Fishing Information


Breeding Crayfish


In the text below I shall try to give a short overview of some of the basics when breeding crayfish. Particular species may have other behaviours and demands. It should be said that my main experience as an aquarist is with relation to fish, but I shall try to convey what little knowledge I have.

Sexing Crayfish

Sexing crayfish isn't always easy. The genital openings are located in different places on the body depending on whether it's a male or a female. Males have their genital openings behind/under their posterior pair of legs. Females have their genital openings under the third pair of legs counted from the posterior. However, many individuals have a male as well as a female genital opening, making the sexing much more complicated. But these are always either male or female; usually male but you can't be sure.

Mating and egg carrying

In aquariums, spawning is possible any time of year. The male makes a little sperm packet and places it on the female's stomach. The female then spawns her eggs, passing them through the sperm packet so that the eggs get fertilized. It is not uncommon for the female to lose a claw during this process. She then places the eggs under her tail where they will be kept until they are ready to be released. How long this will be depends on the water temperature and the species, but it will be at least 4 weeks. A lot of other factors can also affect the length of the egg carrying period, such as water quality, and food supply and quality. The mother will watch over the young for a short time after birth.

Fry

The fry are very small when they are born but are fully developed miniature crayfish. Fry are usually detritus feeders, which means that they will feed on any decomposing plant parts and food leftovers they can find while scouring the bottom. Vegetable food is preferred and they can be fed boiled lettuce leaves that are left to decay in the aquarium. Be aware of the water quality. Fry are often very cannibalistic and a large aquarium is required if you want a higher number of fry to survive. Sorting fry for size may help the survival rate.

Breeding

Now you know about their breeding behaviour and how to raise the fry, but how can you get them to breed in the first place? Well, first of all you have to give them the right environment and good food to get them in a condition in which they can spawn. Some species also need different triggers to breed. These triggers may be a change in the amount of light and number of light hours, a change in temperature, change of circulation, etc.

Feeding

Crayfish usually accept most kinds of food, and I would recommend feeding them a diet based on boiled lettuce, sinking pellets, shrimps, and once or week or so, fish meat. This will get them in good condition and help the female survive the spawning period since she usually doesn't eat while she is carrying eggs.

Housing/environment

Many crayfish species can be kept in relatively small aquariums, but I recommend using larger aquariums since this lowers the pressure on the females by the males. The aquarium should be decorated so that a lot of hiding places of suitable size are provided. Hiding places can be created using rocks, roots, flowerpots, coconuts, PVC pipes, and so on. It's important that there is at least one, and preferably several hiding places for each crayfish.

By William Berg of Sweden, for http://www.aquaticcommunity.com

About The Author

Article by William Berg originally published at http://www.aquaticcommunity.com. Article may be reproduce as long as it is not edited and a live link to http://www.aquaticcommunity.com is placed in the article header. (java links and PHP links are not allowed) Included this resource box "as is with live links" on the bottom of the page.


MORE RESOURCES:

Private Membership Fishing Club Announces Central American Plans
MarketWatch - 1 hour ago
Operated similar to a private country club, Angler Clubs provides members, utilizing this unique destination club concept, with access to popular fishing ...


Agency says fishing still allowed at closed parks
Chicago Tribune, United States - 6 hours ago
AP That's the word from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources on whether anglers can still access lakes at several parks shut down recently to offset ...


Flick Fishing 1.2
Macworld, CA - Dec 3, 2008
Catch a Whopper: Virtual casting, baiting, and reeling in is all part of the fun of Flick Fishing. Flick Fishing aptly describes the gameplay. ...


Gasparilla Fishing Report: Search deeper as water cools
Gasparilla Gazette, Fl - 7 hours ago
Now the weather has stabilized a bit the fishing has been good, and the snook are still around. Fishing around points and edges with good tidal flow is a ...
In Florida, winter conditions ideal for shallow-water fishing with ... Tampabay.com
all 2 news articles


Flathead fishing access proposal debated
KPAX-TV, MT - 6 hours ago
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials are holding another public hearing on an environmental assessment for a fishing site after the last was ...


Fishing Report
The News Journal, DE - 14 hours ago
By BOB JONES • Special to The News Journal • December 4, 2008 Anglers looking for late-season action on big game species have found good fishing for a mix ...
Fishermen use artificial bait on stripers Bethany Beach Wave
all 2 news articles


Fishing: Action is good despite cold fronts
Naples Daily News, FL - 15 hours ago
By JOHN PREEG (Contact) NAPLES — It has been a cool fall with numerous fronts and too much wind, yet the fishing has held up fairly well. ...
Gals in bikinis and giant goliath grouper Marconews
all 2 news articles


Fishing Line
Sacramento Bee,  USA - 6 hours ago
Fly fishing folks getting their share of the action, too. JENKINSON LAKE (Sly Park)--Plenty of rainbow action here, mostly catchables from the recent plant. ...
Fishing the North Coast: This is Humboldt, where is the rain? Times-Standard
all 3 news articles


NOAA Charges Florida Dive Charter Businesses for Fishing Without
WJHG-TV, FL - 2 hours ago
NOAA and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission launched an investigation in summer 2007 after NOAA special agents in Niceville, Fla., ...


Fishing report: Dec. 4
The Tennessean, TN - 14 hours ago
Center Hill: Fishing is still fair. Bass are being caught on spinner and crank baits along with jigging spoons. Anglers are nabbing crappie on jigs and ...

Fishing - Google News

home | site map
© 2007