I bought my first pet crayfish in 2016. It was a bright-colored electric blue crayfish. Since then, I have also had a white crayfish and multiple freshwater fish.
Before you get started with a crayfish, or “yabbie,” below is some important information you’ll want to know.
This info will show you how to get started with a pet crayfish and how to care for it correctly.
Honestly, they are some of the easiest pets to have, in my opinion. However, there are still mistakes that can be made. This blog should help you as you get started with your crayfish.
What Do You Need for a Pet Crayfish at Home? Check it Out…
How Big of a Tank Do You Need for a Pet Crayfish?
Again, crayfish are pretty easy to care for, like my blue crayfish. They are true minimalists and are not too picky. Don’t you wish all of your friends were like that?
Yes, you can keep crayfish in smaller tanks, but personally, I’d suggest at least a 10-gallon to 20-gallon tank. The best 20-gallon fish tank kits will allow your crayfish and other fish to have enough room to live and not be too cramped.
If you plan on adding other fish to your tank, I’d recommend something like the Marineland 20-gallon tank. This is the tank I use myself.
I’ve had other tanks in the past, but what I like about this one is it comes complete with everything you need to get started, and the water pump seems to last longer than other tank kits I’ve used. And just as a note, if at any point you decide to upgrade your pump and filter, that’s very easy to do.
How Do You Set Up a Fish Tank for a Pet Crayfish?
Setting up the tank itself is pretty easy, but getting the water right for a crayfish can be tricky. Especially if you plan on adding other fish to your tank at some point.
In other words, you can’t just put tap water into the fish tank and throw all of your aquatic friends in there. You’ll need to do two things.
The first thing is to add water between 70 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit to the tank and treat it with a “water conditioner.” The heater that comes with your tank will help maintain the temperature in the tank, and the water conditioner also usually comes with any fish tank kit.
The second thing you’ll need to do is to “cycle” the water in your tank. If you don’t cycle your tank, you will probably kill any animals that you put in there pretty fast. Cycling your tank is a critical step in pet crayfish care.
Again, this part is pretty easy, simply add the suggested amount of water conditioner to the water that you put into your tank. Doing this will neutralize the chlorine in tap water. This is very important.
How Do You Cycle the Water of Your Tank?
Okay, this is the pain in the butt part of setting up your fish tank or can be anyway. However, it’s critical for the survival of anything you want to put in your tank.
Basically, fish and crayfish can put out a lot of waste in the form of pee and poop. This pee and poop create nitrites, which are toxic to anything in your tank.
The goal of the “nitrogen cycle” is to establish beneficial bacteria in your tank that neutralize the toxins.
In short, the conversion process looks like this, ammonia, which is toxic, should end up converting to nitrite, which is also toxic. Then, finally, the nitrites should convert to nitrates.
The trick then is to keep the levels of these nitrates between 5 to 10 ppm (some sites may recommend under 25, or even 50).
To do this, one method is to buy just a few hardy fish. Basically, you want one to two fish per gallon of water. Below are some fish that can work well with cycling your tank.
Fish to Use When Cycling Your Tank
- Danios
- Tetras
- Guppies
- Minnows
- White Clouds
- Cherry or Tiger Barbs
After you add your fish, next, you’ll want to feed the fish small amounts of food every two days. If you feed them too much, their waste will produce too many toxins. Also, if you feed them too much food, the leftover food will simply rot and produce even more toxins.
While you are cycling the tank, you’ll want to change 10 to 25% of the water every two days. You’ll also want to buy a water testing kit.
Once you get your nitrate levels down to between 5 and 10, you are where you need to be.
If you decide to add more fish, personally I suggest only adding one at a time.
What Do You Feed a Crayfish?
Crayfish are omnivores. These guys eat anything they can! They’d probably eat your face off if they could. Okay, that’s probably being a little dramatic. Anyway, you can feed them vegetables or algae wafers. I feed mine algae wafers because it’s just easy and convenient.
How Often Should I Change the Water and Filter in My Tank?
How often you change the water in your tank can depend on how many fish you have and how often you feed them. Having said that, I change 20% of the water in my tank and my water filter every two weeks. And just to put that into perspective, I have one red tail shark and one blue crayfish.
Can I Put Other Crayfish in the Same Tank?
Putting other crayfish in a tank with another crayfish can be very risky. These guys are pretty aggressive. They have no problem fighting each other or eating each other. Yes, eating your roommate is definitely not cool, but that’s just how crayfish are.
If you do decide to keep two crayfish, I’d recommend having at least a 20-gallon tank and nothing smaller. I’d also recommend getting your crayfish “hideouts.”
A hideout is basically a place for your crayfish to “hideout” and not be bothered. These are very necessary and come in handy when they shed their exoskeleton in the process known as molting. Molting is something all crayfish do as they grow.
Will My Crayfish be Okay With Other Fish?
Again, crayfish are aggressive little creatures. Not only will they eat your other pet crayfish in your tank, but they would love to also eat other fish that you put in your tank. However, there are certain fish that will work better living with crayfish than others. These are fish that swim near the top of the tank and/or are aggressive themselves.
Check out the shortlist below of some fish that might work well with your pet crayfish.
Fish That Can Live with Your Pet Crayfish
- Red Tail Sharks
- Tiger Barbs
- Danios
- Rosy Red Minnows
- Rainbow Darters
How Long Do Crayfish Live?
Generally speaking, pet crayfish will often only live two to three years. However, with the right care and proper diet, some crayfish can live as long as seven to eight years, which is a pretty long time.