# Orange Dwarf Crayfish



## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

After 8 long days my crayfish finally arrived from Germany. These seem so much better than shrimp, they have some cool personalities that shrimp seem to lack. 
My male is probably twice the size of my females so my question is how big do they have to be in order for breeding to start? 

I have the three crays isolated in a 5.5 gallon where they were eating right after I threw them in from the long trip. I want these things to start making babies ASAP. How long? :snakeman:

Thanks


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## milalic (Aug 26, 2005)

How long? I guess they will decide on that.  Probably they are almost mature so I will say at most 2 months...

Cheers,
Pedro


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Sheesh, how about give them some darkness and soft music?


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## h4n (Dec 23, 2005)

any picture of the neat little guys?


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

h4n said:


> any picture of the neat little guys?


I haven't had the time to snap any photos since I have an insane amount of exams next week. I can barely enjoy looking at my tanks as most of my time is occupied by my studies. (Calculus III is NOT fun nor is Econometrics) 

I will take some photos soon though.

I still can't wait for the crays to "get down to business" and make some babies.


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## titan97 (Feb 14, 2005)

And don't forget to pour in a little of your spent DIY CO2 solution. A little alcohol is always a good "social lubricant".


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## Piscesgirl (Feb 25, 2004)

Ackkk Titan -- you are kidding just like I was, right? *hopes* 

Looking forward to pictures JerseyScape....

Maybe you should do a wedding ceremony for them -- maybe they are modest little crays


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## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Hi JerseyScape - 

congrats on your new crays! I've been reading everything I can on these guys for awhile now - they look really neat, and certainly full of personality.

I've gotten the impression these do much better in larger communities (of crays). The males can be very agressive towards their own kind, and I've read more than one cautionary tale about the male killing the female when only two were acquired. In a 5.5 gal, I might think it was a good idea to either swap them into a larger tank if possible, or put in LOTs and LOTs of hiding places so the males agression isn't constantly focused on one (or even two) individuals. They will co-exist peacefully with the dwarf shrimp, and I've been wondering if this might be a good way of "distracting" them. 

While I don't have plans for getting any in the NEAR future, I've been toying with "what would I do" to keep them, and having distractions for the males attention seems to be a key to successfully raising them. And while its an expensive proposition, it seems the larger their community, the more peaceful it is.

Good luck with them, and I do hope you can breed them! (I know I'd love to get some without the shipping from Germany costs, LOL!)

-Jane


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

They seem fine in the 5.5 gallon at the moment since they are very tiny creatures (probably smaller than my cherries). I've actually been proactive on this setup so I bought a very thin PVC pipe which I cut up into small pieces and placed them all over the tank. I also took rocks and blocked off the entrances of the pipes, leaving tiny doors to get into each pipe. They seem to be always hiding out in the pipes plus I have 4 small endlers in there that the male is always ambushing, especially when the fish are feeding on a pellet that has sunk to the bottom. The sole reason why I bought 2 females was to have one spare in case one "acted up with an attitude" and the male couldn't stand her anymore. (j/k)


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

By the way, here is a very good thread about these little guys with pictures as well. It can be found on petshrimp.com but here is a link anyway (hopefully somebody benefits from all the info here )

http://www.petshrimp.com/discussions/viewtopic.php?t=741


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## Ibn (Oct 20, 2004)

Sounds like they're settling in nicely.


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## JerseyScape (Nov 18, 2005)

Just came back with some new food just for them.....they will be fed on Hikari frozed Brine Shrimp and frozed Bloodworms. I hope they like it


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