Very often, after a certain amount of time has passed since the aquarium appeared in the house, you begin to wonder: why should only fish live in an aquarium? Well, fish, and fish, it doesn"t matter who, even guppies, even discus… Look, take any pond – who is not there! If a natural aquarium is chosen as a style, then the aquarist often comes to the conclusion that he wants to create a real ecosystem, where fish are only part of the whole. Who to settle, besides fish? Well, snails, of course. Oh, there is a whole large group – crustaceans! But shrimp cannot be used – the fish will quickly eat them. Crayfish, such as marbled ones, are quite large and can attack fish, especially bottom fish, and they also spoil plants with their claws. What should be done? Get to know – Dwarf orange crayfish , aka Patzcuaro, originally from Mexico! These tiny and bright cuties will enliven and decorate your aquarium, giving it the incomparable charm of a piece of a real natural reservoir. Let"s get to know these aquarium crayfish better.
- Type: Arthropods
- Class: Crustaceans
- Order: Decapods
- Species: Cambarellus patzcuarensis – orange Mexican crayfish
- Comfortable water temperature: 25-27°C
- Active water reaction – pH: above 7
- Carbonate water hardness kN: 4° and above
- Aggressiveness: not aggressive
- Lifespan: 1.5-2 years
- Difficulty of keeping: easy
- Compatibility: any non-aggressive and small fish
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| Photo 1. Cambarellus patzcuarensis – Mexican dwarf orange crayfish. |
Appearance of Mexican crayfish
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First, let"s look at our new pet. The body of the crayfish is covered with a powerful chitinous shell of bright orange, or even red color, due to which the crayfish got its name. The division into a massive cephalothorax is clearly visible (cephalothorax) and abdomen (pleon). Also striking is the indecently large number of limbs. The crayfish has as many as 19 pairs of them! And each has its own purpose. There are five pairs of walking legs, hence the name of the order. But the first pair is intended for movement only indirectly, it is the characteristic claws that we all know so well. They serve the crayfish as an additional support, a means of collecting food, a weapon of attack and defense. Antennules and antennules serve for orientation in space. There are also three pairs of maxillopods (maxillopods) for delivering food to the mouth. |
| Photo 2. Walking legs of the Mexican crayfish. Claws can be attributed to them purely formally: they do not walk on claws, but the second pair of walking legs is also armed with small claws. These crayfish will not miss their chance – they will grab and hold! |
Mandibles and two pairs of maxillae – upper and lower jaws, respectively. On the abdomen there are four pairs of swimming limbs, and on the tail – two pairs of swimming legs of uropods and a tail blade – telson. Phew, I think I didn"t mix anything up.
Crayfish move along the bottom with the help of their legs, and in case of danger, they sharply bend their abdomen with the tail blade under themselves and move backwards, and rather quickly, in the water column. It must be said that the trajectory of the animal"s movement is unpredictable, so catching a crayfish in an aquarium is oh so difficult.
The size of an adult crayfish barely reaches 4 cm, that"s why it is called a dwarf, however, this is a real crayfish, not an overgrown shrimp.
Aquarium for Mexican crayfish
So, if you decide to get these funny creatures, you will need an aquarium of 50 liters for a couple. In 100 liters, you should not keep more than four pieces, so as not to create unnecessary competition. The soil can be anything, plants, snags, grottoes, stones, other shelters – the more the better. Crayfish need places where they can hide, this is especially important during molting, when the crayfish becomes absolutely defenseless, and for females with eggs. We will talk about molting a little later. Crayfish can choose anything as a shelter. It can simply hide under an anubias leaf, in a crack in a snag, under a sprayer, between stones. The water temperature for these animals is 25-27 degrees, and make sure that it does not rise above 28. Then the crayfish will be uncomfortable. The reaction of the water (pH) is desirable from 7 and above, optimally 7.5-8. As I already said, crayfish periodically molt, and to build a new shell they need calcium. Therefore, the carbonate hardness (kH) should be at least at the level of 4. Crayfish will live in soft and acidic water, but not for long. If your region has such water, and you are going to keep crayfish, the problem can be solved by putting a piece of limestone in the aquarium or pouring coral chips on the bottom.
