Crayfish Experience

[BettaBabe94]

So I’m thinking about getting a crayfish. It would be a crayfish only tank. I’m looking for tips/advice from people who have or had crayfish. Adult size/tank size/ etc.

I’m looking at the dwarf blue crayfish or the electric blue crayfish. 
One thing I read was that the dwarf blue crayfish change color depending on PH?

[TheSwissAquarist]

II have never seen that to be the case in dwarf crayfish. Where did you read that?

[BettaBabe94]

On 9/28/2022 at 11:10 AM, TheSwissAquarist said:

II have never seen that to be the case in dwarf crayfish. Where did you read that?

This site seemed to be like a Craigslist for fish, don’t think it’s very factual lol 

[TheSwissAquarist]

May I suggest TheAquariumWiki in the future?

or fishbase.org

[BettaBabe94]

I wasn’t looking for info on there, I was trying to find them for sale somewhere, but yes the sites you suggested sound better lol

[sumplkrum]

Dwarf crayfish are probably more manageable than larger species. I've kept larger varieties and there are some things to consider:

Larger crayfish like the electric blue will dig up the bottom. Treat your decorations like you would a cichlid tank. Any plants will need to be fake or floating.
They're much stronger than you may think and can move around decently-sized rocks.

They're also territorial. If you're going to keep multiples, you probably want some large rocks to act as dividers.
You also have to watch when they molt since the molting crayfish will be vulnerable to attack. Other crayfish may try to kill it. You might need a hospital tank for the molting crayfish to keep it away from the others until it's shell is strong again.

They can make clicking noises with their claws. If the tank is in your bedroom, that will be annoying.

You want the top tightly sealed - preferably with some extra weight on it. They are experts at escaping, crawling somewhere in your house and dying. ... or a family member stepping on them in the middle of the night. Not cool either way.

[lefty o]

i kept local wild caught crayfish a few decades ago. about all i have for you is they will eat just about anything they can get in their claws. from pellets, and flake to minnows if they can manage to catch one.