White Cray, help with ID

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 1:13 pm

I was at my LFS today and they had two small white crayfish. Of course I could not resist, but they had no clue what they were. As luck would have it one is male, the other is female. so if they live, I might get lucky!

Anyway, any hep with ID would be appreciated. I need to know if these are just juvies, or if these will grow into monsters:

Right now they are just 2".

TKD · Post by **TKD** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 2:54 pm

I have no idea.

They are not albino as they have black eyes.
What are the most common white cray morfs?

TKD

Vera · Post by **Vera** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:00 pm

They look like albino Procambarus Alleni to me. Albino crayfish don't have red eyes because they don't have red blood. The most noticeable trait of the albino alleni is the see through body and the visibility of their internal organs.

Congrats on a great find!

Oh, they can grow to about 6 inches.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:17 pm

Procambarus Alleni was my guess too, but I'm usually wrong. I didn't want to poison anyone elses ideas. They seem to be settling in quite well. Bold little buggers.

How big do they get before being sexually mature?

Vera · Post by **Vera** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:28 pm

I don't normally start breeding mine until they are about 5 months old. I look for the white glair glands on the uropods (tail fins) of the females to see if they are mature enough. Here's a pic that shows the female's glands. They are pretty easy to see in the white alleni:

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 3:35 pm

What happens if they breed too early?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 4:45 pm

One other question. Are these escape artists? I never needed to worry about this with the cajuns.

Post by **Mustafa** » Fri Apr 13, 2007 7:38 pm

I can't tell at this age, but there is a possibility that they are white P. clarkii, too. Those are the only two species that I know of that have a white strain in the hobby.

Vera · Post by **Vera** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 12:31 am

Mustafa is correct, they could be clarki. The only way to tell is to look at the differences in the male's gonopods and they are pretty easy to distinguish if you really look at them.

Both clarki and alleni are very good at escaping and neither are a dwarf species, so it's best to make sure your tank is secure.

If you breed too early the female is far more likely to eat the berry because it isn't fertile. Of course, with the white alleni that often happens later as well. The white alleni doesn't seem to be a very prolific breed. That is perhaps because they are albinos or just a thing with the whites. At any rate, I wish I didn't have to be breeding these for the aquariam trade when I have other ones I want to work on, but they still aren't doing very well so I am breeding them instead of working on newer species to help them get started.

I do wish you well and hope you get a line of them going!

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sat Apr 14, 2007 8:34 am

The only way to tell is to look at the differences in the male's gonopods and they are pretty easy to distinguish if you really look at them.

Is there a reference I can use to tell the difference? I've been googling various crayfish keys, but I'm not understanding the difference.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 5:30 pm

badflash, are you currently trying to breed them? Just wondering if they would breed true. Wow

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 6:16 pm

I think they would have to breed true. Albinos have no pigment and gene is ressesive.

I'll give it a shot if I can keep them alive. I also just won an auction for 4 cobalt blue alleni. As it turns out I won the draw and I get them free, including shipping. So now I have to figure out where to put them. Looks like the cajuns are moving to the 20 gallon tanks.

michiganmale248 · Post by **michiganmale248** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 7:37 pm

Wow, nice crayfish badflash. I wish I could walk into my LPS and find these. All the luck your having with finding these and winning the blue crayfish, you should hit the casino.

These will breed true.

Paul L

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Sun Apr 15, 2007 8:42 pm

I don't want to push my luck. My basement is flooding and I'll be up all night keeping it pumped out. Don't want anything to short out!

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Apr 16, 2007 9:55 am

http://www.bluecrayfish.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=928
Was provided by michiganmale248 as hows some really good pics on how to tell by the gonopods. I am a little confused now on how to find them. Do they lay flat agains the wlaking legs and you use the toothpic to separate them?

There is also some info that most crays males are only fertile every other molt. Is that so?