Mexican Orange Lobsters Breeding

[Jeff1192]

I have been keeping Mexican Orange Lobsters in my 15 gallon tank for about 8 months now. I had 3 and there were doing really well but no signs of breeding. Then we moved and that didn't sit well with them and I lost 2 of them.

I picked up 3 new ones at La Niche a couple of weeks ago and they settled in really nicely and coloured up quickly. This morning I checked on the tank and found 2 of them locked together, belly to belly. This is apparently how they breed. From what I have read the female will hold the eggs anywhere from 2-4 weeks (depending on the aritcle you read). Not sure how they'll fare in a community set-up....but I'm not going to set up another tank for them so we'll just see how they do. There are tons of hiding spots so I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Anyone else have any luck getting these guys to breed? If so what was your experience?

Thanks

Jeff

[sas]

Sadly no , I got as far as females being berried and that was it.
I had mine in a community tank as well, CPDs', and corys only though.
Another member on here had eggs hatch and babies survive but sadly
this person doesn't frequent the forum very often.
Good luck, hopefully they'll be successful for you.
Trouble though is they need a lot of hides otherwise they
cannibalize.
I really really enjoyed having these guys, might have to invest
in some again.

[Jeff1192]

I only have cories and Spotted Blue-eye - Pseudomugil gertrudae along with cherry shrimp in the tank. So the only predators I can see would be the other crayfish. Like I said there are a lot of hiding spots so I'll keep my fingers crossed!

[Shawn84]

The more hiding spot you have the more chance of them surviving. They can get nasty even at a young age

[Jeff1192]

Just a quick update on this. The female is definitely holding a LOT of eggs. So I guess that in another 3-4 weeks I'll hopefully have a bunch of little crayfish!

[Nyx]

Several years ago, our CPOs bred but we had really a lot of hides and a lot of java moss at the bottom of the tank and they were fine for a while, growing to between .5 - .75 inches but when we cleared out some of the moss, they just cannibalized each other. These little crays remind me of the old Highlander movies: "There can be only one!" Now we only keep one at a time and replace it when it's approx. 1.5 year lifespan is up. I hope you have better luck than we did.

[flyingpancake]

I have been breeding them for over a year.  Have sent the babies all the way to China.  They are like shrimp...need lots of water changes.....hiding spots for molting, and I add some calcium to the water for their shells.  It has worked for me.  I may even bring some for the auction.

[Jeff1192]

Good to know that someone has had some success with them. My female is holding her eggs so hopefully so far so good!

[fishmonger]

You cant have enough hiding spots, Ive had 2 lots of craybabies, the first lot dropped easily 100 of them, all gone within days as snacks for each other.  Second lot did so well they took over my tank and I had to send them to Big Als to feed someting they had there....  good luck, especially if you can see them hatch, its so cool!

[Jeff1192]

The female with the eggs went into hiding for a couple of days only coming out to eat. Then after a few days of this she was no longer carrying the eggs but there is no sign of babies. It has been 3 or 4 days now and there is no sign of any babies. Not sure what happened. Hopefully they'll try again for me!