Mexican drawf crayfish orange - Cambarellus patzcuarensis ($18 a pair)
Lately I went to CRSHaven and saw this tiny cute creature. It was amazing. Not growing more than 4cm, this fellow is a peaceful crayfish that doesn't do gardening for you if you place it in a planted tank.
And it can be housed with tiny fish, with 100% guaranty safety for your healthy fish. Below are some photos I found on the web to share.
This beautiful and relatively peaceful 1.5 inch crayfish comes from Lago de Patzcuaro, a volcanic crater lake in Michoacán, Mexico, in the west-central mountain region. Wild Cambarellus patzcuarensis are mostly tan, brown, and rusty colored.. The bright orange mutation in the aquarium hobby rarely persist in nature due to predators, but is hardy in captivity. Some have a pair of longitudinal dark stripes and others are mottled, lacking stripes. They can be kept in soft to moderately hard water, pH 6.0 to 8.0, temperature 60 to 82 F. In soft water, keep aragonite gravel in the filter or on the bottom to provide calcium and pH buffering.
Unlike most crayfish, C. patzcuarensis doesn't destroy plants, and digs very little. They eat live or frozen worms, insects, brine shrimp, flakes, pellets, cooked shrimp, green peas – most any kind of fish food. They live peacefully with small fish and usually do not attack even newborn guppies, although they may eat fish eggs or non-swimming larvae, and will eat dead fish. They need hiding places when molting, as the new shell is soft and even small fish (or other crayfish) can kill them during this time. Volcanic rock with lots of small holes, or short segments of waterlogged bamboo are useful as molting refuges. Don’t keep crayfish with loaches or similar fish that probe nooks and crannies – the crayfish will be killed during their molt.
Adult males can be recognized by the first pair of pleopods, which are rigid with terminal hooks at the forward end (between the last pair of walking legs). In females the first pleopods are flexible and similar to the other four pairs of pleopods. They begin breeding at four months old. Crayfish mate belly-to-belly, after a claw-waving courtship ritual. Dark green eggs are laid in clutches of about 50, attached to the mother’s pleopods under the abdomen. They hatch in about 2 weeks, and the 3/16 inch baby crayfish drop off and scatter about a week later. The mother continues to eat while brooding, and won’t eat her kids as long as she has sufficient food. The babies eat newly hatched brine shrimp, flakes, pellets, etc. Soaked leaves from deciduous trees will provide hiding and climbing places, plus bugs, bacteria, and fungi that the babies can eat between feedings. If starved or overcrowded they will attack each other and tear off legs, but these will grow back as long as the crayfish can still get around and feed. The babies can grow up in the tank with the adults, or you can separate the mother before the eggs hatch and raise the babies in their own tank.
And it can be housed with tiny fish, with 100% guaranty safety for your healthy fish. Below are some photos I found on the web to share.
This beautiful and relatively peaceful 1.5 inch crayfish comes from Lago de Patzcuaro, a volcanic crater lake in Michoacán, Mexico, in the west-central mountain region. Wild Cambarellus patzcuarensis are mostly tan, brown, and rusty colored.. The bright orange mutation in the aquarium hobby rarely persist in nature due to predators, but is hardy in captivity. Some have a pair of longitudinal dark stripes and others are mottled, lacking stripes. They can be kept in soft to moderately hard water, pH 6.0 to 8.0, temperature 60 to 82 F. In soft water, keep aragonite gravel in the filter or on the bottom to provide calcium and pH buffering.
Unlike most crayfish, C. patzcuarensis doesn't destroy plants, and digs very little. They eat live or frozen worms, insects, brine shrimp, flakes, pellets, cooked shrimp, green peas – most any kind of fish food. They live peacefully with small fish and usually do not attack even newborn guppies, although they may eat fish eggs or non-swimming larvae, and will eat dead fish. They need hiding places when molting, as the new shell is soft and even small fish (or other crayfish) can kill them during this time. Volcanic rock with lots of small holes, or short segments of waterlogged bamboo are useful as molting refuges. Don’t keep crayfish with loaches or similar fish that probe nooks and crannies – the crayfish will be killed during their molt.
