When I was in high school, I'm now 70, I usta find crawfish for my "Pond Tank" that were all brown (no pattern) on Long Island, NY. I have had "tropical" crawfish but I still miss my native crawfish catching. The pond where I would find them has since grown over and gone.
That's a shame. I can't imagine enough room on the Island for a pond though. Lol And it's been 20 years since I ran up that way (I used to drive a rig). I can't imagine how grown up it is now.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Most of the "pond shores" are now private lands and the rest are dried-up and overgrown. But... there are a number of ponds/lakes that are public and are under "NYC Parks Dept."
I have a dishpan outside growing some floating lettuce for my turtle and discovered a crayfish in it! It's like 4" long 0.0 so I'm wondering if maybe I should keep it and actually take care of it. It's literally in a dishpan of water on the ground outside!
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly You're right, Dan. I have a very small crayfish in my tank along with four black nosed dace. I have the tank fully covered. The dace are jumpers and the crayfish are escape artists. Probably release the crayfish into a stream.
They uproot everything lol. Have to constantly replace plant life, but worth watching them. Some will flame a blade of y’all grass and just hangs out all day on it. Busy creatures more than a lot of popular aquarium pets
I miss my crawfish tank, had one when I was a teenager, watching you set up your tank, and catch them brought back some verry happy memories. I want another one. I liked to also add perch, and baby catfish, as well. Loved watching them eat. They did really well in the tank. ❤
Our fam made a native tank in a 29 Gallon we acquired for free. So we filled with river rock, sand, even river grass and plant life as well as wood. Minnows and crawdads. Fun to watch them tunnel
In the long run in 29gallon+ it can support more than u would think. We had 10-15 all sizes. No death or bad fights. So fun to watch! Like bulldozers making their homes too! Awesome tank!
What a great video. I have watched quite a few crayfish videos and this one is the best. I realize if a hobbyist has money to spend there are very many colorful and rare species to buy at the aquarium stores but most of the hobbyist have no idea of how much fun it is to go catch your own in a stream. I can see you have done this for a while since you know about the colorful Darters and the camouflaged Sculpins. As for the Sunfish all I can say is when I was a young boy I had a fair-sized Bluegill, about 8 inches long, and a huge Crayfish I had raised from a small size. I put them together in a tank that was really too small for them. I was worried about the Bluegill getting eaten since the crayfish was large, about 6 inches, with big claws. I thought I would separate them if problems arose. Overnight they must have fought it out. In the morning the crayfish was all but dead and his eyes had been eaten. The Bluegill showed no signs of battle at all. Perhaps in a bigger tank with ample hiding places, they could coexist. I think minnows, darters, and sculpins would make far better tank mates. Watch out though about wild caught minnows as they aren't always minnows. Though they look like it some are actually the spawn of much larger fish which you will realize when you see them swallow fish nearly their own size and then begin to grow much larger. Many a hobbyist think of minnows as feeder fish but a school of them in the aquarium is actually beautiful and fun to watch. they are very hardy in the aquarium and cheap if you lose them. I share all your thoughts and observations about crayfish and have always loved watching their industrious behavior. I love the natural look of your native tank.
I've got several Golden shiners that I got years ago from a bait shop for $.50 a piece. They're about 8 inches in my 125 gallon now. Sunfish will destroy crayfish. They tear them apart, piece by piece. they usually rip the legs off first to leave it helpless.
I absolutely love native tanks!! I've been working on mine for while and I've thought about doing videos but idk. I have a massive male green sunfish, a crappie, a river chub, an a pleco for cleaning purposes. I also have a shallow water crawfish pool cause they like to hurt my fish lmao. But I think there's something just so much cooler about wild caught fish and an marine life that just doesn't hit the same as per store fish.
