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Crayfish, Crawdads, Yabbies, Ditch
Bugs
Disease Diagnosis
FAQs on Crayfish Disease:
Crayfish
Disease 1,
Crayfish Health 2,
Crayfish Health 3,
Crayfish Health 4,
Crayfish Health 5, Crayfish Health ,
FAQs on Crayfish Disease by Category:
Environmental,
Nutritional, Trauma,
Infectious,
Parasitic,
Social,
Treatments
Related
Articles:
Forget
Crawfish Pie, Let's Make a Crawfish Tank! By Gage
Harford, Invertebrates for Freshwater
Aquariums by Neale Monks,
Freshwater Shrimp, Crayfish,
"Lobsters", Prawns
Freshwater to Brackish
Crabs
Related FAQs:
Crayfish
1,
Crayfish 2,
Crayfish ID,
Crayfish Behavior,
Crayfish Compatibility,
Crayfish Selection,
Crayfish Systems,
Crayfish Feeding,
Crayfish Reproduction,
Freshwater Invertebrates/Use in
Aquariums, Freshwater Crustaceans for the Aquarium,
FW Crustaceans
2,
Fresh to Brackish
Water Crabs,
Hermit
Crabs,
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CHECK your water quality.... DO a water change.... Add
iodide-ate
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Blue lobster/crayfish (with a relevant Dune quote added!)
<Kai Walud!> 3/31/20
Hello,
My boyfriend and I just got a blue lobster from Petco a few weeks
ago and today we came home to find him in the corner of his tank on
his side.
<Not normal behaviour; do check water quality, temperature, etc.
Assuming this is the standard issue, cheap and cheerful Procambarus
alleni native to Florida. So aim for hard water (10-20 degrees dH);
an alkaline pH (around 7.5 is ideal, and certainly avoid acidic
conditions); and temperatures around 18-25 C/64-77 F. While
generally very hardy, like any invertebrate they are quickly killed
by exposure to certain toxins, especially copper.>
We thought he was dead because he wouldn’t move when you touched
him, so I gently tried to grab his tail and he was very much alive
and got his tail out of my fingers.
<Good. Less stressful is just to look at the face. You should see
various little bits whirring about, as well as the gills under the
tail.>
Although now he’s still laying on his side with very very little
motion.
<That's less good.>
He is the only bottom feeder, there are two female Bettas (they get
along great) and he seemed super happy until now.
<Not indefinitely they won't. Procambarus alleni is an omnivore, and
while it prefers to eat aquarium plants, it will consume carrion
when available, and if lucky enough to catch a sleeping fish, that's
fair game too. As with all crayfish, unsuitable for community tanks,
and best kept in their own system. For a start, copper is a common
ingredient in fish medicines, as are various organic dyes, and these
stress or kill crayfish without delay. And, as mentioned, fish don't
work well. Big fish will damage crayfish immediately after moulting
(when their shell is soft) while small fish are viewed as food.
Recall this quote from 'Dune'? Relevant to people mixing fish and
crayfish -- Paul: They tried and failed? Reverend Mother Mohiam:
They tried and died.>
I’m not sure if I should be worried or not, I’ve read on your site
that he may be molting (we haven’t had him long enough to see his
first molt).
<Moulting is very specific. Requires iodine to work (marine aquarium
iodine supplement fine, used at half dose; otherwise regular
offerings of seafoods such as unshelled prawns as well as
iodine-rich sushi Nori you might be fine). Crayfish retire to a
cave, but they don't lie down. The shell comes off over the head,
like pulling off a sweater, and the crayfish keep a low profile
until the shell is hardened. They will often eat the shell (which is
a good thing, so let them). Crayfish lying on their sides are
usually sick. Since we know little/nothing about Crayfish disease
and medicine, they either get better under their own steam or die.
The most you can do is optimise living conditions through water
changes, increasing aeration, and making sure the water quality and
chemistry are perfect.>
Although I would like you’re input, I can send you pictures or
videos if you like.
Thank you!
<Hope this helps. Neale.>
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What happened to yabby 3/15/20
Hi
<Cecilia>
I found my yabby not active and he was dead the next day . His colour
changed to green . What is the cause of his death ?
<Mmm; need more/information. What re this animal's system, food, water
quality? Please tell me/us about the system, filtration, maintenance... Have
you had this crustacean long? Bob Fenner>
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White growth on escaped crayfish 10/10/18
I moved my crayfish into a 10 gallon tank and she escaped.
I'm not sure how long she actually out of water; she was in the tank when I went
to bed and when I got up the next morning had to look for her. She was still
moving when I found her so I can't imagine that she was out of the tank through
the night. I rinsed off dust and fuzz from her under the tap and then put her
back in her new tank.
It's been a little over a week now and she has not wanted to come out of her
hide. I flash the light in and I could see a peek of some white growths
under her tail I have no idea what they are, I've been looking around on the
internet trying to find some answers and I found nothing helpful.
I'm really hoping you can help me, is it an injury from the fall that's been
infected?
How do I treat her? Thank you for any help you can offer....
Um. Trying to get a photo just now she... also has eggs.. ok.. Maybe they are
eggs that are rotting and gathering fungus?
Oh my.
<Going to ask you to go visit this collection of FAQs, here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/CrayDis5.htm
Epistylis is a common external 'growth' on crayfish. Doesn't really do any harm
so far as I know. Difficult to control directly without putting the crayfish at
risk. Will also remind you that besides calcium in some form such as unshelled
shrimp, iodine is also needed for successful moulting.
