My tank is at about 80F and the lights stay on for about 14 hours a day. Some days I don't turn the lights on, I figure they can have cloudy days now and again.
Here's a pic I took last night of my mother that moulted, her sister to the left. There are at least 3 babies in this pic. One is to the right of the mother on the log. Another is on top of the log to the right of the mom and the other is between the two adults on the log. I think there is another one just below the one on the top of the log, but I'm not sure. The white "threads" are duckweed roots that are moving in the flow of the current.
So how big do these get? Mine are already bigger than the literature I've found indicates and Terran says they get much bigger. They are hardly dwarfs if that is the case.
Marble crayfish are definitely not a dwarf species, though I can't find anything in my literature that states how large they can grow. I seem to remember reading somewhere that they can grow to 4 - 4 1/2 inches long.
The literature I have said they reach sexual maturity at 4 cm. I didn't think they would grow nearly 3 times bigger than that after being sexually active. That is pretty amazing.
badflash wrote:The literature I have said they reach sexual maturity at 4 cm. I didn't think they would grow nearly 3 times bigger than that after being sexually active. That is pretty amazing.
Cajun dwarf crayfish mature at about half their maximum adult size, too (I have some HUGE females). Same applies to many Macros (about 1/3 maximum adult size) and even to dwarf shrimp species (but to a lesser degree).
I have limited experience. My blue cajuns are about 75% full size when they start to breed. My M. Rosenbergii are just about the same. My cherries are about 50%.
This is all about experience and blowing away expections and generalizations. Each sub species has its own suprises.
These crays seem almost drugged, or in slow motion. These are the least agressive crayfish I've ever experienced.
They really do seem to be drugged or in slow motion, but I have been reassured that they would regain their natural instincts if they were to get loose in the wild, so I guess they have to be handled carefully.
I finally got a berry on one of my marbles! Man, she is really loaded too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I know you can't count your crayfish before they hatch!
Last edited by badflash on Mon Oct 15, 2007 1:38 am, edited 1 time in total.
The tank is just too dark for me to get any pictures, but the babies are doing well. Moma still has her tail tucked under and hides full time, but when I shooed he out of her hide, a baby dropped off and I could see it was fully developed. It quickly climbed back aboard and mom went back in her pot.
! Hope it all turns out well.