Can M. rosenbergii be kept with redclaw crays?

skipjack · Post by **skipjack** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:43 am

Hi

I have a M. Rosenbergii of about 6 inches long in a 100 litre tank. Yesterday I 'rescued' 2 2inch redclaw crayfish from a friend who's tank was leaking. I like these little crays and will probably be keeping one of them.

They were together 1 day and, after waving claws at each other, now leave the other alone. Can a redclaw live with a rosenbergii for long? The cray is the one I worry will be too aggressive.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:48 am

Your crayfish will be dinner for the shrimp sooner or later. That will happen at the latest when the crayfish molt (at which time they are very soft and helpless). I would remove the crayfish immediately if you do not want them to die.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:56 pm

I'll second that! Where you find prawns in the wild, you don't find crayfish. They can smell a crafish molt a mile away. Those long arms can then just fish them out of any hidey hole & that is that.

Prawns do't co-exist with many things. About the only thing I've seen that is safe are large snails with trap doors. Even MTS are lunch. They wait until the MTS itout, then those claws get them behind the trap door, and they just pull them right out of the shell. Apple snails about quarter size & up are too fat for them to get a good grip on.

I keep Endlers with mine. They breed faster than the praws can catch them.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 12:17 am

Finally, something that will eat MTS

It's a shame they'll also eat everything else as well, or they'd be more popular with snail-haters.

I've seen quite a few posts on aquarium forums asking "How do I get rid of the snails?" I'll have to start suggesting prawns for snail control.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 2:34 am

Nuclear weapons work well too.

Snails are easy to control. Take a large dip net, put an aalgae pellet in it and put it on the bottom of the tank just after lights out. Come back an hour later and take out the net. Do this a few times and use a scruby to remove eggs from the glass.

After getting rid of the adults, of you keep a few crays, like the cajuns, in your tank, the babies that are left will be tasty treats for them.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 6:41 am

I was just joking about suggesting prawns, MTS are hard to eliminate though. Will cajuns eat them too?

Post by **Mustafa** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 9:53 am

ToddnBecka wrote:I was just joking about suggesting prawns, MTS are hard to eliminate though. Will cajuns eat them too?

You might want to post this question in the crayfish forum as this is not the right place. Then I'll provide an answer, too.

It will also make it easier for people looking for information to find it in the right place.

skipjack · Post by **skipjack** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 7:49 am

Thanks, Mustapha and badflash. I managed to see the first reply about 10 seconds before my net cafe session ended so I moved the crays as soon as I got home. They're both in their own little tanks for now.

By the way, I have 2 adult bristlenose catfish in the tank and they have survived (and laid eggs) for 6 months. I might also try endlers as I'd like something else to liven up the tank if possible.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 8:06 am

Hi skipjack, good to here that you moved the crays in time. About the endler's are a great fish to keep and they will surely liven up the tank through the beautiful patterns of the male fish and their behavior

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:04 am

I love endlers, but they will eat hatchlings, so keep that in mind.

Cableguy · Post by **Cableguy** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:13 am

if you 'had' to have fish in your shrimp/cray tanks, wouldn't hatchet fish be a good choice seeings how it's nearly impossible for them to bother anything on the substrate?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:11 pm

They can pick them off the sides or catch them when they swim, so I'd say not. Stick with confirmed veretarians. Ottos and bushy nosed plecos are what I go with. Endlers and cherries make a good show tank as long as you have good hiding places for the cherries, but the population won't grow very fast.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 3:44 pm

If you are truly set on keeping fish with you shrimp. You should think about keeping only adult shrimp of one sex, ie all females, with the fish. There will not be any baby shrimp for the fish to eat and for you to worry about. I still would stick to the fish badflash mentioned.

skipjack · Post by **skipjack** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:42 am

I've kept bristlenose plecs with the shrimp since it was very small and so far they've left alone. (The shrimp is now about 7" with orange claws.)

I'm not convinced I could keep other fish with the shrimp without them becoming food. The shrimp is just too good at 'fishing' with those long claws, as I discovered with a pair of mollies. However, I'm still willing to try keeping some small, fast fish, even if they do end up as dinner. I'm going to try endlers as they've been suggested and see if they are swift enough to survive.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:50 am

I can tell you now that fish will be targets when they rest, especially at night when it is dark. Endlers are very quick but when the lights are out they drop to the bottom and just stay in one place.