Fish Advice

[degrassi]

add to a community and they will eat/kill any fish they can get ahold of. their more for the centerpeice for a tank and you get dithers (too fast to be caught, ie danios) to get some movement

I was referring to the CPO crayfish. They are ok to add to a community tank. They are only about an inch long and behave more like shrimp then crayfish. Too small to catch fish and won't damage your plants as much.

Yes, if you add regular crayfish into a tank they will try to eat any fish or plants. Not a good choice for a community tank. I used to call my crayfish "Edward scissorhands" as he would sit there and chop any plantsO added to his tank into confetti. Pretty funny to watch.

 

[cassnessxox]

So I was too late to get more places to hide =_= they must have fought last night as one of them was dead this morning. I had some problems with my car yesterday so I was going to leave it till today and grab a new filter as well. Aww I feel bad, is the tank too small for two, did I not have enough hidey holes? Or were they just a bad match? I'm afraid to try again with another one, would it be a terrible idea to try again once I have more rocks and caves? I don't want to be responsible for any more death matchs.

The tank still looks quite empty. If I put plastic plants in will he try and eat the plastic or ruin them? Would I be better off with real plants even though he will wreck them to?

Also the water is a bit cloudy, I'll buy a new filter today but what kind will be good enough? Do they have a power rating or something because we probably have different brands over here.

 

[degrassi]

That tank is too small for 2 crayfish. If you get another one they will always fight and most likely kill each other. Stick to one and a couple fish(they may get eaten).

Your tank is cloudy? Did you cycle it at all(or add used filter media from an established tank) before adding the crayfish and guppies? If you didn't then its going through its nitrogen cycle now, the cloudiness is a bacterial bloom(white cloudiness?). Start doing water changes to keep the ammonia/nitrite levels down. You could possibly loose some of the guppies or the crayfish because of the cycle. Don't add any new fish for a while.

A crayfish will kill real plants so dont' bother buying any. If you can get some free then feel free to add them and watch him chop them up. I used to add real plants to my crayfish tank but I used trimmings from my other aquariums and I replaced them every week. He will probably even try to eat/destroy plastic/silk plants. My crayfish damaged my plastic plants but it wasn't too bad, the edges just looked chewed up. So plastic would be a better choice over silk as they will probably shred up silk plants in no time.

So start doing water changes and if you have test kits keep monitoring the water levels. Ideally you want to keep the ammonia/nitrite levels as low as possible during this cycling phase as any ammonia/nitrite can kill/harm the fish. If you don't have test kits just do water changes daily and keep watch on your fish's behaviour. If they aren't looking good(up at the top of the tank, clamped fins, red gills etc) change the water. Read up on the nitrogen cycle in aquariums. Takes a couple weeks for it to complete, then add fish 1-2 at a time.

 

[cassnessxox]

The aquarium said it would be big enough but of course they did =_= They were just hoping we would go straight back and get another one once one died. I've been trying to do research but I'm finding it difficult finding information on keeping yabbies in a tank. No where have I been able to find any info on tank size and 50% of sites say keeping a pair will be fine and 50% say they need to be alone!

So buying a new filter wouldn't help?

 

[Sweetie]

Have you tried fishforums.com? I am a member on that forum and they are real good about helping people with their fish and tanks. If you want to become a member, you will have to be approved first, but after you are approved then you can post your question. If you have an urgent question that needs answered then I can post it for you and relay any responses to you until yo are approved.

I don't know anything about crayfish. But bettas can be community fish, they just have to be the last fish that you put in the tank. I would figure out what fish you want in your tank, because it is your tank and you need to be happy with the selection of fish you keep. Dwarf gouramis would probably be a good fit, but I think that only two can go in a 20 gallon, but I am not sure. I would go with the small fish that stay small.

Yes cycle your tank, it will take about 6 to 8 weeks to cycle a 20 gallon. Get an API liquid test kit and test your water weekly.

I have a 55 gallon tank and I change 50% water every week and I do weekly water tests to make sure that my water is good.

 

[degrassi]

Instead of googling Yabbies search crayfish. Here is a good site specifically about the different species of blue crayfish http://www.bluecrayfish.com/

Also keeping "a pair" is different then keeping 2 crayfish in the same tank. A male/female pair might work for breeding purposes(if your crays aren't super aggresive) but just keeping 2 crayfish together in such a small tank isn't a good idea.

Also, don't take the advice of people at the fish store. They are there to sell fish and usually don't know much other then the basics. Always research before buying. Even in the stores there are usually books(if they have a book section) you can flip through if you need to check something.

Now that you still have 1 crayfish left you are limited in what fish you can add to the tank. Stick to small, fast moving fish like danios or small tetras. Something that swims in the top level of your tank. That would exclude bettas and gouramis.

 

[degrassi]

Oh, also make sure there are NO spaces in the aquarium lid that the crayfish can climb out. I mean NO spaces, not even a gap where your filter or heater goes. They can and will climb out. I found my first crayfish dead under the aquarium stand as he climb out the tiny 1" hole where my heater cord came out. Use coroplast to cover and tape up any holes. Even make a cover that goes over your filter outflow(assuming you have a hang on the back type filter)

 

[BinkyBunny]

20 gal is a nice size to do a mixture in a fun community fish tank or cichlids I love cichlids. Make sure you get BioSpira for your water initially! It helps so much with balancing the tank water so fish don't die from the Nitrogen!

