MarkLB Posted February 7, 2006 Report Share Posted February 7, 2006 Hi all. I have been given a freshwater cray. Am I allowed to keep him?(MAF) What do I feed it? Any input regarding this interesting critter would be appreciated. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted February 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 I posted this in Rare & Unusual but maybe its not Rare or Unusual. :oops: I've found out thats its OK to keep it so all I need to know is every thing else :lol: I've got the tank sorted. Its what to feed it thats my first concern. Hi all. I have been given a freshwater cray. Am I allowed to keep him?(MAF) What do I feed it? Any input regarding this interesting critter would be appreciated. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 I don't know about "rare and unusual" but it isn't a fish :lol: I don't know anything about keeping them. I would assume it would feed on small critters. Have a look here http://www.doc.govt.nz/Conservation/001 ... r-Crayfish).asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Oops no edit button in here. You will need to copy and paste that as it missed the end of the link. Highlight from Http up to and including .asp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted February 8, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Thanks for the link. It gave me all I need to know. They are a scavenger and will eat most things that float by. I reckon blood worm would work well. Thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livebearer_breeder Posted February 8, 2006 Report Share Posted February 8, 2006 Crumble, flake, and small freshwater mussels is what i used to feed mine. Shae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted April 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 I'm really enjoying keeping this creature. I've had it two months now and it just shed its shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted April 7, 2006 Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 Sounds like you are doing well. What size tank is it in? Any chance of some photos? MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted April 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 Hi, Its in a 700LX400X400mm but its only half full because these guys are escape artists. The first night I had it in there it climbed the air hose and was on the floor about an hour after lights out. I'm not set up for pics yet but hope to be soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted April 7, 2006 Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 It nearly had a very short stay with you then! I'll look forward to the pics when you are able. How have you set the tank up? Filtration, planting, gravel etc? Has it got any tankmates? MCT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted April 7, 2006 Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 Oops no edit button in here. You will need to copy and paste that as it missed the end of the link. Highlight from Http up to and including .asp Yeh why is it that you can edit in some places and not in others ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted April 7, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 The tank is set up with a thick layer of gravel. The gravel is about marble size and mostly browns. I made it thick because it likes to dig out its cave. I had it planted with the kind of plants you normally get from the LFS but the Cray dug 'em all up so I just leave them floating. The only filtration is a cheap air filter in one corner but I keep a close eye on the H2O chemistry. It has no tank mates at the moment. I would like to get something native in there. Any suggestions?? Mark. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Hi, Its in a 700LX400X400mm but its only half full because these guys are escape artists. The first night I had it in there it climbed the air hose and was on the floor about an hour after lights out. I'm not set up for pics yet but hope to be soon. They sure are. I had some many years ago. I kept them for about a year, then returned tem back to the river where I caught them. They had grown quite a bit and also bred so the three I caught were 20+ when I returned them. I discivered very quickly too, you need a very good lid or they are gone... One of the baby ones dissapeared and I never found it. I fed mine just about everything (flake, crumble etc) but they seemed to like the discus frozen food the best. They are garbage eaters so will eat just about anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Have fixed the edit function - I think :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 We have a cray in our native tank - they are so entertaining!! Crayfish are mostly vegetarian, but do love meaty things. Apparently the diet of wild ones is something like 95% "allocthonic detritus" (basically mostly vege stuff from above that falls into the stream). Ours ADORES peas. Frozen peas. PLonk on in the tanks and he will come rampaging out of his hole, claws waving, grab his pea and bugger off backwards as quickly as he can to munch in peace! When offered bloodworms and a pea, he will choose the pea. The huge inanga will also suck one down, which is just bizarre to watch. Also will eat carrot, cucumber, green beans, basically anything you are having for dinner, give him a tiny morsel. Preferably cooked if it is a hard vege like carrot. Make sure he has a lot of hiding places, caves and the like. They are much more settled with lots of cover. Have fun!! Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted May 3, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Hi Stella, What else do you have in your native tank along with your Cray?I would like to get more native species in with my Cray and was thinking about getting some Bullys & maybe a "whitebait' or two(in the season of course). Do you know of other natives that would suit? Cheers, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted May 3, 2006 Report Share Posted May 3, 2006 Hi Mark! We have bullies, inanga and some freshwater shrimp (currently in a different tank, but will add them to the main tank soon). The bullies are very entertaining. They live mostly on the bottom of the tank. The inanga (most common whitebait species) lives mid-stream. They like to school and my mega 11cm one has been quite different since we added a couple of others. I feed them frozen bloodworms, which the cray also loves, but they wont have anything to do with flake food. Bullies are fairly easy to catch. Go down to a stream at night with a powerful torch. A stream that looks dead by day is often ALIVE at night! Try to get bullies that are a similar size. They do take a while to settle in, usually a good few days before they attempt eating. I have quite a few rock caves set up in the tank, which are appreciated by both bullies and cray. He will be happiest with a lot of hiding places. If you add fish to the tank he will probably spend quite a while freaking out and looking aggressive, but they learn to live with each other. The inanga got a nasty nip and a bully lost half his tail, but everything grew back. Once he gets used to them all will settle down again. This is a really useful yahoo group on natives: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nzfreshwater pretty quiet, but the archives are good. And some very good info here: http://www.nzfreshwater.org/index_main.html Good luck! Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted May 6, 2006 Report Share Posted May 6, 2006 oooh and if you really want to spoil your cray - give him a WYYYRRRRRMMMM!!!! I found a great big fat juicy one today and dropped it in the tank. The worm promptly slithered off and after a while Ronnie Kray caught his scent. There was a major wrestling match, and now there is one VERY full cray and one inch of worm left over for later. Very entertaining, though I do feel sorry for the worm. The fish love worms too. Stella Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas137 Posted August 13, 2006 Report Share Posted August 13, 2006 the crays all so like to eat the small native water snails Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannet Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 how big do these guys get? readin this has made me want one lol, wat water conditions do they need etc? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 how big do these guys get? readin this has made me want one lol, wat water conditions do they need etc? Caryl posted a link at the beginning of this thread which is informative. I have mine in 100 litres (200 l tank half full) of un heated water with a simple air filter. He gets a 10 - 20% water change weekly , especially around his cave entrance because he's a messy eater. I use tap water which is 7.2 pH in ChCh. I've found this critter pretty easy to keep. (Touch wood). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obie trice Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 where would i get one from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 17, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 where would i get one from? I was given mine by friends from the West Coast , South Island. I think you use meat for bait and pull then from streams. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meesheelly Posted August 17, 2006 Report Share Posted August 17, 2006 When i was a kid in Rotorua we used to go out to Lake tarawera at night, we would wade into the shallowsa and use torches to gind them and then just catch them with our hands. We used to catch crabs with out hands at the beach as well. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ludakris Posted August 18, 2006 Report Share Posted August 18, 2006 most rocky streams have them just go turn over a few rocks you'll find some and if you get sick of them they tast beutiful :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.