Temperature in your cray's tank

milalic · Post by **milalic** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 6:49 am

What temperature do you keep your crayfish tank(s)?

-Pedro

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 7:44 am

76', the same as the stream water they came out of.

As I return to the collection sites over time and gain some more data, I may be altering the temp and light cycles to simulate seasonal variation. I have yet to determine if C. diminutus is a year-round breeder or if it breeds in cycles like some other Cambarellus species.

For what it is worth, C. shufeldtii is a year round breeder, so adjusting the temp/light would not be necessary.

I may come to find that even if C. diminutus is a cyclical breeder, that it may switch to year-round in captivity with an abundance of food and constant water/temp/light conditions.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:05 am

I would think that temp would be a critical factor in breeding. In nature, warmer water means more food available for all sizes of crayfish, as well as an increased metabolic activity level.
I have a pair of Tanganykian spiney eels that have spawned months later than the end of their recorded spawning season in the lake. The female seems to spawn whenever she has fed enough to produce eggs, much like cichlids.

The Fisherman · Post by **The Fisherman** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:35 am

Wow Yucca, thats a pretty warm stream. The temp in the river I live near varys a lot, I don't know specifics, but I have kept a Crayfish in room temperature water before, which was about the tem of the river water at the time. I think the species I was keeping was a coldwater cray.

Post by **Mustafa** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:51 am

YuccaPatrol wrote: I may come to find that even if C. diminutus is a cyclical breeder, that it may switch to year-round in captivity with an abundance of food and constant water/temp/light conditions.

You probably will. Many animal species that are dubbed "cyclical breeders" do so because there is only a narrow window near-perfect conditions during the year during which they can find enough food and the temperatures are warm enough for them to breed. True, in some species this becomes genetically hardwired so that they won't breed all year round and actually need a cold phase (for example) to be able to breed again. One "famous" example (at least in european educational institutions) is the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus ). This fish won't spawn at all if it does not experience colder water temperatures during the winter.

But with animals from warmer parts of the world, and the southern US can easily qualify as a warmer region, most animals just seem to breed whenever conditions are right. Our american glass shrimp, Palaemonetes paludosus, only breeds during part of the year in most of its range, but breeds all-year round in southern florida and in home aquaria. So...I bet C. diminutus could be bred all year round when the right conditions are given.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 9:58 am

In captivity we are able to manipulate and control their environment. Does this mean we can stimulate breeding by recreating the cycle/conditions of the wild environment? Has anyone out there been doing this, if so please share you results.

Thanks.

milalic · Post by **milalic** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:40 am

Can we try to not deviate too much from topic.

Thanks

Terran · Post by **Terran** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:02 am

milalic wrote:Can we try to not deviate too much from topic.

Thanks

I didnt think anyone really deviated far from topic since what they were talking about was still temperature related...

I keep Cambarellus shufeldtii between 75-80 and they breed like crazy...I started with 5 young ones in the summer...and since then Ive filled two 10 gallon tanks... a 20 gallon tank and a 29 gallon tank...

In contrast I started with 12 Red Cherry Shrimps before I even got the Cajuns...and now I only have 20 or so...Though ever since I began using oak leaves it seems every single female I have now is berried....

Is there a reason your asking what temp. people keep their crays at? Because it should correlate with what species their keeping

milalic · Post by **milalic** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:30 am

Just for infromation...and to see what has worked for people.

Terran · Post by **Terran** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:50 pm

milalic wrote:Just for infromation...and to see what has worked for people.

What kind of crays do you keep?

milalic · Post by **milalic** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 2:28 pm

Terran wrote:
What kind of crays do you keep?

Cambarellus patzuarensis, shufeldtii, puer and montezumae.

-Pedro

milalic · Post by **milalic** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:12 am

anyone else?

Cableguy · Post by **Cableguy** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 7:14 am

I don't heat my cray's tanks, since they're all wild caught around the midwest i figure that living in a room temp tank would be like a vacation in aruba for them during the winter

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 11:51 am

Low 70s to low 80s for the C. shufeldtii. For the C. patzcuarensis I would keep it in the low to mid 70s as they come from the highlands. 75 is probably perfect.