Mexican Dwarf Orange Crayfish, Cambarellus patzcuarensis

buffguynumberone · Post by **buffguynumberone** » Tue May 24, 2005 3:35 am

another picture...

http://www.webspawner.com/users/buffguy ... MG1257.JPG

buffguynumberone · Post by **buffguynumberone** » Tue May 24, 2005 3:57 am

Pictures can be found on my website, they don't seem to want to work on here.

http://www.webspawner.com/users/buffguynumberone/

edinjapan · Post by **edinjapan** » Sun Jul 03, 2005 9:11 pm

these guys look like they'd make a nice addition to a tank. I'd be interested in getting some. Unfortunately, they aren't here in Japan.

Janis · Post by **Janis** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 2:24 pm

Hi all,

I noticed that the crayfish article says you can use "short segments of waterlogged bamboo" as caves for these crays. Has anyone tried this? Where did you get the bamboo? I haven't seen any available in pet stores and I'm a little apprehensive about buying it elsewhere in case it's been treated with chemicals somehow. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Janis

edinjapan · Post by **edinjapan** » Mon Jul 11, 2005 8:45 pm

Janis wrote:Hi all,

I noticed that the crayfish article says you can use "short segments of waterlogged bamboo" as caves for these crays. Has anyone tried this? Where did you get the bamboo? I haven't seen any available in pet stores and I'm a little apprehensive about buying it elsewhere in case it's been treated with chemicals somehow. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Janis

I could tell you where I get mine. The local farmer might get mad if he found out I was the guy that cut down that big bamboo stalk last night.

Seriously though, PVC pipe makes a good substitute. Bamboo must be dried and cured first and then wieghted down until it becomes waterlogged. And then the stupid crayfish decides it would make a good snack

Janis · Post by **Janis** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:44 am

Thanks Ed,

You must have cut down a HUGE stalk because I just got one from my yard and it's not hollow enough in the center for a cray to fit inside. I might try to hollow it out a little. You said it needs to be dried and cured, how do you cure it? What happens if you just put it in the tank and don't let it dry, will it rot?

If anyone else knows where to find untreated bamboo let me know. Thanks!

Janis

Janis · Post by **Janis** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:45 am

I just found a store in Vancouver that says they sell raw bamboo

so I'm going to give them a try.

Some questions though... what kind of diameter should I try and get for the hole? How long of a piece do I cut? And, this may be a dumb question, but do the crays like the cave to have one door or two? Thank you so much!

Janis

edinjapan · Post by **edinjapan** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 6:24 pm

Janis wrote:I just found a store in Vancouver that says they sell raw bamboo so I'm going to give them a try.

Some questions though... what kind of diameter should I try and get for the hole? How long of a piece do I cut? And, this may be a dumb question, but do the crays like the cave to have one door or two? Thank you so much!

Janis

Figure on the tube being a bit bigger than the cray. I leave both ends open but, you can leave 1 end closed if you want.

Janis · Post by **Janis** » Wed Jul 13, 2005 7:24 am

Thanks Ed! I'm going to go pick some up today!

Janis

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Tue Jul 26, 2005 10:35 am

Janis wrote:They are so cute! Thanks so much for the pictures!

I'm in the process of setting up a tank for them and I've read that they need caves to hide in while they're moulting. What do you guys use for caves? Do you have any other suggestions regarding tank setup (as far as aquascaping is concerned)? I'd like to do it right the first time, rather than aquascaping with them in there.

Also, I've noticed that some of them have more of a striped pattern than others, is that just a variation within the species (ie the babies from one pair are both striped and solid orange)?

Thanks for all the great info!

Janis

I keep small turbo shells in the tank and they make great little caves for the crays -- the females especially will get beat up if they don't have some place to hide because their limbs and claws will get pinched off during mating if they have recently molted.
The stripes vs. no stripes(or mottled) seems to be codominant -- whether two striped or two stripeless mate, they still seem to have about 1/2 striped and 1/2 non striped offspring. There are brown dwarf crays that are the same way...the only way to really test it would be to selectively breed only striped or only mottled -- making sure you isolate them in their own breeding tank. Perhaps after X number of generations, you'd start seeing 100% striped or non-striped.
I am finally breeding these guys again after being out of the hobby since last December -- I've got two pair and a dozen or so babies now in one ten gallon. I plan to either get a 20 gallon or at least another 10 gallon as the babies approach breeding size. Is anyone else having much success with the breeding?

Killfrenzy · Post by **Killfrenzy** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 3:33 am

My primary interest in these little buggers is: Where can I get some?

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 6:53 am

Killfrenzy wrote:My primary interest in these little buggers is: Where can I get some?

I would just keep an eye out for them on aquabid.com, under "invertebrates".

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:05 am

Hey -- does anyone know if Mustafa is breeding these yet? I've been out of the loop for a while.

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:10 am

I am in the process of trying to breed them. But I only have one pair right now. I had a lot more but but a freak accident killed the rest (long story). You might get lucky and see them offered on aquabid by Gerald Pottern (if he has offspring again). He uses "Gbpeassoma" as his username there. His last animals went for $20+ per animals, though, so they are definitely not cheap animals.

Acsuth · Post by **Acsuth** » Wed Jul 27, 2005 7:24 am

I've had my share of "freak accidents" when it comes to this hobby

Anyway, I started last November with a reverse trio that came from Germany. My female only produced two viable offspring before I had to move -- unfortunately the young were lost during the stress of moving and even though I had a live adult pair for several months afterward, I could never get them to breed for me again and they both died around last March. I got my two pair a couple months ago from Gerald actually -- though I never did find out where he acquired his original stock(possible German connections??). Now I have anywhere from 10 to 15 babies, though neither female is carrying eggs again. I need to get another tank very soon because I saw an adult attack a baby yesterday and I don't want to lose anymore.
I feed mine mainly Hikari frozen brineshrimp....well, good luck with your pair...one male and female is all you need, I hope many more people in the states can create successful breeding programs....of course, then the price should go down!

Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Mexican Dwarf Orange Crayfish, Cambarellus patzcuarensis

...

PICTURES