Freshwater lobsters

[Nanook]

I have about 20 crayfish in my 150 tank with my oscars just to keep the bottom of the tank clean my oscars love them there's lots of places to hide and you barely see them I just wanted to know if anyone's ever set things up like this before

[Nyx]

Over a dozen years ago, we had some electric blue crays in a 40 gallon. We started with one but it turned out it was a female who produced dozens of babies 6 months later. Although they had plenty of hides, they cannibalized each other over the course of a year until it was down to two of them, the original female and one of her young.

Now, I keep a single dwarf Mexican orange cray in my 30 gallon Endler tank. Several times, I'd started off with 3 or 4 of them but again, they cannibalize each other until it gets down to one. This type is totally unlike other crays we've had over the years as it's always out and it begs for shrimp pellets. Lots of personality in a whopping 1.5 inches full grown

In your case, don't your oscars lunch on the crays?

[Fishnut]

Interesting thing to use a bottom feeders!  When you say the oscars love them, do you mean as companions or as snacks?

I've had the identical experience as Nyx with crayfish, but I managed to get about 12 or 14 babies out of it and sold them all.  I had a very strong filter in the tank, a lot of hiding places and I fed them a lot.

I also have a mexican dwarf crayfish in a 5 gallon tank.  It never ate it's tank mate but I would love to find it one.  Mine's a female Nyx.  What's yours?

[Laura]

Yeah, they need lots of hiding places, especially for when they molt.

I feel terrible for most of the crays I see in the shops as they usually don't have any or enough hiding places, so when they molt, they are dinner for anything else in the tank.

I had an orange cray for a while, but it snacked on my cherry shrimp, so I found it a new home. They are beautiful critters.

[Nanook]

Ummm kind of the oscars love to eat them but only when the lights are off cause they stay under cover when the lights are on I made most of the hiding places so I can see in and the oscars can't get them but they still get the odd one here and there I will take some out of the tank thou now that I know they will eat each other if anyone is looking for some I'll pony up a few 

[Nyx]

Mine's a female Nyx.  What's yours?

I have no clue! Since I only keep the one, it makes no difference to me what gender it is. Shrimp Diaries has some CPOs for $7.50, I think. And La Niche got some in last week if I remember correctly. You should be able to get yours a friend, if you're willing to risk it.

I had an orange cray for a while, but it snacked on my cherry shrimp, so I found it a new home. They are beautiful critters.

My cherry shrimp breed faster than my little cray could ever eat them. But, truth be told, I've never seen him bother anything in the tank. He even recently ignored a dead Endler.