What size tank do you have? I was thinking of starting a native tank with a 40 gallon breeder with crawfish, minnows and not sure what else. Im worried a sunfish or bullhead would get too big but would like those. Not sure if they would all get along lol
@@austinmaurer342 green sunfish are only a problem if they're bigger then the fish around them, but here in lies the problem cause they grow fast. I have a 40 gallon. The catfish might pose an issue too but idk about bullheads. Minnows are perfect for sunfish tho!! The crawdads won't bother any of your fish tho unless they're smaller fish. But if you keep it fed and have a nice home for it green sunfish have such a personality!! Big George is my homie and he's always excited to see me and "talk" to me when I put my face to the glass. Another big fish might suit one to have a buddy, but it can't be smaller then him or he'll bully it and keep it from eating.
Awesome tank! Just a heads up, crayfish are escape artist and will climb up that piece of wood. I have a lid on my tank and still find mine waiting at the top peeking above the waterline.
I love this video, I just did one similar myself on my very small channel 😂"a beautiful day at the creek" we have a beautiful spring-fed limestone Creek behind the house. And we can catch dozens and dozens of them. We're in Kentucky (where we are from) visiting but we live in Virginia for right now (my daughters in the Navy and almost done)I can't wait to get back here and set up me a native Aquarium! I hope I can include the crayfish and some of the little tiny newts or salamanders! Plus we found a bunch of Creek chubs..I enjoyed coming along with you we basically just went down and plundered around in the creek but boy we saw plenty of them! Have a good one Dan I really enjoyed the video! 😁✌️🌱🐟💚🙏
I'm also in Maryland. Southern Maryland. I haven't had an opportunity to catch crayfish in several years. Would love to check out some of these creeks, ponds and lakes to grab some versus paying for them at the store. Anyway, I will have to make it a point to get out there like you did and flip some boulders over. Ha! Love your tank. It really does have that creek environment to it. Those crayfish I'm sure are having a ball. Well done.
It’s interesting to me that you mentioned the Virile Crayfish are the only ones you have seen. Here in Northern Nevada it is said that we have the Signal Crayfish. I have also only seen the Viriles; yet the USGS has little to no survey info on these in my state.
I can tell you really miss your original 125 native tank... I already can picture you going to the bridge throwing your little hanging minnow trap to the stream running below! I used to enjoy those times!
My fancy ass never had a creek near by so my dad bought me a bambo shrimp. Such an interesting buddy. They use their feather like claws to filter water from parasites and other microscopic beasties. My dad had other aggressive fish but never bothered my bambo shrimp.
My craw is cool. He lives with 5 Fat Head Minnows and 6 Bluegills. His name is Mr Cray Cray, and he is an odd fellow. He refuses to clean the bottom or eat anything but algae wafers, and he insists on being hand fed at the same time every day. Same spot also.... If I do not hand feed him at his time he grabs rocks and throws them around and he uproots plants and cuts them in half..... Oddly his bright blue colors match perfectly with gray rocks, and I added a few really small blue rocks to help him out with camo. The tank is run by the minnows who bully the Bluegills and sometimes Mr Cray Cray. Yes, as odd as it sounds the tank is run by the minnows. When I started the tank, I put in plants and allowed the tank to cycle. Then I added minnows and allowed them to grow. Then I added the Bluegills and the crawdaddy. The minnows were larger and already established so they just ran the tank like gangsters. Then I added a Hillstream Loach because Mr Cray Cray refuses to clean the bottom and it became a health issue. Now the tank is technically not a native tank, but the loach is small and hard to see. He makes a big difference as he actually cleans and does what Mr Cray Cray was supposed to do in the ecosystem....
20 something years ago, I was out with my gf at the time by this small pond that sat twenty feet from Lake Michigan in the city and saw this tiny, half inch crayfish by the shore waters of said pond and scooped it up into a bottle, took it home, and literally raised it to an inch and a half in a 6 inch round Petrie dish that was 4 inches tall... Just fed it bloodworms that I had from the last betta I'd raised... Was gonna grab a tank but ended up freeing the guy back to the pond... Now I'm considering doing this exact same thing in this video but doing it just as proper and to the best of my ability... How do you "sanitize" rocks properly? Or add wood?
