Crayfish experiment

[Transylvania]

What ever happend to catching them the old fashioned way. Wad out into about a foot of water where there is a nice rock bed. Gently flip the rocks trying not to disturb too much silt. You should be able to see them resting on the bottom. Slowly move your hand to cup them from above and ......quick, snatch them up. We used to collect them by the hundreds this way when we were kids.

I tried that today with no success. It's worked for me before, but for some reason, they didn't come out today. So I just left out the trap and we'll see what we get in the morning...

 

[Choobaine]

good luck on that! I allways used to catch minnows in streams and keep them as pets. That was fun. And frogs too. I'm sure that's illegal here. But kids are kids especially ones that can breed frogs without any instruction at 7years old

I hope you get a really big one and just sit and stare at it for days. I do that.

 

[RoachGirlRen]

What ever happend to catching them the old fashioned way. Wad out into about a foot of water where there is a nice rock bed. Gently flip the rocks trying not to disturb too much silt. You should be able to see them resting on the bottom. Slowly move your hand to cup them from above and ......quick, snatch them up. We used to collect them by the hundreds this way when we were kids.

Amen to that, I've always caught crays in this fashion. Sometimes they'll jet right under your foot when they try to escape, then they're really easy to find. haha.

Good luck with the crays! Just make sure the captive environment has plenty of hides as they stress easily when exposed, and of course a good current and aeration. If I didn't have so many dang fish right now, I'd be keeping crays... though I suppose if I get a big enough cray, he'll take care of the fish problem. ::evil laugh::

 

[Transylvania]

Darn. The trap broke, so I had to set up another one. I'll check on it again tomorrow.

 

[Acro]

For a good and easy experiment, buy some feeder goldfish from your local pet store. Make sure to get some fish that are Brown and some that are Gold. Put about 4 gold fish in each crayfish tank and see what fish get eaten first. Normally it will be the gold ones because they are brighter in color as opposed to the brown.

 

[scolex]

I say for your Crayfish experiment, you should do recipts! See what way to cook and spice them up. I want to see what your teacher like the best!!!

 

[Craiger]

What ever happend to catching them the old fashioned way. Wad out into about a foot of water where there is a nice rock bed. Gently flip the rocks trying not to disturb too much silt. You should be able to see them resting on the bottom. Slowly move your hand to cup them from above and ......quick, snatch them up. We used to collect them by the hundreds this way when we were kids.

That brings back the good ole days. Me and a buddy would bring back 50+ a day doing that.

 

[REAL]

You know, last time I went to the mall (Asian mall)...they sold me a giant bucket full of crayfish for $5.

They's a myty goood ate'n yes'm :drool:

 

[Tleilaxu]

Do that catfood trick and put it in a minnow trap, crayfish also love fish as well. Also from my years of keeping them, they are able to learn simple things. For example in my crayfish only tank, once they realized they were the top dogs they were ALWAYS out even in broad daylight, and can be hand fed. Some even beg. Have fun with them, they make cool pets.

Just an unpleasent note: they do hoard food, so make sure they are eating everything and not just hoarding it. One of my crays had a stash of 20 minnows in his hideout, that was disgusting.

 

[Transylvania]

Okay, I have my crayfish (finally). Now I have to put together an Experimental Design Diagram of what I plan on doing. I've decided to try experimenting with water salinity, but I'm a bit confused on how I should go about doing it. Here's what I've got so far:

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN DIAGRAM

(Title) The Effect of the Water Salinity on the Reaction Time of Crayfish.
(Hypothesis) If the Water Salinity Increases,
then the Reaction Time of Crayfish will Increase.

Independent Variable (IV): Water Salinity
Levels of the IV: ? (Control) ? (Low) ? (High)
Number of Trials: As many as time and money will allow.

Dependent Variable (DV): Reaction Time of Crayfish
Constants (C): Water Temperature, Space, Habitat, Size of Crayfish, Air Temperature, Health of Crayfish​

Where I have question marks is where I'm stuck. How should I increase the salinity of the water? Of course, with salt. But how much should I add at a time, and how would that be measured? Grams? Teaspoons? I don't want to add too much and accidently kill my crayfish. :? Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[driver]

i used to catch them flipping flat stones over along the edge of the river while i was out fishing. seemed like they liked to hide under large flat stones. i'd wade in to the outside of the rock and tip it to one side, they'd shoot towards the bank and then i'd pounce. actually caught quite a few this way around here. unfortnately a couple years ago it seems like they all died out in our area. they came out of nowhere, were around for a few years, and then disappeared as quickly as they came.

 

[Ted]

i would do an experiment to see how they liked to swim in a butter and garlic sauce.:}

 

[NevularScorpion]

hi! do you guys know where to ger some crayfish because i always want to have one as a pet

 

[Chrysopid]

I live in Kansas and it is easy to find crayfish, you can buy them at bait shops.

 

[Transylvania]

*sigh* Can you all please help me? I don't need any info on catching or eating them. This diagram is very important and it's due tomorrow morning...

 

[Transylvania]

Never mind. I've decided to try pH instead of salinity. Hopefully the chemicals to raise and lower the pH won't kill the crayfish... :?