Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Bought the cute lil' mudbug from petco. Got home and its carapace was covered in white eggs??????????Can i save him???

It would be helpful if you could be a little more specific - describe the "eggs" and their positioning on the crayfish, as they could be any number of things- not necessarily detrimental to your crayfish.

The following page on crayfish disease will probably prove helpful; scroll through the gallery section (while most images there depict micrographs of tissue, a few are more general shots of afflicted animals): http://us.geocities.com/crayfishdisease ... intro.html

Are the "eggs" spots/lesions (if so, raised or indented?) or protuberances? What size are they? Do the "eggs" move about (indicative of commensals or parasites)? The white may indicate WSV [White Spot Virus], a disease prevalent amongst aquacultured crustaceans, but generally not fatal with crayfish).

Does the crayfish seem to behave normally (feeding, moving, response to stimuli), or is it lethargic or otherwise outwardly impaired? At what stage in the purchase of your crayfish did you notice the symptoms? Were there any other organisms in the Petco sale enclosure? Can you estimate for how long the crayfish had been held in store possession? Have you had any prior experience with crayfish?

They are raised white bumps positioned along the sides of the carapace. They do not move. He is quite an active lil' bugger. His tankmates were other crayfish. Don't know how long he has been there. Bought him tues. I do not have much experiance with crawdads. Correct me if i am wron, but, wouldn't the eggs fall off when he molts? Oh yeah, what do i feed him, tankmates, tank size, all you know. he is 2 1/2 in.

Those aren't eggs. Crayfish carry eggs like shrimp do. Those are parasitic organisms, which don't seem to kill the crayfish or cause permanent damage. I have never had crayfish that had those but have seen crayfish in dealers' tanks afflicted with those parasites. Wait until the crayfish molts and remove the skin right away. Maybe that will solve the problem.

Mustafa

Mustafa you are a lifesaver. How long does it typically take a crayfish to molt?

Depends on species and how much food they eat and how old they are. You will just have to wait and see.