Usually after a good rain I can go out to the bar ditch in front of the house by the road and catch crayfish. They're usually burrowed into the ground with a mound of mud on top, usually it's just a matter of pulling the mound off if the hole isn't exposed and fishing them out with a piece of bacon tightly tied to some fishing line. I'm in Texas and the adults can get pretty large and are very agressive so I wouldn't be putting them in with anything less than something the size of an adult convict cichlid or the like. Way back in the 80's my older brother put one into our 55 gallon community tank that my parents had and he commenced to ambush and eat slow moving fish, lol. I'm thinking about setting up a crawfish tank but it's going to be the CPO dwarf mexican variety.
Sorry if this is resolved later, I'm only around 2min in, but couldn't the nitrate increase you're seeing be caused by the breakdown products of anything living in the rock, sand, etc, as it died and decayed from the peroxide?
Easy way to catch crayfish. The next time you have fish for dinner set some aside. Drop it in the stream bed and stand very still with net in hand. About ten minutes later the crayfish will be all over that fish. Then you just take one swipe with the net and you got yourself several crayfish.
New subscriber... This is great. I just cleaned and added native rocks to my aquarium for "Louis" (her friend "Thelma" didn't make it). Do have any tips on telling the age of an average river crayfish?
I think sculpins and other small bottom dwellers would be a very interesting look, maybe not wise with all the crayfish though. Excited for whatever comes next!
Crayfish are so COOL, i have had Crayfish in a ten gallon tank with just a few small fishes, it did very well, make sure the lid is good because thy can climb out, I also had one in a 100 gallon tank with cichlid including a large Oscar, well the Crayfish was a badass, he had a few fights with the Oscar, and came off well using his two claws for defence, one day in an epic battle the Oscar won the fight, grabbing the Crayfish by the tail, it was over then, I Don't eat Crayfish because they abuse them in Louisiana so called Crawfish cook pot where they have hundreds of Crayfish munching on for such a small amount of meat
Me and my boy just caught 4 this weekend and we are building a habit for them. Your set up is cool, thanks for the ideas. One question, is what do you feed them and how often should we feed them?
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Thank you 😃 I don't have crayfish currently but would love to keep them some day. It's pretty cool that you can catch them where you are 😄
I'm not sure about that species, but as far as I know, all crayfish are escape artists, so keep it well covered. Crayfish are a very interesting and rewarding animal to keep.
Just do it lol I got an electric blue and a blue dwarf, they're pretty cool The blue lights up like a gem on those things. Just don't put them with cichlids or anything too aggressive, cause depending on the size of the crayfish if its fully grown at like 6 inches, fishy gon' die lol
I have a blue crayfish, named Grut. Lately I’ve had trouble acclimating new fish to the tank and had a die off of neon tetras. Do crayfish add a ton to the bio load? Any advice? I’ve had Grut for 3 years, he promptly killed and tore up all live plants, kills any live plants I add. So no live plants, it’s a 40 gallon. Thank you
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly I didn’t know…. I’m a bad fish Mom…. Those were expensive feeder fish!! Looking for a 20 gallon Grut tank, move him to his own castle. I tried to catch him once before to move him and his docile looking, chill self went totally Nuts!! Not at all believing I can just scoop him up in a net. Any ideas?
The Crayfish really look great in the tank. 🦂 🦂🦂 🦂 I suspect this may be one of your favorite aquariums when fully completed. Was thinking about what plants would work well; maybe some larger Anubias? Good video. 📺👍😎
Don't know so that's why I'm asking this...5 crayfish aren't going to be too many in that tank, esp. after they're grown? When all of them are full grown, won't that change the amount of hiding places? Just trying to learn. 👍😎
With the size of that tank, most probably not all of them will reach decent or adult size since crayfish are cannibals. Its basically survival of the fittest.
