Romeo Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Gidday, I've always been a fan of freshwater crayfish ever since I was a lad. I recently stumbled across a YouTube video of an Australian Marron fighting an earthworm and I was completely resold again. So my new project is to get a freshwater crayfish. BUT, there's a few bits and pieces I'd like to know before I start. If you can answer ANY of the below questions I'd appreciate it very much. 1) What're the minimum dimensions for a yabbie tank? I've had my eyes on an 45*30*30 (40L), but could probably stretch it to an 80*30*30 (72L) tank. Would I be able to half fill the larger tank without too much harm being done to my yabbie friend? I'd only want one yabbie though, as they apparently have a habbit of eating each other. 2) What's the deal with filtering and aerating the water? Would these have to be running 24/7, or just during the day, or even not at all? What about power consumption? 3) How often would I have to change the water on the larger tank (80*30*30) to keep my yabbie happy? 4) I'm sometimes away from my place for up to 3 days, but generally no more. Could my yabbie sustain himself on a piece of carrot/other for this long? 5) Legalities, apparently they need a licence or something. No problems, but would appreciate the clarification. 6) Summer heat? Will it just adjust to the changes in temperature, or will it just drop dead. There's no fun in growing attached to a wee critter just for him to die! 7) Where on earth could I source a suitable yabbie in CHCH, I've been around at least 10 streams at night and haven't even come close to finding one. All the streams are filled with big eels, so I guess that means there wont be any yabbies. 8) Does anyone have any links to fish keeping guides that are especially applicable to keeping yabbies? There's a lot of information out there, but nothing really suited to what I'm hoping to achieve. 9) Does this sound like a good idea at all, for someone with NO fishtank experience to go ahead and try and grow a yabbie? Thanks a lot, Romeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant N Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 When we tried to keep them as kids in with our 4ft goldfish tank , they didn't do that well. I think water quality/flow could have been better! We kept native freshwater mussels, snails, bullies, real small eels , inaga, kokopu and even shrimp with varying degrees of success. But I think warm water was always a problem. There is a Native section on the Forum, maybe post there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Hi and welcome! Crays do rock, they make neat pets. If you haven't done so already, search the archives. A lot of threads exist about looking after and finding them. You may wind up creating a lot of confusion calling them 'yabbies'. That is an australian species. While it is a valid generalised term, people do tend to think australian and you might wind up with people telling you they are not available or are illegal here.... Most people call our native onescrayfish or koura. 1) What're the minimum dimensions for a yabbie tank? As always, the bigger the better. Stretching to a bigger tank will keep you and your cray happier for much longer Depth is of little concern, but go for as much floor space as you can get. Also larger volumes are much more stable when it comes to water quality. 2) What's the deal with filtering and aerating the water? Would these have to be running 24/7, or just during the day, or even not at all? What about power consumption? If you have filtration that circulates the water suitably you won't need to worry about aeration, the circulation does that for you. How new are you to fishkeeping? I suggest doing some reading about filters, it is a huge topic on its own. I find this site to be excellent http://skepticalaquarist.com/ it debunks a lot of pervasive myths, and tells you WHY you do things, not just the HOW. 3) How often would I have to change the water on the larger tank (80*30*30) to keep my yabbie happy? There are no hard and fast rules with any of that. Personally I change about 30% of the water every week on my tanks. It all depends on the loading, feeding, filtration etc. Very individual. THe good/bad thing with keeping natives is there are no algae eaters to visually 'clean' your tank for you. I think a lot of people think their water quality is fine because the tank looks clean. 4) I'm sometimes away from my place for up to 3 days, but generally no more. Could my yabbie sustain himself on a piece of carrot/other for this long? It will be fine. By nature they are scavengers and are always roaming looking for food. A few things could be left that wouldn't go off (like a bit of aquatic plant etc) but they would be fine left without anything for a week or so. 5) Legalities, apparently they need a licence or something. No problems, but would appreciate the clarification. You do not need a license. Not for crayfish or any other native fish. To keep, kill, eat, whatever, no license is required. Legally you may NOT: Take from DOC land or similar Take more than 50 per day Sell them Legally you need a permit to return them to the wild, even if it is exactly where it came from. All a bit odd, but you need to know the laws. If you choose to forgo this, only ever return healthy animals from healthy tanks to the exact spot it came from. 6) Summer heat? Will it just adjust to the changes in temperature, or will it just drop dead. There's no fun in growing attached to a wee critter just for him to die! A stressed cray looks like a dead cray, only it is stiff. A dead cray is all floppy. (oh and a skin looks like a dead cray, only the cray is no longer home! ) Cooling is important for most people wishing to keep natives successfully. Again the bigger the volume the less dramatically the temperature fluctuates. Situate the tank in a cooler spot to begin with. Do a search of the archives, there are many threads about this each summer. 7) Where on earth could I source a suitable yabbie in CHCH, I have heard of others complaining they are hard to catch. (you could suggest a Great Christchurch Crayfish Hunt in summer Maybe it is a winter thing, I know the south island ones slow down a lot over winter. Wait till you can bear getting your feet wet and take some nets down to a stream. Put the net downstream of a rock, lift the rock and all the fish, leaves and muck underneath will flow into it. Occasionally you will get a cray They are most likely to be found in slow areas of streams. 8) Does anyone have any links to fish keeping guides that are especially applicable to keeping yabbies? There's a lot of information out there, but nothing really suited to what I'm hoping to achieve. That is precisely why I started writing my book on keeping native fish (and misc other critters) in aquaria! It is still a wee while off being printed, but is looking awesome. In lieu of that, as I keep saying, the archives here are great. I (and many others) have written over and over about keeping these guys. Also get familiar with google scholar: http://scholar.google.co.nz most of the information about these guys is in scientific papers. It can be very handy keeping www.dictionary.com open at the same time! Also, I understand there are some lovely specimens at the Southern Encounters aquarium in Christchurch. Go and have a look, but also ask to speak with whoever looks after them and fire a few questions at them 9) Does this sound like a good idea at all, for someone with NO fishtank experience to go ahead and try and grow a yabbie? Easy peasy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted August 8, 2008 Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 There is a Native section on the Forum Sadly there isn't, but I hope to change that one day! The Coldwater section is a fairly good bet though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Posted August 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2008 Gee wizz, thanks for the monster reply Stella! That's answered pretty much all of my concerns! Now, I've got a bit of reading to do, but first, off to the aquarium! Cheers, Romeo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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