# Where are my Crayfish???



## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

On Wednesday I met up with someone to buy some crayfish babies he had for sale. He sold them to me in a small glass jar, and included a few plants as well. It went over very well, and when I got home it occured to me that because they were so small (1cm in length) that they were in danger of being eaten by pretty much every other fish I own. So I kept them in the jar, removed the lid and placed a small net over the opening. The frame (handle) of the net is smaller than the opeing of the jar. It was stretched so it completely surrounded the opening and was kept tight. It looked a little weird in my tank, but as long as I could feed them and they could get water circulation and be kept from being eaten, all was good.

When I went to bed on wednesday, there were 5 of them in the jar. Thursday morning there was only one. This morning there were none. Where are they? I have heard that they are escape artists, but come on, there is NO opening big enough for them to get out. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I searched every square inch of the surface of the gravel in the tank, with an LED flashlight during daylight. Nothing. I searched the suction tube of the filter. No baby crayfish stuck there. I searched the filter and the water in the filter. Nothing. WHERE ARE THEY!?!?!? Its like they were abducted by aliens or something.

Can anyone give me some meaningful advice on how to prevent this from happening again? Now I have to buy more, and I dont want them to disappear as well.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

did they eat each other?

are you sure there not on your carpet?


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

Did the last one eat himself? There is no physical way for them to have escaped the jar, swim up to the surface, and somehow jump the 2 inches to the top of the tank. There are no rips or tears in the net. Theyre just gone.


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## macframalama (Apr 17, 2012)

i would double check the jar and make sure there are actually no holes in it they have claws you know, just triple check, and hey will canabilize one another , as far as i know and from my exp they will climb up power cords, filter intakes, and youd be surprised they can even get a decent grip on aquarium silicone that seals your tank, check your rug again


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

The tank has a lid and they are so small that if they did escape, the convicts probably ate them.


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## Foxtail (Mar 14, 2012)

If they were on the net, the convicts could have crunched them up and sucked the bits through the net... Do you have any driftwood or rocks big enough for them to dig under and hide?

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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

There is a castle wall, small ceramic pot on its side, and the substrate is gravel. lots of room to dig and hide, but I didnt think they dug at all?


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## Tazzy_toon (Jul 25, 2011)

i know my marbled crays where very good at hiding under or even between gravel or basically under any opening, they can burrow under rocks etc. Lots of times i thought they where missing and ripped my tank apart. lol


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## Lamplighter (Aug 3, 2012)

I think they were abducted by aliens and they are being probed as I write this. Of course there's also the possibility that they escaped into another dimension.


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

Lamplighter said:


> I think they were abducted by aliens and they are being probed as I write this. Of course there's also the possibility that they escaped into another dimension.


See thats FAR more likely!


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

well, seeing as they havent reappeared after repeated searches of my aquarium, I have NO choice but to buy some more today from my craigslist source. His email address is different from the name he gave me and the name that comes up on my caller ID when he calls. I really have no idea what his name is, but if he was on here I would give him a positive score. Will try to post pics later tonight.


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

Well, turns out they were hiding under the terracotta pot in the tank. The convicts pulled all the pebbles away from one side of the pot (it lays on its side, open end facing forward), and were trying to force their way behind it for god knows what reason. This piqued my attention so i reached in and lifted up the pot, lo and behold there were 3 baby crayfish about 15mm long hiding under it. I got my net and quickly captured them before the cons could attack me (or them) and put them back in the jar.

I bought 10 all together, and have now found 8 of them. 4 of them were cannibalized, and 4 remain alive. 2 are still outstanding. Probably got eaten by the cons or are hiding somewhere else in the tank.


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

They like to hide under ornaments and/or rocks, the smaller they are the harder to find them too


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

Im glad that the mystery has been solved, once theyre big enough to not get sucked into my AC110 powerhead, theyre going in my sump


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Put a sponge on the intake of your ac


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

this isnt a filter, its a powerhead. It has a cage in front of it to prevent small fish from being sucked in but the slots are still 4-5mm wide. It sucks water in and blasts it up from my sump to the 75g above it


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Have you tried to put them in a breeder tank? I saw some made by Marineland that is hanged on the tank with water constantly being run from your tank into the breeder tank and back but the big fish cannot get in and the little fish cannot get out.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Fish rookie said:


> Have you tried to put them in a breeder tank? I saw some made by Marineland that is hanged on the tank with water constantly being run from your tank into the breeder tank and back but the big fish cannot get in and the little fish cannot get out.


I have one and love it. Using it to raise baby Bangaii cardinals and my non-photosynthetic corals like Dendros & suncorals. Just add a small air pump and you have a little HOB tank with constant water circ.


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

lol I just threw my satellite breeder box out not too long ago cause no one wanted it for free. That would have been perfect for your application.

It looks like this but was the smaller model


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

I saw one at Canadian Aquatic (Pat) when he demonstrated how it worked and imo, it was really handy. I really like the fact that the water in the tank is not just sitting there but is constantly being cycled. All you need is an airpump. I think your little guys can live there quite happily until they get bigger. You should check directly with Pat but if memory serves me correctly, and if price has not increased, it was around $20 including everything.


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## ThePhoenix (Jul 23, 2012)

what a great idea


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