My crayfish just died i am me and my brothwr were crying its sad cus a crayfish is like my sibling and my crayfiah name was chaki and she was a female and i love her so much 😇😇❤❤
I’m not saying your wrong because technically your not! BUT have you ever tried catching the craws thinking they are going to retreat behind you but they actually do a very fast 180 and retreat backwards but in the original way they were facing? I went out craw dad fishing the other day and ran into that issue had a few get away from me was kinda annoying lol
I have an open-top 40 long tank with aquaponic terrestrial plants growing on top like a jungle. I have some plastic craft screen I am thinking of rigging around the top with about a three inch overhang to try and discourage escapies. I have several smaller tanks all connected to the big tanks by 1" tubing causeways. I am thinking also I could dedicate one of my smaller tanks to a few crayfish.
When I was a young boy I had a pet Bluegill I caught in my Aquarium. I would catch flies and hold them by a wing so that they would buz and try to fly away with the other wing. I would hold them two or three inches above the water and my Bluegill would jump above the water surface and take the fly right out of my fingers.
Live crayfish don't live in steral conditions... Ur pets won't be happy in a sterilized tank leave the fogginess alone and let the water do what it's supposed to it will balance itself out eventually as long as you have plenty of plants then you'll be fine
1 cray to every 10gal, yes they will still go after each other during molts, but they are naturally cannibalistic. But if you keep to that ratio they pretty much leave each other alone until you feed them. Keeping them all the same size helps, but if you have a range of places for them to hide, as well as a good range of sizes between those hides, you can keep small ones with fully grown adults successfully.
I did find native tanks get dirtier faster. Even a “Fishy” smell that the tank gets and u can’t get rid of it. Native fish make the native smell I suppose
![[4 Types] Dwarf Crayfish for Community Aquariums - Beginners Guide](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YM2zEdIvZig/mqdefault.jpg)
When I was in high school, I'm now 70, I usta find crawfish for my "Pond Tank" that were all brown (no pattern) on Long Island, NY. I have had "tropical" crawfish but I still miss my native crawfish catching. The pond where I would find them has since grown over and gone.
That's a shame. I can't imagine enough room on the Island for a pond though. Lol And it's been 20 years since I ran up that way (I used to drive a rig). I can't imagine how grown up it is now.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Most of the "pond shores" are now private lands and the rest are dried-up and overgrown. But... there are a number of ponds/lakes that are public and are under "NYC Parks Dept."
What's worse, 30, 40, 50, 60, or 70?
My 27 year old mind is curious lol
I have a dishpan outside growing some floating lettuce for my turtle and discovered a crayfish in it! It's like 4" long 0.0 so I'm wondering if maybe I should keep it and actually take care of it. It's literally in a dishpan of water on the ground outside!
If you keep it, remember they are escape artists.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly You're right, Dan. I have a very small crayfish in my tank along with four black nosed dace. I have the tank fully covered. The dace are jumpers and the crayfish are escape artists. Probably release the crayfish into a stream.
I love crayfish. They have so many different tools on their bodies. They’re like little Swiss Army knives
Paddling about in the stream reminds me of my childhood. Maybe I should explore my local stream. Thanks Dan.
You should totally visit your local stream. It's a blast!
They uproot everything lol. Have to constantly replace plant life, but worth watching them. Some will flame a blade of y’all grass and just hangs out all day on it. Busy creatures more than a lot of popular aquarium pets
I miss my crawfish tank, had one when I was a teenager, watching you set up your tank, and catch them brought back some verry happy memories.
I want another one.
I liked to also add perch, and baby catfish, as well.
Loved watching them eat.
They did really well in the tank.
❤
I love the natural look in your aquarium. Definitely looks like a nice stream
yea..❤
Planning on doing this myself come spring
Our fam made a native tank in a 29 Gallon we acquired for free. So we filled with river rock, sand, even river grass and plant life as well as wood. Minnows and crawdads. Fun to watch them tunnel
In the long run in 29gallon+ it can support more than u would think. We had 10-15 all sizes. No death or bad fights. So fun to watch! Like bulldozers making their homes too! Awesome tank!
