Mikey Posted August 3, 2012 Report Share Posted August 3, 2012 So, I have two Koura... and a few months back the bigger one had a crack at the smaller one when he moulted and ripped off a chelae etc, so I have had them seperated since then. Hone has been cruising around in the big tank land scaping daily and generally being a show pony for visitors etc... Billy has been in a small tank kept in a quiet place to recover... the missing Chelae hasn't really started growing back as yet, there is a small stump, yet he has had a moult since getting attacked. How long does it take them to re-grow, or is it dependant on many different factors? Here is the interesting part. I decided I'd try put them back together in the 180l tank. I rescaped it a bit and added more rocks etc to have more hiding places (I'll get some photos and update the tank log thread this weekend). Then I put Billy in... I sat there and watched closely as to what would happen. Hone was cruising around and then he pretty much bumped into Billy... that's when the fun started. Hone kept slowly encroaching on Billy who was trying to push Hone away with his one Chelae, Hone was pretty much pushing him back and it looked like he was trying to overpower/smother Billy... it was like an odd tentative dance, then Hone got a bit more aggressive and started to envelope the smaller Koura... that's when I dipped the net in and hauled Billy away. Now I'm not sure if The bigger Koura was going to eat the smaller one then and there... I've seen how they lunge to eat something many times, and this was different... so was it a dominance/territorial thing? Were they trying to get to know each other? Or Was The big guy about to have a nice feed of crayfish and was being more cautious because the little guy was putting up some fight? They are seperated again... and now I'm wondering what to do with the situation :dunno: Thoughts welcome :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 Interesting observations indeed! With a size difference you are unlikely to get them to accept each other. It can happen but is rare. How big is the tank? If you want to try again I would suggest taking the aggressor out of the tank for a while, rescaping, then reintroducing them. That way the current aggressor becomes the unwanted invader, might turn the tables a little. basically, if you want to have more than one cray together, you should start from a point of expecting one to become food at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted August 5, 2012 Report Share Posted August 5, 2012 I have two about the same size in my 400L and they both live at the same end of the tank. I did introduce a smaller one from the other tank when it became problematic in there, it didn't alst very long with the other two They are both about this size: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted August 28, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 28, 2012 Well... the situation has changed. :digH: R.I.P Billy T Cray. :tears: Little fella passed away on Sunday. I went in to do his bi weekly water change and found him upside down, thought he might have been moulting, but sadly no. He never really got over having his arm munched off and hadn't been the same since. He has been buried in the garden along with a big dead weta that my daughter bought in... natives lying in rest together. Guess the worms can have their revenge on the Cray now :gigl: Hone Te Koura had another moult over the weekend so is going from strength to strength, he got really agressive soon after moulting and has been charging my 2 year old daughter when she looks through the glass... she thinks it is hilarious when he comes running at her, so she is spending a lot of time staring into the tank which is great. I'll update my tank log eventually so you can see the changes to the environs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted August 29, 2012 Report Share Posted August 29, 2012 awww that is sad. Funny how their behaviour changes after a moult. I think the sudden increase in size goes to their head and they become rather full of themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foxjxa Posted August 29, 2012 Report Share Posted August 29, 2012 awww that is sad. Funny how their behaviour changes after a moult. I think the sudden increase in size goes to their head and they become rather full of themselves. I swear, that is exactly what happened with our smallest cray, "Righty". He used to be the weird loner type that would run around the tank doing strange things like climbing up fern fronds and jumping off of them for no discernible reason. Then he moulted and was suddenly the biggest koura in the tank. He turned into a jerk. He would scare his lady-friend, "Lefty", away from peas and other delicious treats and steal them for himself, or he'd pop out from behind a rock and spook her. Lefty has since moulted again and has given him the smack down, however. Over the weekend my coworker watched while Lefty and Righty 'fought', with the battle ending with Righty on his back and Lefty casually walking away in triumph. Lucky for us, that's the extent of violence we've witnessed between our three. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Hi Mikey, what temp do you have your tank at? One of the guys from work dropped a few Koura into his mates tropical tank (No acclimatising, nothing :facepalm: :facepalm: &c:ry ) "it went belly up straight away, so we gave it a tap and it was fine". The stream they got them from was "FREEZING" His tank is at 24º. I would have thought this was a no-no? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 wow, thats impressive, tough lil buggers. but then again would doubt if the koura is happy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfishybuisness Posted October 8, 2012 Report Share Posted October 8, 2012 Hi Mikey, what temp do you have your tank at? One of the guys from work dropped a few Koura into his mates tropical tank (No acclimatising, nothing :facepalm: :facepalm: &c:ry ) "it went belly up straight away, so we gave it a tap and it was fine". The stream they got them from was "FREEZING" His tank is at 24º. I would have thought this was a no-no? Ive seen this done before, its the shock of temperatures, they come right after 30 secs, but they do not last long in the high temps, dont recommened trying as i known they do die usually that night Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted October 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Hi team, My Koura tank sits between 14-16 degrees normally, at the height of summer it will climb to about 18ish... much warmer than that and I start chucking ice bottles in the tank. To anyone that wants to put native New Zealand stream occupants (Koura, Shrimp, fish) into their tropical tanks I always ask them to get a thermometer and measure the temp of the stream/lake they are pulling them out of... and then ask if it is fair for them to be placed into a tropical tank. Our stream and lake temps are not tropical in any way shape or form, so its not fair to pop the occupants into such a warm environment.... acclimatising first or not. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cichlidcentral Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Talking about Interesting Koura observations, has anyone else noticed heaps lower females in berry this year?? From Autum to spring the streams I sample are normaly full of them but hardly any around it seems. :dunno: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted October 9, 2012 Report Share Posted October 9, 2012 Hi Mikey, Sorry to sound like a novice but I'm trying to get information to give to this guy. He says he's done his research and that they can live in tanks up to 26º. I told him that I don't think that they would last in water that warm, and that they would be more likely to catch infections and diseases. How do you get it to stabilize at 14º-16º? I have only seen heaters go as low as 20º. Do you simply rely on room temperature? Do you use a chiller in summer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted October 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Talking about Interesting Koura observations, has anyone else noticed heaps lower females in berry this year?? From Autum to spring the streams I sample are normaly full of them but hardly any around it seems. :dunno: I haven't started going out as yet... dealing with a sporting injury... it's slowing me down somewhat Wonder if Stella is noticing this on her NZ road trip spot light tour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey Posted October 11, 2012 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Hi Mikey, Sorry to sound like a novice but I'm trying to get information to give to this guy. He says he's done his research and that they can live in tanks up to 26º. I told him that I don't think that they would last in water that warm, and that they would be more likely to catch infections and diseases. How do you get it to stabilize at 14º-16º? I have only seen heaters go as low as 20º. Do you simply rely on room temperature? Do you use a chiller in summer? No worries, more than happy to help out! Someone needs to wave the flag and hand out some native info while Stella and co aren't replying as much :slfg: Hmmm, well, it depends where he got his information from as to whether the research he carried out is any good or not... there are crays in the tropical areas of the world, which would happly live in warmer conditions. I reckon some "yabbies" in Australia would probably be happy at warmer temps. When talking about Koura from NZ... they might survive at the higher temps, but life span would be shorter, and they wouldn't be as happy or healthy. All the research I did prior to getting a Koura said "lower than 20 degrees C" as a rule. DOC website, Stellas book, this forum, field "tests" and several other NZ sources were what I utilised during my research phase. In terms of getting my temp stable as possible.... it is open topped (with a grill so Mr Cray doesn't escape), has poly on back and sides to insulate, and during summer windows are always open in house and ice bottles are always on stand by. Haven't had to buy a chiller for this set up... but I might get a chiller one day instead of having to fret about the temp on a glorious hot day in Auckland Hope this helps, and if you need more info, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Thanks :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 Not sure on the max temp for koura, but I would think around 20-22 would be the limit, My tank is set at 16 deg before the chiller kicks in and it has already been running this spring. Stella and I didn't catch any koura when we went out a month or so a go, in fact we had a very poor night out with only a few bullies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepsnana Posted October 11, 2012 Report Share Posted October 11, 2012 The stream he frequents has hundreds, I hope it stays that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 Someone needs to wave the flag and hand out some native info while Stella and co aren't replying as much :slfg: Sorry, been a bit distracted Going fishing tonight hopefully, will post photos if I find anything. Currently sitting in an Irish pub somewhere near Kaikoura. :cofn: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 near Kaikoura Kaikoura, where the Koura are kai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 :slfg: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted October 12, 2012 Report Share Posted October 12, 2012 [quote="SamH" Kaikoura, where the Koura are kai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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