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Hi !

Today arrived 3 ~2cm long Cherax papuanus, although while travel their water get cold, they do fine now in their tank. I put them together with Red Crystal and Neocaridina denticulata - they started to make their place under an stone.
I think they gonna be nice crayfish, special as I can see them growing

Congrats on your latest purchase!

Well, they used the night for digging around their stones - for luck they are to small to dig out the plants ...
Until breeding they gonna have to grow a lot

Flori

Polypterus wrote:I put them together with Red Crystal and Neocaridina denticulata - they started to make their place under an stone.

Florian, I am not convinced this is a good idea. We had Ch. papuanus in our shop. Either our were atypical, or from what I recall they were rather predatory. So it might be just a matter of time they eat up the shrimp.

Oh, many people keep them together with shrimp and fish - without problem. At time the three Cherax are small - but anyway I want to prepare a bigger tank for them. I think 1 metre for an couple should be OK. Perhaps I find some nice Rainbow fishes to stay with.
I have to see how they behave for the next months - then I can decide what can stay with them. For good luck I have some empty tanks around for worst cases...
I gonna tell here how they do the next months - years

Polypterus wrote:Oh, many people keep them together with shrimp and fish - without problem.

We kept our papuanus with Astyanax fasciatus mexicanus. Thet ARE blind, but very hard to catch. Every few days the papuanus managed to catch one and eat it.

Polypterus wrote:At time the three Cherax are small - but anyway I want to prepare a bigger tank for them. I think 1 metre for an couple should be OK. Perhaps I find some nice Rainbow fishes to stay with.

I think this a very beautiful cray and I envy you with all my heart. I simply don't have any more space at home for new tanks

Hi !

In Hannover museum I have seen the Blind Cave Fish - very nice and need no light, good for enery saving -
I think your Cherax papuanus catched the fishes, because they are big and seems to be a delicious meal - very small fishes or small shrimp gonna be ignored for bigger Predators. So I also have to take care, that while growing my cryfish not like to eat his tankmates. But when the Cherax is grown up he gonna ignore the small tankmates. Imorptant is to have always a close look how the crayfish behaves and if it's not working to have the ability to move it to another tank.
Also I keep an grown up Macrobrachium pilimanus together with Bumblebee Shrimp. This small shrimps stay most time at the wood and swimming flowers and the Macrobrachium ignores them. He like to eat his easy to catch Fish food ... But bigger Fish or shrimp, he gonna try to catch for sure.

Congratulations!