What a great video. I have watched quite a few crayfish videos and this one is the best. I realize if a hobbyist has money to spend there are very many colorful and rare species to buy at the aquarium stores but most of the hobbyist have no idea of how much fun it is to go catch your own in a stream. I can see you have done this for a while since you know about the colorful Darters and the camouflaged Sculpins. As for the Sunfish all I can say is when I was a young boy I had a fair-sized Bluegill, about 8 inches long, and a huge Crayfish I had raised from a small size. I put them together in a tank that was really too small for them. I was worried about the Bluegill getting eaten since the crayfish was large, about 6 inches, with big claws. I thought I would separate them if problems arose. Overnight they must have fought it out. In the morning the crayfish was all but dead and his eyes had been eaten. The Bluegill showed no signs of battle at all. Perhaps in a bigger tank with ample hiding places, they could coexist. I think minnows, darters, and sculpins would make far better tank mates. Watch out though about wild caught minnows as they aren't always minnows. Though they look like it some are actually the spawn of much larger fish which you will realize when you see them swallow fish nearly their own size and then begin to grow much larger. Many a hobbyist think of minnows as feeder fish but a school of them in the aquarium is actually beautiful and fun to watch. they are very hardy in the aquarium and cheap if you lose them. I share all your thoughts and observations about crayfish and have always loved watching their industrious behavior. I love the natural look of your native tank.
I've got several Golden shiners that I got years ago from a bait shop for $.50 a piece. They're about 8 inches in my 125 gallon now.
Sunfish will destroy crayfish. They tear them apart, piece by piece. they usually rip the legs off first to leave it helpless.
I absolutely love native tanks!! I've been working on mine for while and I've thought about doing videos but idk. I have a massive male green sunfish, a crappie, a river chub, an a pleco for cleaning purposes. I also have a shallow water crawfish pool cause they like to hurt my fish lmao. But I think there's something just so much cooler about wild caught fish and an marine life that just doesn't hit the same as per store fish.
Ok update, George my green sunfish, killed my crappie and creek chub. He's been getting big don't think appreciated the other fish in his space
What size tank do you have? I was thinking of starting a native tank with a 40 gallon breeder with crawfish, minnows and not sure what else. Im worried a sunfish or bullhead would get too big but would like those. Not sure if they would all get along lol
@@austinmaurer342 green sunfish are only a problem if they're bigger then the fish around them, but here in lies the problem cause they grow fast. I have a 40 gallon. The catfish might pose an issue too but idk about bullheads. Minnows are perfect for sunfish tho!! The crawdads won't bother any of your fish tho unless they're smaller fish. But if you keep it fed and have a nice home for it green sunfish have such a personality!! Big George is my homie and he's always excited to see me and "talk" to me when I put my face to the glass. Another big fish might suit one to have a buddy, but it can't be smaller then him or he'll bully it and keep it from eating.
Awesome tank! Just a heads up, crayfish are escape artist and will climb up that piece of wood. I have a lid on my tank and still find mine waiting at the top peeking above the waterline.
I like what you did with the rocks and gravel. It looks very pleasing and you will have a good view once you have stocked it.
I love this video, I just did one similar myself on my very small channel 😂"a beautiful day at the creek" we have a beautiful spring-fed limestone Creek behind the house. And we can catch dozens and dozens of them. We're in Kentucky (where we are from) visiting but we live in Virginia for right now (my daughters in the Navy and almost done)I can't wait to get back here and set up me a native Aquarium! I hope I can include the crayfish and some of the little tiny newts or salamanders! Plus we found a bunch of Creek chubs..I enjoyed coming along with you we basically just went down and plundered around in the creek but boy we saw plenty of them! Have a good one Dan I really enjoyed the video! 😁✌️🌱🐟💚🙏
My daughter and mother caught some crawfish 🦞 right next to our property. They are still babies, we’re excited!
They also like to climb a branch sticking out of water. Great job
I'm also in Maryland. Southern Maryland. I haven't had an opportunity to catch crayfish in several years. Would love to check out some of these creeks, ponds and lakes to grab some versus paying for them at the store. Anyway, I will have to make it a point to get out there like you did and flip some boulders over. Ha! Love your tank. It really does have that creek environment to it. Those crayfish I'm sure are having a ball. Well done.
*Nice Tank* 👍
Looking good can't wait to see it planted.
