New Arrivals

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 7:58 am

I'm getting serious about breeding C patzcuarensis. After going to work early yesterday and missing the mail delivery, I went to the post office this morning and picked up the package from Germany. No visible problems after spending nearly a week bagged and boxed, here's a couple pics of the young ones being acclimated:

The two top left corner are orange males, the rest are 5 pairs of orange/brown. My question is, will all these cohabitate peacefully in a 30 long with 5 adults? I added some more plastic plants for cover, and tossed in several handfuls of najas that was running amok in the 10. There's plenty of cover availabe, but it may be a bit crowded (?)

I can move the Synodontis out of the 38 and use it if necessary. The tank is well-established, just needs some additional cover added for crayfish. I have a pair of oranges in the 10 w/the cherry shrimp, but would prefer to keep them separated for breeding. Still waiting for the eggs carried by the berried female in the 30 to hatch...

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 9:19 am

Great pictures of the crays acclimating.

Wow, a week packaged! They are a hardy bunch

I can't help you with your question about housing the new arrivals as I have just gotten five dwarf crays for the first time two days ago. I hope it works out in the 30 and tat you soon have great success with the berried female

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 10:58 am

I am curious to know how these were shipped. How many were in each bag together?

Nice acquisition for you!

CanadianCray · Post by **CanadianCray** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:02 am

Assuming that these were purchased from Andy in Germany "Crayfishgermany" on aquabid. He always ships his baby crays in Kordon breather bags. Usually seperate but on large orders sometime multiple crays per bag to save on expensive shipping. I had crays from him survive an 11day jurney with NO problems whatsoever.

michiganmale248 · Post by **michiganmale248** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 11:56 am

I recieved 5 pairs of the orange dwarf and 1 pair of the orange/brown pair 2 weeks ago. They were all shipped seperate in breather bags. Took 8 days, All alive.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 12:14 pm

I recieved 5 pairs of the orange dwarf and 1 pair of the orange/brown pair 2 weeks ago. They were all shipped seperate in breather bags. Took 8 days, All alive

.

Wow, nice setup! What plant carpet is that?

Thanks.

michiganmale248 · Post by **michiganmale248** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 1:56 pm

NeonShrimp this is just a basic setup of javamoss and some pvc. I think what your referring to is just a background. If you look close the dark green on the bottom, that is the javamoss. The nice bright plant is just a background.

michiganmale248 · Post by **michiganmale248** » Sat Feb 03, 2007 2:20 pm

ToddnBecka, Nice crayfish.

I was going to try to get them at the end but lost track of what day they were ending.

Anyways I think they will do fine in a 30 gallon long. As you have probly figured out allready, they are very peaceful when they have plenty of food.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:32 pm

The crayfish were bagged in two's, each breather bag was tied off in the middle to keep them separated. I had to cut open the bags over a bucket to keep the water from running everywhere, but it was a very effective idea. I was concerned about shipping in the cold weather w/out heat packs, but the crayfish didn't seem to mind.

Not 5 minutes after the new ones were introduced into the tank, the adult orange male grabbed a new female and mated with her. About 5-10 minutes later, he found another new arrival and mated again. Neither female lost any claws in the process, possibly because they were smaller than the male (?).

Andy told me he keeps his in high densities, maximum of 50 adults in a 50 liter tank.

I shouldn't have problems with overcrowding in the 30 for some time.

NeonShrimp this is just a basic setup of javamoss and some pvc.

Regarding the setup, are they paired up in separate sections? Personally, I'd put some plants in each section to provide cover and additional climbing room. I occaisonally find one hanging out in the "upper story" of the 30 on the plastic plants. There is also a grapefruit-size ball of hair algae that one of the adult females spends quite a bit of time in/on. The orange pair in the heavily planted 10 are usually climbing on the plants, rather than hanging out on the bottom.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 3:58 pm

Wow, mating so quickly after arriving

I guess he just needed to meet the right female shrimp. This means you will have a dense tank soon

michiganmale248 · Post by **michiganmale248** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 8:14 pm

ToddnBecka, They are not living in these 2 betta condos, I put them in the condos to try to snap some pictures of most of them together last week.

Congrats on the quick mating. I thought I read last week that you had a female carrying eggs, They should be breeding in high gear from here on.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 9:38 pm

Here's a quick pic of the current setup. The divided section on the left houses the female carrying eggs, along with several shrimp and a new brood of baby shrimp. Spixi's, ramshorns, and MTS are everywhere in the tank. I'll have to increase feeding a good bit with the new arrivals, the snails don't leave anything edible lying around for long.

There is a second fluorescent strip fixture attached to the back of the regular light on top of the glass cover. Cover is a combination of Lok-Rocks, real rocks, and a large, hollow chunk of coral. (White "rock" on right side.)

The light green is najas, the dark green on the right side (middle) are algae-covered java ferns, and the dark green blob top right is the incredible hair algae ball.

It is useful for absorbing nitrates, and occaisonally goes spinning from the sponge filter outlet hidden by the plastic plants on the right side. I have to wonder whether riding the spinning hairball makes the crayfish who hangs out there dizzy.

There seems to be enough cover for all of them, I only see one or two at any given time. After the female is finished carrying the young I'll move her to the other side, and leave the tiny ones separated for a while. I suppose sooner or later I'll give up, and remove the divider if it isn't practical to keep trying to separate berried females...

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sun Feb 04, 2007 11:41 pm

That is a very nice setup, it gives me a couple of ideas to try.

I have to wonder whether riding the spinning hairball makes the crayfish who hangs out there dizzy.

Are you kidding, they are the master of backwards zipping. riding a spinning ball is like taking a break for them

!

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:26 am

Here's an updated pic of the setup. The divider has been removed. A few of the new arrivals found their way over to the other side, and I couldn't find any babies when I removed the cover from that section. I suspect the hungry new ones may be responsible for that, after being bagged for nearly a week.

The najas has nearly died off, apparently not enough light to support it in this tank. I moved several clumps of java moss from the 10, along with a couple of stray stems that weren't doing much.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Feb 16, 2007 10:38 am

I suspect the hungry new ones may be responsible for that, after being bagged for nearly a week.

Sorry to hear about that. Hope there are some babies hiding out