These creatures are extremely sensitive to ammonia and nitrites, so you should definitely not settle them in a newly launched aquarium. Also, a critical parameter is the amount of oxygen in the water. From the above, it follows that good filtration and aeration are mandatory. Weekly water changes are also necessary. Not only do we reduce the amount of nitrates with their help, but in addition to the substitutions, the crayfish have a molting and mating season. Usually, two or three days after the substitution, you can notice signs that the crayfish has molted. Also, copper-based drugs are contraindicated – for crayfish this is certain death. Is it possible to keep crayfish in a common aquarium with fish? Yes! But there are some nuances that are worth paying attention to. The crayfish itself, as I already mentioned, is not large, its claws are of such a size that it is difficult to cause any harm with them. In my aquarium, patscuaro do not offend even such bottom phlegmatic fish as corydoras. These small plants do not harm. In general, when meeting nose to nose with a fish, the crayfish turns out to be much more frightened. The maximum that it is capable of is to raise its claws threateningly, but, as a rule, it runs away to the nearest shelter without looking back. One night I looked into the aquarium with a flashlight and saw a crayfish crawl past a peacefully sleeping platy on the bottom, not paying the slightest attention to the latter. Since crayfish prefer a pH above seven, the so-called "alkaline" fish are ideal as neighbors – pecilia, mollies, in general, all that can comfortably live at a pH of about 7.5 – at this value, everyone will be fine. There should be no large aggressive cichlids – then the crayfish will simply be eaten. An aquarium "pecilia" will look absolutely luxurious with driftwood, densely overgrown with plants. As you can see, the range of compatibility is quite wide. It is also worth noting that seeing a crayfish walking along the bottom is a rare occurrence. They are real masters of hiding. And I was not able to identify any pattern. Sometimes they may not be visible all day, and sometimes, in the evening, they crawl out all at once. Perhaps, at twilight and at night they are more active. Scouting out their shelters is quite an exciting activity, since crayfish use their favorite place from time to time. If you have not seen your pet for several days, you should not worry, especially if your aquarium has many unseen areas.
Feeding dwarf aquarium crayfish
Feeding orange crayfish does not present any noticeable difficulties at all. They feed on any organic matter, for example, plant remains. If you keep crayfish in a common aquarium, everything is very simple. Any fish food will do, the main thing is that some of it falls to the bottom. Catfish tablets and sinking granules are especially good. Bloodworms and brine shrimp will do. If you want, you can treat your arthropods with a piece of cucumber or zucchini, carrots. Snails and ancistrus, if any, will also say thank you. A piece of vegetable thrown into the aquarium usually floats. How to make it sink? I, without further ado, washed a small fork properly, pierced a cucumber, and lowered it into the aquarium. I don’t argue, it looks original. It’s not for an exhibition? It’s better to leave the vegetable overnight.
Here we come to the most practical value of these orange cuties. Many of us go on vacation or to the country. For such people, there are all sorts of timers and automatic feeders. But what if some fish still dies in our absence? Crayfish will come into play! They will dispose of the corpse in the shortest time, not allowing it to decompose and spoil the water. Here are such useful animals.
Moulting of Mexican crayfish
It is no secret that all crustaceans periodically molt. And our orange crayfish is no exception. Changing the old chitinous shell to a new one is the only way for it to grow. Young individuals molt quite often – once every 7-10 days. Adults molt less often. During the molting period, it is especially important for the animal to have a shelter where the crayfish stays until its new shell hardens. A crayfish that has just molted is absolutely defenseless. In addition, molting is the only way to restore lost limbs. Crayfish lose them under a variety of circumstances. Most often, the claws suffer – as the most tenacious part. The claw can get stuck somewhere, considering the cracks and crevices that crayfish use. A crayfish can also lose one of its legs during the molting process itself – if the crayfish cannot extract it from the old shell, it tears it off or bites it off. In both cases, this characteristic phenomenon is called autotomy. During internecine skirmishes (and such things do happen, although I personally have not observed them), self-mutilation is an extremely rare occurrence, not to mention a fatal outcome. So if you suddenly see a crayfish with one claw – don"t worry, it will soon grow a new one, during the next molt. And having only one claw will not affect its quality of life in any way. So I once recorded the very fact of the molting of one of my crayfish – not long before, under unclear circumstances, it lost a claw, and then, having examined it, I saw that it had grown a new one – which was slightly smaller in size. I must say, I managed to find the skin only once.