Tank looks awesome Dan. Love the idea of a native tank
It’s interesting to me that you mentioned the Virile Crayfish are the only ones you have seen. Here in Northern Nevada it is said that we have the Signal Crayfish. I have also only seen the Viriles; yet the USGS has little to no survey info on these in my state.
That is interesting. We're supposed to have 2 or 3 species here in Maryland, but to my knowledge, I've only ever seen these.
I can tell you really miss your original 125 native tank... I already can picture you going to the bridge throwing your little hanging minnow trap to the stream running below! I used to enjoy those times!
My fancy ass never had a creek near by so my dad bought me a bambo shrimp. Such an interesting buddy. They use their feather like claws to filter water from parasites and other microscopic beasties. My dad had other aggressive fish but never bothered my bambo shrimp.
My craw is cool. He lives with 5 Fat Head Minnows and 6 Bluegills. His name is Mr Cray Cray, and he is an odd fellow. He refuses to clean the bottom or eat anything but algae wafers, and he insists on being hand fed at the same time every day. Same spot also.... If I do not hand feed him at his time he grabs rocks and throws them around and he uproots plants and cuts them in half..... Oddly his bright blue colors match perfectly with gray rocks, and I added a few really small blue rocks to help him out with camo. The tank is run by the minnows who bully the Bluegills and sometimes Mr Cray Cray. Yes, as odd as it sounds the tank is run by the minnows. When I started the tank, I put in plants and allowed the tank to cycle. Then I added minnows and allowed them to grow. Then I added the Bluegills and the crawdaddy. The minnows were larger and already established so they just ran the tank like gangsters. Then I added a Hillstream Loach because Mr Cray Cray refuses to clean the bottom and it became a health issue. Now the tank is technically not a native tank, but the loach is small and hard to see. He makes a big difference as he actually cleans and does what Mr Cray Cray was supposed to do in the ecosystem....
That's really hilarious. I had a crayfish who also preferred to be hand fed. haha
Being raised in Maryland, along the Potomac river. I never saw native crayfish either
This is my favorite tank you have.
20 something years ago, I was out with my gf at the time by this small pond that sat twenty feet from Lake Michigan in the city and saw this tiny, half inch crayfish by the shore waters of said pond and scooped it up into a bottle, took it home, and literally raised it to an inch and a half in a 6 inch round Petrie dish that was 4 inches tall... Just fed it bloodworms that I had from the last betta I'd raised... Was gonna grab a tank but ended up freeing the guy back to the pond... Now I'm considering doing this exact same thing in this video but doing it just as proper and to the best of my ability... How do you "sanitize" rocks properly? Or add wood?
I never really "sterilize" my new wood or rocks. I just generally clean them up.
I used to have a Crayfish, that I called Ronnie Cray and he caught every single fish, in the tank!
Usually after a good rain I can go out to the bar ditch in front of the house by the road and catch crayfish. They're usually burrowed into the ground with a mound of mud on top, usually it's just a matter of pulling the mound off if the hole isn't exposed and fishing them out with a piece of bacon tightly tied to some fishing line. I'm in Texas and the adults can get pretty large and are very agressive so I wouldn't be putting them in with anything less than something the size of an adult convict cichlid or the like. Way back in the 80's my older brother put one into our 55 gallon community tank that my parents had and he commenced to ambush and eat slow moving fish, lol. I'm thinking about setting up a crawfish tank but it's going to be the CPO dwarf mexican variety.
I just got rocks from the creek and put it in the tank and its fine
Sorry if this is resolved later, I'm only around 2min in, but couldn't the nitrate increase you're seeing be caused by the breakdown products of anything living in the rock, sand, etc, as it died and decayed from the peroxide?
very smart thinking, Evan.
Easy way to catch crayfish. The next time you have fish for dinner set some aside. Drop it in the stream bed and stand very still with net in hand. About ten minutes later the crayfish will be all over that fish. Then you just take one swipe with the net and you got yourself several crayfish.
Water looks to cloudy or chlorinated. What are they gonna eat really in that?
