There was one study of interspecies competition between C. Shufeldtii, C. puer, and C. diminutus done in the 1960's. The results indicated that C. Shufeldtii was dominant over the other two species and suggested that they would be unable to live together for an sustained period of time. This matches another study that found that C. shufeldtii was extending its range at the expense of the other two species.ToddnBecka wrote:. . . . I was wondering whether it would be wise to house different species of dwarf crayfish together, more specifically Mexican and North American species?
I'm trying to understand how crayfish react to different species, as opposed to conspecifics.
I don't think anyone really knows much more than these two 40+ year old studies have offered. My conservative tendency would be to keep related species separate. These crays do seem rather peaceful, living a more shrimp-like existence than your typical cray, but I also observe some minor conflicts that are almost always ended almost as soon as they begin.
Although they seem mostly peaceful with their own kind, they may not be so nice to other species that they would have to compete with.
Maybe someone here has kept C. shufeldtii with one of the Mexican species and can share their experience?
I don't know 1/10 of what I would like to know, and don't know a darn thing about puffers!The Fisherman wrote:Wow, i'm impressed Yucca, you know your stuff!!
Hehe, just test me on pufferfish
And the truth is that biologists don't know much more about any of these than what they look like and a few locations where they have been collected in the past. The dwarf crays are a very neglected group when it comes to the available scientific knowledge. For the most part, biologists have preserved them in formaldehyde, given them a name, and then forgotten about them. So much more has been done with species of "commercial value".
edit: I am keeping these with the ghost shrimp that I collected from the same streams, and they don't seem to care one bit about the shrimp.