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| Photo 4. Skin of a molted crayfish. During molting, the cephalothorax separates from the abdomen and rises up. The crayfish comes out from there. Shrimp molt in the same way. You can watch how it happens on video. |
The success of molting depends on many factors. One of them is the presence of calcium in the water. It is the basis of chitin for the shell. An element such as iodine is also very important. It is a coenzyme for the synthesis of chitin. With a deficiency of iodine, there is a high probability that the crayfish will not be able to molt and will die. Therefore, if patscuaro have settled in your aquarium, iodinol is your best friend. In general, molting is a rather difficult test in the life of a crayfish, and, admittedly, a certain percentage of mortality still takes place. Our task is to minimize it.
Reproduction of orange Mexican crayfish
Orange crayfish are not long-livers, their life is short – 1.5-2 years, however, there is information about a longer life. So if you fell in love with these creatures, you will have to worry about the issue of their breeding. Crayfish are dioecious. Males are smaller than females, have more powerful claws and have a copulatory apparatus on one of the abdominal segments – a modified pair of limbs. Reproduction, as a rule, occurs without the participation of the aquarist, except for cases when crayfish are kept in a common aquarium. Fresh crayfish are small, molt often. Even when kept next to the most peaceful fish, they have almost no chance of survival. Mating occurs immediately after molting, after which clusters of eggs become visible on the female"s abdomen, on her swimming legs. They are quite large, opaque, easily noticeable. Not counting the fact that the female with eggs tries not to leave the shelter without need, so it will be problematic to see her. Therefore, if you do not have a species-specific crayfish aquarium, it is better to prepare a rearing tank. Crayfish are indifferent to their own and other people"s offspring, but they do not show any care for the crayfish either.
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| Photo 4. Female orange dwarf Mexican crayfish with recently laid eggs. |
So, we prepare a 20-30 liter jar (depending on the number of expected replenishment), pour 80% of the water from the common aquarium into it, compensate for the rest with fresh water (you can use tap water), let it settle for a day. We equip the farm with a heating pad and a microcompressor or an airlift filter with a sponge. We cover the bottom with a layer of soil of a fraction of 1-3 mm, fix a couple of lush clumps of moss or some small-leaved long-stemmed plant like royal ambulia. That"s it: the kindergarten is ready. It remains to remove the shelter together with the egg-laying mother and place it in a new place. If there are several mothers, we do the same with all of them.
If you are a little late and the crayfish is already hung with young, it is not scary. But you will have to arm yourself with a thick net. Carefully rake the mother with her offspring with this tool and we are placing it in the growing area. Don"t be alarmed if some of the crayfish run away – after a while they will gather again under their native belly.
Take the "caviar" is not necessary. Firstly, the female constantly ventilates the masonry with swimming legs, and secondly, along the way, it cleanses the shells of eggs of garbage, and possibly also distinguishes a special secret with fungicidal properties. The period of incubation depends on a number of factors, including, of course, the temperature, as well as the “little things” like the chemical composition of water – saturation with its compounds of nitrogen, oxygen concentration, etc. On average at 24–26 ° C, the development of the embryo lasts 12-14 days. All this time, the female of Mexican dwarf cancer, if she risks leaving the shelter, then she behaves extremely timidly, so the food for her is better to throw as close as possible.
Young crustaceans – an exact copy of parents. There are no subtleties in their cultivation. Feed, periodically replacing water. Well, the crustaceans are eaten-rusty-linked-fuck-rustut. All kinds of "baby" food from the companies Sera and Tetra are suitable for feeding. The only thing you should pay attention to is that you should not change a large volume of water. It is better to change it often, but little by little. For example, 10% every other day. In general, there are no special problems.
The Dwarf Orange Mexican Crayfish, with its striking color and calm demeanor, is a colorful and low-maintenance addition to freshwater aquariums. It grows best in small tanks with lots of hiding places, few plants, and clean water. This crayfish is ideal for community aquariums because it gets along well with non-aggressive fish and invertebrates.
I only had a few things to say about the tiniest crayfish for aquariums. Wishing you luck!