Dang thats a lot of crawdad in them there waters
can i have a lot of them in a 75 gal tank... like ten of them safely ?
New subscriber... This is great. I just cleaned and added native rocks to my aquarium for "Louis" (her friend "Thelma" didn't make it). Do have any tips on telling the age of an average river crayfish?
No, I don't know how you tell their age.
I have some red claw crabs and a crayfish. When I feed them they'll jab at each other. (Nothing too serious). It's like watching a Godzilla movie.
I think sculpins and other small bottom dwellers would be a very interesting look, maybe not wise with all the crayfish though. Excited for whatever comes next!
How do you keep it clean? We have a few that really make a mess
Water changes and vaccing the detritus out.
Crayfish are so COOL, i have had Crayfish in a ten gallon tank with just a few small fishes, it did very well, make sure the lid is good because thy can climb out, I also had one in a 100 gallon tank with cichlid including a large Oscar, well the Crayfish was a badass, he had a few fights with the Oscar, and came off well using his two claws for defence, one day in an epic battle the Oscar won the fight, grabbing the Crayfish by the tail, it was over then, I Don't eat Crayfish because they abuse them in Louisiana so called Crawfish cook pot where they have hundreds of Crayfish munching on for such a small amount of meat
You can put any and all of your native plants in this tank to float and root as they will. They will add to the good bacteria to this tank.
Me and my boy just caught 4 this weekend and we are building a habit for them. Your set up is cool, thanks for the ideas. One question, is what do you feed them and how often should we feed them?
Feed every day. I use prepared fish food and especially algae wafers. crayfish love vegetation so any plants or moss will become food too.
Do we have to acclimate crayfish like we do fish or shrimps?
I wouldn't worry about it.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Thank you 😃 I don't have crayfish currently but would love to keep them some day. It's pretty cool that you can catch them where you are 😄
Also, i just recently got into crayfish, hence finding this vid. Mine is a marmorkrebs; the all-female self cloning ones
I'm not sure about that species, but as far as I know, all crayfish are escape artists, so keep it well covered. Crayfish are a very interesting and rewarding animal to keep.
Amazing setup 🐘
I have never gotten around to keeping crayfish. Eventually I guess.
They're really neat little animals.
Just do it lol I got an electric blue and a blue dwarf, they're pretty cool The blue lights up like a gem on those things. Just don't put them with cichlids or anything too aggressive, cause depending on the size of the crayfish if its fully grown at like 6 inches, fishy gon' die lol
Looks great are you going to be putting any plants in ?
Nvm just finished video 👍🏻
That’s a HUGE FROG.
There's no need to sterilize everything. Micro organism's are needed to eat the decomposing debris. And will help eliminate the ammonia.
I have a blue crayfish, named Grut. Lately I’ve had trouble acclimating new fish to the tank and had a die off of neon tetras. Do crayfish add a ton to the bio load? Any advice? I’ve had Grut for 3 years, he promptly killed and tore up all live plants, kills any live plants I add. So no live plants, it’s a 40 gallon. Thank you
They do produce a decent amount of bio-load. Plants are a major part of their diet, so be sure to at least feed with algae(veggie) wafers.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Thank you, he gets spinach, zucchini, kale, etc
He’s EATING THEM!! Water perimeters are fine, started feeding bits of shrimp and he gobbled it down. Sorry fish…
@@reneap9049 Oh bummer. Sorry.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly I didn’t know…. I’m a bad fish Mom…. Those were expensive feeder fish!! Looking for a 20 gallon Grut tank, move him to his own castle. I tried to catch him once before to move him and his docile looking, chill self went totally Nuts!! Not at all believing I can just scoop him up in a net. Any ideas?
The Crayfish really look great in the tank. 🦂 🦂🦂 🦂 I suspect this may be one of your favorite aquariums when fully completed. Was thinking about what plants would work well; maybe some larger Anubias? Good video. 📺👍😎
Simply because of the amount of rocks you can attach them to, that’s what I’d go for. Maybe some dwarf hair grass dotted around.
