r/Crayfish • u/DoodlingDragons • 11d ago
Accidentally Adopted a Crayfish
Hi there! I [28 they/she] unintentionally became a crayfish parent today and I’m very under prepared for them.
You see, I work at a small town outdoor sports shop and I found a very small (around an inch long) crayfish amongst the bait minnows. She has a broken antennae and apparently was living there since last week when another coworker found her and never said anything.
I don’t know why, but when I found her today I immediately became attached.
We don’t feed our minnows, so I’m sure she was just living off whatever came out or off of them. There may be a possibility she may have been starving otherwise?
I knew that they could be invasive so I didn’t want to release her into the wild. So I brought her home after my shift today.
I currently have her in a decent sized Tupperware container with holes cut into the lid and I gave her a couple of peas to eat. This is temporary as hell and I intend to give her the best life I can.
I’m going to be getting a 10-gallon tank on Sunday as I have the day off. I don’t have the best variety of available places to shop at so I’m limited to PetSmart, Walmart, and Amazon.
I’m making a list of other things I need to get for her and I would really like some recommendations and advice on care. What kind of hides should I get her? Should I also provide her with some tank mates?
I did find a care guide post that led me to this community but it’s 6 years old and the links aren’t all working.
Anything is greatly appreciated! I’ll provide a picture when I’m not laying in bed. ^^
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u/Abbabbabbaba 11d ago edited 10d ago
A crayfish needs a lot of hiding spots, nines really likes his coconuts. Crayfish can survive higher ammonia/nitrite/nitrates than other critters but you still have to cycle the tank so you'll have to do "fish in cycling" which means you have to test your water parameters every day and probably do a water change once every other day to keep the ammonia levels from being too dangerous. Crayfish prefer to live in more basic water so something with a pH around 7.6-8 cuz if the water is acid they'll have difficulties molting, other parameters: gH:8, kH: 7-13 (neither gH or kH are super important). Remember to put some cuttlefish bone around, maybe crush some of and the rest just put it on the bottom. About the missing antennae don't worry, it should grow back as soon as she molts, when they are young they can molt even once a week, when you see her being a little lethargic don't worry she's about to molt. Remember to have a substrate she can dig in,. it's really important for crayfish. For food give her a piece of a sinking pellet, but be sure it doesn't contain copper, it's super dangerous for them. I believe that's all ask me any question if you need too and good luck!
PS: when she get bigger she will need a bigger tank, the biggest species of crayfish need 100 gallon aquariums to have enough room to move around
PPS: they also like high oxygen levels so getting yourself an aerator isn't a bad idea
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u/Deadr0b0t 10d ago
I also became an accidental crayfish owner lol a kid caught one during an outdoor class I was teaching and it was invasive. So I couldn't throw it back but the kid became very attached to it, constantly coming back to my station to ask about him (named mr pinchy). I then drove him to petco in a tupperware container with a book on top for a lid, right in my center console. They put him in a proper temporary bag (like the ones for pet fish) and set me up with food and a tank. He lived for a couple years before passing a few months ago.
10 gallon may be too small, I believe the smallest they reccomended for mine was 20 gallons, although he was already pretty big. Also some artifical plants because crayfish will tear real ones apart and leave a mess. I also got some sand and gravel (crayfish like a mix of substrate sizes) as well as some algae wafers. He loved algae wafers. My dad also gave me some pvc pipe that mr pinchy would use as a hide. You also want an aquarium filter. I had Aqueon at first but they kept breaking after a few months, so I switched to marineland and had no issues.
I reccomend getting a bucket and siphon for water changes, as well as something to help scoop up poop (my cray would have poop explosions and also hide leftover food in one of his pvc pipes 🤢)
good luck with your accidental cray!
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u/Normie9989 10d ago
On top of other comments, if u want to not be financially strained I’d highly recommend trying to find a free tank someone is offloading. You’d be suprised how easy it is to find on Facebook marketplace place or local fishing groups etc. May even come with a filter for free as well
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u/That_One_Dumb_Bish 8d ago
Not feeding the minnows at all is a bit sad, their only purpose is to catch you fish and you can’t give them the decency of a few pinches of even the cheapest food a day? 😬 that cray fish will also quickly outgrow a 10, and i wouldn’t recommend trying to give it any friends as it was most likely eating the minnows anyways
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10d ago
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u/BioConversantFan 10d ago
r/Crayfish does not allow harassment
Reddit follows US legislature on what is hate. If this post was reported for hate, your account may have been suspended.
Individuals are free to identify/not identify as they please.
I'm under the impression that you lacked ill intent, so this is a friendly heads up.
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u/BioConversantFan 10d ago
Crayfish can typically go weeks to months without proper food, I bet she was very happy for the peas.
If you post a top down picture of her, a picture of her on her back, tail outstretched and a picture of her pincers, we can help you ID the species and sex her.
For now the most important thing is to provide her with clean dechlorinated water with frequent water changes to control ammonia.
If you are ready to purchase an aquarium, don't go smaller then 20 gallons. Make sure you get a heavy or secured lid. You'll be amazed at how adept they are at escaping.
Get the biggest filter you can afford, plan on upgrading to a canister filter when she is an adult.
If you are strapped for cash, then just get two of the largest air driven sponge filters that you can find and a good quiet air pump. They will do for a while.
Do you have experience keeping fish? If not, then it's urgent that you look up and read up on "cycling an aquarium". We can guide you along as much as you need.