Adult males can be recognized by the first pair of pleopods, which are rigid with terminal hooks at the forward end (between the last pair of walking legs). In females the first pleopods are flexible and similar to the other four pairs of pleopods. They begin breeding at four months old. Crayfish mate belly-to-belly, after a claw-waving courtship ritual. Dark green eggs are laid in clutches of about 50, attached to the mother’s pleopods under the abdomen. They hatch in about 2 weeks, and the 3/16 inch baby crayfish drop off and scatter about a week later. The mother continues to eat while brooding, and won’t eat her kids as long as she has sufficient food. The babies eat newly hatched brine shrimp, flakes, pellets, etc. Soaked leaves from deciduous trees will provide hiding and climbing places, plus bugs, bacteria, and fungi that the babies can eat between feedings. If starved or overcrowded they will attack each other and tear off legs, but these will grow back as long as the crayfish can still get around and feed. The babies can grow up in the tank with the adults, or you can separate the mother before the eggs hatch and raise the babies in their own tank.
Breeding Crayfish
In the text below I shall try to give a short overview of some of the basics when breeding crayfish. Particular species may have other behaviours and demands. It should be said that my main experience as an aquarist is with relation to fish, but I shall try to convey what little knowledge I have.
Sexing Crayfish
Sexing crayfish isn't always easy. The genital openings are located in different places on the body depending on whether it's a male or a female. Males have their genital openings behind/under their posterior pair of legs. Females have their genital openings under the third pair of legs counted from the posterior. However, many individuals have a male as well as a female genital opening, making the sexing much more complicated. But these are always either male or female; usually male but you can't be sure.
Mating and egg carrying
In aquariums, spawning is possible any time of year. The male makes a little sperm packet and places it on the female's stomach. The female then spawns her eggs, passing them through the sperm packet so that the eggs get fertilized. It is not uncommon for the female to lose a claw during this process. She then places the eggs under her tail where they will be kept until they are ready to be released. How long this will be depends on the water temperature and the species, but it will be at least 4 weeks. A lot of other factors can also affect the length of the egg carrying period, such as water quality, and food supply and quality. The mother will watch over the young for a short time after birth.
Fry
The fry are very small when they are born but are fully developed miniature crayfish. Fry are usually detritus feeders, which means that they will feed on any decomposing plant parts and food leftovers they can find while scouring the bottom. Vegetable food is preferred and they can be fed boiled lettuce leaves that are left to decay in the aquarium. Be aware of the water quality. Fry are often very cannibalistic and a large aquarium is required if you want a higher number of fry to survive. Sorting fry for size may help the survival rate.
Breeding
Now you know about their breeding behaviour and how to raise the fry, but how can you get them to breed in the first place? Well, first of all you have to give them the right environment and good food to get them in a condition in which they can spawn. Some species also need different triggers to breed. These triggers may be a change in the amount of light and number of light hours, a change in temperature, change of circulation, etc.
Feeding
Crayfish usually accept most kinds of food, and I would recommend feeding them a diet based on boiled lettuce, sinking pellets, shrimps, and once or week or so, fish meat. This will get them in good condition and help the female survive the spawning period since she usually doesn't eat while she is carrying eggs.
Housing/environment
Many crayfish species can be kept in relatively small aquariums, but I recommend using larger aquariums since this lowers the pressure on the females by the males. The aquarium should be decorated so that a lot of hiding places of suitable size are provided. Hiding places can be created using rocks, roots, flowerpots, coconuts, PVC pipes, and so on. It's important that there is at least one, and preferably several hiding places for each crayfish.
Shrimp Name: Mexican Orange Dwarf Crayfish (Cambarellus Patzcuarensis)
Origin: Mexico
Description: Yet another colorful addition to the aquarium tank. The orange striped and tanned color is mesmerizing as well as their smallness. Mexican Orange Dwarf crayfish are plant friendly yet a little aggressive despite their size. When fully mature they average 2.5 – 4.0 cm. They are omnivores like any other type of crayfish as their diet consists of dead leaves, algae, phytoplankton, fish flakes and any dead animal matter (aquarium types ONLY). When housing these crayfish in a tank a lot of hiding space should be created as they tend to prey on each other during the molting period.
Water Parameters: Care must be taken when housing these species as they are extremely fragile and delicate. Regular water changes should always be conducted to avoid accumulation of nitrates in the water. Cool to warm temperatures ranging between 18 - 26° C will suffice. Soft to hard water with a pH of 7.0 – 8.0 will be beneficial to these little crayfish.
Sexing: The females are slightly larger than the males.
Breeding:Good healthy numbers will likely result in them breeding. Their young ones are born alive and looking like their parents. When a female is in berry she should be separated from the rest of the pack. The young ones are also prone to cannibalistic tendencies during the molting phase.
Compatibility: They do well in great numbers but they should not be housed together with any larger crayfish as they will not last very long. Despite their smallness they will not shy away from any type of confrontation even it means a fight to the death. They can be tanked together with any shrimp and fish except the big aggressive fish types.
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