Don't know so that's why I'm asking this...5 crayfish aren't going to be too many in that tank, esp. after they're grown? When all of them are full grown, won't that change the amount of hiding places? Just trying to learn. 👍😎
With the size of that tank, most probably not all of them will reach decent or adult size since crayfish are cannibals. Its basically survival of the fittest.
@@Trollurker So they'll just eat each other to make enough room? That just puts a whole new twist on house hunting! 😯Thanks for the reply. 👍
My crayfish is laying on its back not moving do you know what’s wrong with it
No, I'm sorry but I don't. It may be having trouble molting. Is there enough calcium in the water or food?
My crayfish just died i am me and my brothwr were crying its sad cus a crayfish is like my sibling and my crayfiah name was chaki and she was a female and i love her so much 😇😇❤❤
I'm sorry to hear it.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly ❤
It's not your fault, dear. Crayfish only live 2 or 3 years. Sorry.
What fish will you put in, or just crayfish?
Not sure yet.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly try a barbel steed if you can.
So when you do a native tank do you have to do the acid test on the rocks?
I've never found any rocks around here that are reactive. I don't even check anymore.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly Lucky, everyone I find reacts, our tap water is hard, never thought about the streams being hard too?
@@monicaiscool No around here. I have zero dGH in my ground water and the streams around here. pH usually in the mid to low 6 range.
I’m not saying your wrong because technically your not! BUT have you ever tried catching the craws thinking they are going to retreat behind you but they actually do a very fast 180 and retreat backwards but in the original way they were facing?
I went out craw dad fishing the other day and ran into that issue had a few get away from me was kinda annoying lol
Yeah, they turn and dash sideways sometimes.
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly slick little suns of guns
@@joeyhalbrook9818 Lol They are pretty crafty for basically being "bugs".
Dollar sunfish are cool they only get 4 to five inches and really pretty look them up
Nice. Do you have to have a license to collect local species?
Not for these, or the minnows I'm going to add. Otherwise, it would depend on where I caught them. (no license to own them)
Why is there no plants :(
Rosyside dace please
Have you had any problems with them climbing out of your open topped tank?
Oh yeah.
I have an open-top 40 long tank with aquaponic terrestrial plants growing on top like a jungle. I have some plastic craft screen I am thinking of rigging around the top with about a three inch overhang to try and discourage escapies. I have several smaller tanks all connected to the big tanks by 1" tubing causeways. I am thinking also I could dedicate one of my smaller tanks to a few crayfish.
When I was a young boy I had a pet Bluegill I caught in my Aquarium. I would catch flies and hold them by a wing so that they would buz and try to fly away with the other wing. I would hold them two or three inches above the water and my Bluegill would jump above the water surface and take the fly right out of my fingers.
@@phillip1beer Good luck. They're escape artists.
Painted nails? Gay/queer? Kids painted them? Or just comfortable with your own masculinity? Either way, love the color and glitter you chose 😉
Look up "polished man" (and yes, I love sparkly stuff, so win win)
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly I've just looked it up; wow you are awesome for supporting that cause. Much love 💙
Live crayfish don't live in steral conditions... Ur pets won't be happy in a sterilized tank leave the fogginess alone and let the water do what it's supposed to it will balance itself out eventually as long as you have plenty of plants then you'll be fine
Eventually there will only be 1. They kill each other in tanks.
1 cray to every 10gal, yes they will still go after each other during molts, but they are naturally cannibalistic. But if you keep to that ratio they pretty much leave each other alone until you feed them. Keeping them all the same size helps, but if you have a range of places for them to hide, as well as a good range of sizes between those hides, you can keep small ones with fully grown adults successfully.
Don’t sterilize the rocks.
Sculpin? Ur in cali huh? 😂
No, I'm in Maryland.
Nice black thumbnail
I did find native tanks get dirtier faster. Even a “Fishy” smell that the tank gets and u can’t get rid of it. Native fish make the native smell I suppose
Just gotta do what he's doing
Boring
Exiting enough for you to comment. Lol
@@DanHiteshew-oneandonly He's just a trollin' for reactions. haha
Beautiful