Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Hello I am fairly new to crayfish. I received a CPO for Christmas and got a female to go with it in February. They mated right away, she had her babies and within a few days of them leaving her she molted and lost her 2 claws and was berried again. I put the male in another tank to give her a break. The babies have grown quite a bit and a few of the females are getting closer to their mom' s size. I have sexed and seperated the males from the females. I have 12 females including mom in a 20 gallons tank and 9 males(including dad) in a 25 gallons tank. From what I read I was expecting a higher male ratio...Is it normal I got more female babies then males? Are females as territorial as males? How many females can be kept in a 20 gallons? How many could I keep in a 25 gallons tank? How many males ca be kept togeher as adults in a 20 or 25 gallons tank? I love watching them and so far they are doing very well. Both tanks are heavily planted and have a lot of hideys. Any advice of people with experience with dwarf cryafish would be appreciated. Thank you

You really don't know what ratio you got, because not all babies survived (or even hatched). As for numbers, it all depends on your situation. You'll find out soon enough what's too much. This species can be quite aggressive (both genders, but especially males), so you will start seeing a ton of animals run around without one or both claws. I would not put more than 10 in a 25 gallon, but your mileage may vary.

Finally, I recommend researching the forum as many of these questions have been discussed and possibly answered in the past.