The Dwarf Cajuns [tank photo]

2698 Views 32 Replies 11 Participants Last post by philemon716, Oct 6, 2012

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · Sep 26, 2012 (Edited)

My 2 pairs of Dwarf Cajun Crayfish (Cambarellus Shufeldtii) are here!

They will be moving into my 5.5 gallon former Rili shrimp tank which current have these parameters:
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 0
Nitrides 0
PH 6.8
TDS 138
GH 4
KH 1

There are a few 1/2" PVC tubes cut in 3" sections in the tank already along with cholla which they likely wont fit into.

The tank is lined with Fluval Shrimp Stratum, round pellia and some random mosses.

Aquaclear 50, sponge filter and a nano internal filter keep the water flowing and clean but it may be overkill so the sponge filter will likely be transplanted to another tank tonight.

I'm hoping to keep 2 CPO together with these guys. Any tips for these little guys?

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leviathan0

· #2 · Sep 26, 2012

That's some filtration..

IME, they're aren't much different then keeping shrimp. The only difference is that they don't play nice with one another. They don't really hurt each other, just some bitch slapping. Things that can be used for caves or "territories" will be good, and they'd feed individually - that is, you can't drop a large algae wafer and expect them to share the way shrimp would.

Bluek24a4

· #3 · Sep 26, 2012

Pics or it didnt happen!

Ive always thought these guys were very cool. Where did you get them from?

chibikaie

· #4 · Sep 26, 2012

Wow, that was fast. (On my scale of time at least. I think I spent six months agonizing over whether I might be able to keep shrimp alive.) Congrats

Pics?

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · #5 · Sep 27, 2012 (Edited)

3

Sorry for the poor quality cell phone pics. It was a busy water change night and these guys were acclimated for 3 hours before entering the tank.

In the container

For scale, this is a quart container. They are sized between a nickel (with tiny claws extended) and dime (the body only)

For scale again, he is smaller than the adult MTS

So far the extend of their aggression has been slap fighting with both parties running away after the third swing. LOL these guys are funny to watch.

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Monster Fish

· #6 · Sep 27, 2012

Where did you get these guys?

HighDesert

· #7 · Sep 27, 2012

ROFL! The title sounds like a family reunion around here. ;-) Congrats! They're adorable!

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · #8 · Sep 27, 2012 (Edited)

Thanks all. Jackskeletonzero on aqua bid. He's real nice to deal with. They aren't gorgeous like cpos but these guys are a riot to watch.

One second they are all sitting next to each other like on a school bus... The next minute everyone is raising their claws in the air then it turns into a battle royal....

And When I say battle royal, I mean a blind folded pillow fight were no one actually hits anyone nor knows what to do, then everyone sort of settles down and sits back together on the bus once more. This is way more interesting than watching shrimp eat and graze.

Monster Fish

· #9 · Sep 27, 2012

Where did you put the rilis?

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 27, 2012

They now live with my pfr and prl. They weren't happy with the move largely because they recently gave birth in the tank. Catching them was rili tricky

mach_six

· #11 · Sep 27, 2012

Their claws are cute, I think I have some Amanos bigger than that!

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · #12 · Sep 27, 2012

I actually have CRS larger than these guys. lol

chibikaie

· #13 · Sep 27, 2012

Those are hilariously tiny.

I got to watch a shrimp slap fight over a bit of food on day two, but I think the tank's biofilm is now up to their expectations. Haven't seen any squabbling since; they just lounge around eating.

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · #14 · Sep 27, 2012

what do you feed yours? they havent seem to take to the hikari algae waffer today.

SpecGrrl

· #15 · Sep 28, 2012

Congrats!

It's like you have your very own WWE!

chibikaie

· #16 · Sep 28, 2012

My shrimp? They REALLY like Hikari Shrimp Cuisine, but I should probably do more reading on crustacean nutrition before I decide on a staple food. (I'm currently rotating through my stock of goldfish foods, as most of them are herbivore-friendly.) Did you know that aquacultured penaeid shrimp (the ones raised for food) can develop molting issues if they are deficient in - can't remember exactly, I think it's phosphatidylcholine. But it's found in soy lecithin.

I did try to make gel food using spirulina powder, agar agar, squashed green peas (note to self: use baby food next time, pea shells do not squash well), smushed romaine lettuce, vitamin C, calcium carbonate, and red palm fruit oil (it's a really good supplement for vertebrates, high in vitamin A and I think E). It seems to have been quite the resounding failure. I'm thinking of trying straight spirulina powder next.

acitydweller

Discussion Starter · #17 · Sep 28, 2012

SpecGrrl said:
Congrats!

It's like you have your very own WWE!

heh yea. They are not the prettiest little guys but they are very very interesting indeed. im trying to sort out their feeding first and foremost so maybe i'll have to goto petco or the Chinatown LFS during lunch time to pickup some sinking foods for them.

chibikaie said:
My shrimp? They REALLY like Hikari Shrimp Cuisine, but I should probably do more reading on crustacean nutrition before I decide on a staple food. (I'm currently rotating through my stock of goldfish foods, as most of them are herbivore-friendly.) Did you know that aquacultured penaeid shrimp (the ones raised for food) can develop molting issues if they are deficient in - can't remember exactly, I think it's phosphatidylcholine. But it's found in soy lecithin.

I did try to make gel food using spirulina powder, agar agar, squashed green peas (note to self: use baby food next time, pea shells do not squash well), smushed romaine lettuce, vitamin C, calcium carbonate, and red palm fruit oil (it's a really good supplement for vertebrates, high in vitamin A and I think E). It seems to have been quite the resounding failure. I'm thinking of trying straight spirulina powder next.

If you use green peas, purée them first. Im asking jake (somewhatshocked) to see if he's got any protein enriched sinking foods on the menu.

There's soy lecithin in some of the flake foods so i'll have to try feeding that tonight.

Last night they've been doing the spiderman thing and hang upside down off the floaters. i began to wonder were they went until i looked up. They still amaze me

chibikaie

· #18 · Sep 28, 2012

Er, well, the blender and I are not on speaking terms. Hence, baby food.

I seem to have read conflicting opinions on protein content, which is why I want to look into it more. Something about too much inducing molting too early. I should have paid better attention. Invertebrate physiology is kind of obscure.

Bluek24a4

· #19 · Sep 29, 2012

Too much protein is not to be confused with no protein. Shrimp do need protein, but shouldn't be given an overwhelming amount of it. I look for foods that are in the 30% range and under when you look at their analysis.

Its not that it induces it too early, its that they get too big in their current shell before they're ready to shed it.

Bananariot

· #20 · Sep 29, 2012

Watch out with these guys. Some are mean, I got a badazz pair that attacked shrimp. They got missing legs and stuff. Certainly nicer than CPO's to a point, but still will attack shrimp if they're mean enough.

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