 

[fuzz16]

even small crayfish can be a danger to fish, their not filter feeders or have the same needs as shrimp, so you cant really compare them to shrimp.


one to a tank, they are territorial. You can try some deep rooted fast growing plants. wendtiis are low light and grow fast, also will root veeery deep. but if you move them around, the leaves "melt" but will regrow when reburied. Also, java moss is a good option, too. lwater wisteria grows very fast and also a low light plant. not as deep rooted, but propagates by bits being snapped off and works good as a floating plant

 

[fuzz16]

Heres some threads from a guy who did it right with his blue crays, super great guy who is no longer on the forum.


Heres his breeding thread
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/freshwater-general-discussion/53550-fill-them-tanks-crayfish.html

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/freshwater-general-discussion/46109-jerrys-journey.html

He has a lot of cool pictures of his tanks ect if you look around at his threads

 

[Sweetie]

Instead of googling Yabbies search crayfish. Here is a good site specifically about the different species of blue crayfish http://www.bluecrayfish.com/

Also keeping "a pair" is different then keeping 2 crayfish in the same tank. A male/female pair might work for breeding purposes(if your crays aren't super aggresive) but just keeping 2 crayfish together in such a small tank isn't a good idea.

Also, don't take the advice of people at the fish store. They are there to sell fish and usually don't know much other then the basics. Always research before buying. Even in the stores there are usually books(if they have a book section) you can flip through if you need to check something.

Now that you still have 1 crayfish left you are limited in what fish you can add to the tank. Stick to small, fast moving fish like danios or small tetras. Something that swims in the top level of your tank. That would exclude bettas and gouramis.

Actually that would not exclude bettas or gouramis, as they are not bottom dwellers. I know that bettas are pretty quick when they need to be. I don't know about gouramis though. But bettas swim at mid to top level mostly.

 

[degrassi]

Actually that would not exclude bettas or gouramis, as they are not bottom dwellers. I know that bettas are pretty quick when they need to be. I don't know about gouramis though. But bettas swim at mid to top level mostly.

With their long fins they will easy to catch. A crayfish can catch danios so gouramis and bettas would just make for easy prey and an expensive snack.

 

[Elliot]

The one who died might have been due to the tank not being cycled.

 

[cassnessxox]

Thanks for all the advice, the water is clearing up a bit now
Pretty sure the one that died was killed, I never got to see it because I was at work but my boyfriend said that it appeared to have it's underside detached. Unless it died then the other one started to pull it apart to eat it. But wouldn't the guppies be the first to go if the water wasn't right? On the farm the yabbies lived in muddy dams full of sheep excrement so I assumed they would be less sensitive lol

Oh and the aquarium said I couldn't have tetras in there because of the temperature and ph level. Is that true? Same with bettas, not that I would bother risking a betta in there with it, but I do like neon tetras

 

[Elliot]

Here are a couple articles that address your question
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7492649_type-fish-can-live-crawfish.html
http://www.fishchannel.com/media/freshwater-aquariums/invertebrates/crayfish.aspx.pdf

and a discussion with varied opinions
http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/93843-blue-lobsters/

 

[degrassi]

Whats your PH? Tetras(even sensitive ones like Cardinals) can handle pretty much anything from soft to hard water. Our tap water here is ph 7.8 and hard, I keep angelfish, cardinals and even fancy soft water shrimp species just fine. Even discus will do fine and even breed in harder water, just as long as they are aclimatized to it slowly. Its more stability and clean water that is important. Most likely the fish store is keeping their fish in tap water(might have their discus on a different system) so any fish in the store will probably be ok if you are also using tank.

Another thing when keeping 2 crayfish is that when they molt they are easy prey to other crayfish(or larger fish) in the tank. It takes a little while for their new shell to harden so they can't really defend themselves for about a day.

Glad your tank is clearing up. But keep up with the water changes and test your water. Just because its clearing up doesn't mean the nitrogen cycle is finished. When your ammonia and Nitrite measure 0 and you start to see Nitrates then you can start adding new fish.

 

[Acacia-Berry]

Actually that would not exclude bettas or gouramis, as they are not bottom dwellers. I know that bettas are pretty quick when they need to be. I don't know about gouramis though. But bettas swim at mid to top level mostly.

You should be more specific- long fin bettas would write their death sentence in a tank like that. They "can" dart but they have no stamina due to humans selectively breeding their tails longer and heavier. The ONLY anabantid I would put in there are short tailed bettas like plakats or a larger quicker gourami like the blue. But I wouldn't risk it either way, it's like leaving my bunny's pen open with the cat out and taking my chance because the cat is well fed.

This is just my opinion though.

 

[Sweetie]

I see your point Acacia-Berry. I have two cats myself and although they leave the rabbits alone, I would not leave them unattended with the rabbits. I would always supervise them while they are out together.