Blue Crayfish or Red Claw Crab?

Which will live the longest?

  • Blue CrayFish

    Votes: 22 78.6%

  • Red Claw Crab

    Votes: 6 21.4%
  • Total voters
    28
S

sky-raptor

AC Members
Dec 8, 2005
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I am a newbie and need some tips .... I have a Biology project, where I have to get a freshwater crustacean (crayfish, shrimp, or crab) and I am deciding either a red claw crab or a blue crayfish. Which one of the two will last till September?

I read that the red claw crabs need air to live and can escape. Does the crayfish do the same thing as well? I read that the crayfish can live just in freshwater with a cave?

Any help wold be greatly appreciated!
 
I would have to say if you treat them right and give them the right environment, either one should last until September. It's not how long WILL they live, its how long will you LET them live?
 
no experience with a red tip crab but i would think the crayfish would be easiest to care for. plus they are usually alot cheaper if you just get a regular crayfish. they are in the streams here by the thousands.
 
My boyfriend has a blue crayfish and its one of the more hardy fish we have. Just regular water changes and we feed it shrimp pellets. It doesn't need a land element like most crabs do. What we were told is that crabs will try to escape if they do not have a land element but if they have that they will not try to escape. I dont know if this is true but this is what we were told. The crayfish is really easy and pretty entertaining. My vote's for that and you can get a young one pretty cheap. Blue tends to be a bit more expensive then red so if you are looking to save money there is always that option.

I dont know if you were planning on keeping other fish with it but you have to be careful. Some crayfish are known to be viscious(sp?) hunters but that completely depends on the animal. I think my boyfriend got the hippie pasifist crayfish, he wont go after anything else in the tank..in fact he runs away from everything, even the ghost shrimp we bought at feeder food for him. They actually crawl all over him!

Id go with the crayfish just based on the fact that crabs are known to be escape artists and if they escape often times they can make it all the way across the house before you find them and often times they will be dead by then and that would be a problem for your project. Just my two cents!
 
I found this website about Blue Crayfishs,

http://www.bluecrayfish.com/north_american_crayfish_care_she.htm

Is it that blue crayfish can escape too and need a land environment as well?

"Crayfish are escape artists, because they are curious, and love to climb. Seal off all possible escape routes, especially the filter opening. If your cray escapes, it will dehydrate and die, in a few hours."

"Crayfish will drown if they are kept in water that is significantly over their head for 3-6 hours without supplemental oxygenation."
 
sky-raptor said:
"Crayfish will drown if they are kept in water that is significantly over their head for 3-6 hours without supplemental oxygenation."
Click to expand...


Im just speaking based on personal experience and this may vary based on crayfish species(im not sure if my boyfriends is a north american crayfish) but his has never tried to escape and it is in a 10 gallon tank that is completly filled with water. The tank has a regular hang-on-back filter with an intake that dips down into the water and he has never exhibited any signs of respiritory distress. He just roams around happily on the bottom of the tank. I would be careful when putting multiple crayfish together as they can get territorial especially with thier own species.

I would take a look at different types of crayfish or freshwater lobsters(essentially the same thing but with a different label) online thru different online retailers and see what they say about them. If you are uncomfortable ordering them online most local fish stores will do special orders, this way you know exactly what species you are getting.
 
I HAD A BLUE CRAY FISH IT WAS SWEET, BATTLE WITH ALL MY OTHER FISH INCLUDING MY 2 BICHIRS , THEN ONE DAY I FOUND HIM BACKED INTO A CORNER CLAWS POSED FOR FIGHTING AND ALL. THE ONLY THING THAT WAS DIFFERNT IS THAT HIS ENTIRE HEAD WAS GONE LOL, SINCE THEN I GOT ANOTHER ONE AND HES SMARTER HE TENDS TO CLIMB THE PLANTS AND HANG OUT IN THEM. I THINK IM GONNA GET A BLACK SCORPION CRAYFISH, YOU CAN SEE IT ON THIS SITE CHECK IT OUTblack scorpion lobster
 
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