Crawdaddy caresheet!

Aragorn

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
361
I got me a new pet...a crawdaddy, a big red one! Anybody knows how to take of it. I got it from my neighbor who freezing them, so they could cook it later...and she gave me one to keep as pet. So far, I've given it dried dog food, and it seemed to be munching on that. Does anybody know more than this on how to take care them? Thanks!
 

JPost

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
139
Thats a pretty interesting addition. :D

I do know that they like mud, and they burrow into it pretty good. I don't know if they would go into peat moss or anthing like that. On my grandpa's pond, I walk around sometimes with a bucket of fish food and toss it out to the fish, I see the crawdads grabbing some and then running back into their holes. They will prolly eat earthworms and crickets maybe. I'm just used to using them as fish bait! :)
 

word

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 2, 2004
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106
should be really easy to keep. they will pretty much eat anything, especially meaty types of foods but they are omnivorous, i think. i would give it a gravel substrate 3-4 inches deep and plenty of rocks to hide and make a burrow under. i think the red ones are from down south.... louisiana? still, you probably don't want to let the temp get above 75F or below 50F. other than that, be careful not to overfeed and polute the water! what size tank/container and filter if any do you have it in?
 

cricket54

Arachnoangel
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Dec 27, 2003
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902
It probably would eat the feeder type guppies and gold fish that they sell at pet stores.

Sharon
 

Brian S

ArachnoGod
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May 29, 2004
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6,526
crawdads

The crawdads here in Missouri live in streams and you can find them under rocks in the water. The ones in Louisiana(sounds like what you have) will dig burrows in the mud where part of burrow actually goes to the water and the other part will go to the land adjacent to the water. They are mostly scavengers and will eat about anything you give them especially if it doesn't move like fish food or like the dog food you have been feeding. :cool:
 

Aragorn

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Dec 21, 2003
Messages
361
Thanks everybody! I have in a bucket right now, and it seems to be doing very well. I'm from Northern California and that's where my neighbor caught it in the inland sea. I will get the gravel and change the water about once a week, and I'm gonna put him in the 10 gallon aquarium.
 

OldHag

ArachnoHag
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Sep 8, 2003
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1,711
I had a crawdad for years!! Caught it as a wee thing. We just bought goldfish (small) and put in the same tank. He would stalk and catch them! It was facinating!! We had him alone in a 10 gallon tank with filters and bubbles ..the whole works. Theyre pretty dirty critters so they DEFINATELY need filtration!
Good luck, theyre fun critters.
Michelle
 

Wade

Arachnoking
Old Timer
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Aug 16, 2002
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2,927
Although crawfish will eat live fish or other high-protein foods, in the wild they are mainly herbivores. Ideally, the captive diet should include at least some plant matter. I've found fish foods made especially for herbiverous fish (especially those sinking algae wafers) to be very useful.

Wade
 

Randolph XX()

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 10, 2004
Messages
1,458
turtle pallets would do well for crayfish(the one which sink to the bottom)
just don't put it in a planted aquarium, lotta rocks and gravel plus a nice filter would do
but i suggest terrarium with certain amount of land area will make it more interesting~
 

bistrobob85

Arachnoprince
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May 21, 2005
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1,282
Crayfish are REALLY shy animals... give it a few hid spots, some calm, and then some spirulina caps if you want it to get some nice colors :)!! They are scavengers and will eat almost anything but in tiny quantities and only when they are not stressed... Good luck with it :)!!

phil.
 

Scolopendra

Arachnoknight
Old Timer
Joined
Jan 27, 2005
Messages
240
blue

there are(or were) some of the blue kind in the creek near my house. gorgeous. they died on me tho........
 

fantasticp

Arachnocompulsive
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 18, 2004
Messages
512
I had some a few years back. I kept them in a 20 gal long tank just like any freshwater tropical fish. I fed them frozen green beans (because they sink), romaine lettuce, and hermit crab food mostly. I would definatelty give them a cave too.
 

Black Hawk

Arachnolord
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 15, 2005
Messages
626
i kept crawdads for a while, mine survived on whatever they could get their hands on but mostly just cheap aquarium plants from the store, at least that's what the babies liked :p
 
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