

i think i'm just going to spawn then in the 55 and leave em in there, food for whoever wants it lol

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#9 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 08:24 PM

just put her in my 55 gallon. let the games begin.

they won't fight and destroy each other will they?

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#10 Guest_gzeiger_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 08:42 PM

You sure the sunfish won't be able to eat the adults? In my experience the hatchlings are so small they're just popcorn, so the more hiding places the better.

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#11 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 09:32 PM

the adults are much too big for the sunfish to eat. they are about 2.5 - 3" in length. however, they may be at risk when they shed.

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#12 Guest_schambers_*

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Posted 29 November 2009 - 09:38 PM

If there are enough hiding places the adults shouldn't kill each other. If the female isn't in the mood & she can get away, she'll be okay.

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#13 Guest_dsaavedra_*

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Posted 30 November 2009 - 03:44 PM

well that didn't take long!

i came home from school a few minutes ago, turned on the lights in the tank, and there they were right underneath the log, makin babies!