Hope this helps, Neale.>
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Australian Red claw Lobster help
9/24/18
Hi
I have an Australian Red Claw Lobster, about 4inchs. He shelled about 2
weeks ago and is normally really active and eats a lot of food. He is in
a 200 litre tank, with a few fish being harlequins and catfish. Today I
notice him not moving as much, hiding and leaning on his side. What
might be wrong with him?
Thanks
Katie
<Hi Katie. Crayfish have a couple important requirements: iodine and
calcium. Iodine needs to be supplied, whether in the form of iodine-rich
foods (marine algae, such as Sushi Nori is the classic choice) or iodine
supplements such as those used in marine tanks (dosed about 50% what's
on the bottle). Without iodine, they're very prone to molting problems.
Calcium is what they need for their shells. Things like unshelled shrimp
and frozen brine shrimp will provide plenty of calcium, so this is easy
enough to satisfy. Assuming the fish are fine, it's unlikely the
aquarium itself has any problem, but do remember crayfish prefer
(arguably need) water that is moderately hard and alkaline, and won't
handle soft, acidic conditions well. Cheers, Neale.>
Blue crawfish has a large, misty eye
9/7/18
Hi, I recently moved into college and started up a 10g tank for a
crawfish. Sal is an electric blue, around 2 inches, obtained from a
nearby pet store, and he’s been in the tank around two weeks.
<Ok>
About a week ago, his left eye started getting cloudy. If it was both
then I’d be pretty sure he was molting, but there’s been no change
anywhere else… And today I noticed the eye is getting more milky white
and may even be getting larger? Is there something I can do? I don’t
want anything bad to happen to him when he’s so new to the tank.
<Mmm; perhaps a physical injury... something infectious secondarily>
Water quality seems good. Hard, 100ish alkalinity (ppm) and pretty much
exactly neutral. I have just heard of the iodine for a tank
<Yes; Iodide-ate use I'd apply every weekly maintenance routine; after
partial water changes>
What should I do for his eye? He’s getting a bit more reclusive now and
I’m afraid he’s losing his vision in the eye.
<I'd double dose the Iodide for now; and try not to worry. Likely
whatever the issue is, it will be resolved w/ the next molt.>
If you have any more questions you can reply to this email or call XXXX.
Please leave a voicemail if I don’t answer.
-Ari
<Do read over our articles on Crayfish on WWM. Bob Fenner>
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Crayfish translucent growths
10/7/17
Good day!
<Bonjour!>
I impulse bought a 3" Tangerine crayfish and now I'm scrambling to buy the
materials to cycle a 10g long tank but for now I'm keeping her in a small 2.5
gallon tub with a sponge filter until then. She recently molted (But lost some
limbs because she had horrible shell rot from the shop) and now its been 13 days
i have noticed growths from the stumps of her lost appendages!
<Indeed. These are likely 'benign' Protozoans, bacteria or fungi that grow
wherever there's plenty of dead organic material. They're benign in the sense
that they're not aggressive pathogens that will make your crayfish sick, but
they're still undesirable. An antibacterial and antifungal medication known to
be shrimp-safe (such as eSHa 2000) could be used here, alongside optimising
environmental conditions. To a great degree this sort of 'fluff' grows on
crayfish in tanks that have less than perfect cleanliness. The more gunk for
them to feed on, the more the Protozoans and fungus will spread onto your
crayfish.>
i don't have a test kit yet so i cant tell the parameters but i do a lot of
partial water changes every other day and feed her veggies and sinking pellets.
<Good.>
She's acting so differently now and she's just scared of everything unlike
before (maybe its because she also lost her claws).. but i digress, the growths
look feathery and have spots in them, attached here is a photo i took of her in
an ice cream container while i was cleaning the sand in her tub (there was
rotting broccoli pieces hidden so it was stinking to high heaven)
<The photo isn't sharp enough to see exactly what the problem here, but for now,
I'd assume the benign fluff described above rather than an aggressive crayfish
parasite. Still, if you can get tack-sharp photos, sites like
PetShrimp.com have active forums with numerous experienced crustacean-keepers.>
Thank you for helping, I've added some antifungal meds (no copper) but i just
want to help her get better soon.
<Understood. Good luck, Neale.>
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Re: Crayfish translucent growths
10/8/2017
Thank you for the reply!!
<Welcome.>
Just adding again but here's another pic of Megatron i took the same day, is
this photo better?
<Not really. It's not so much the size of the photo as the fact the bit of
interest, the fluff around the legs, is basically a blurry mess with black
speckles.>
its got dark spots and it worries me to no end.
<They look like baby crayfish, what with the black spots and all! Cheers,
Neale.>
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Crayfish, bad molt, and mycobacterium
12/14/16
Hello WWC,
<Close enough>
This is very long because I want to give as much information as possible. I
am a college student working on my B.S. in zoology,
<Oh! My undergrad. degree as well>
so this is exactly the kind of thing that interests me and therefore I have
collected a lot of information about the circumstances.
<Okay>
I have a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium with the following water
conditions... the first test is from 5 days ago, and the second is after I
did a water change:
First:
Nitrate <20 ppm
Nitrite 0
GH 200
KH 180
PH 7.8
Temp 64 F
Now the numbers are:
Nitrate <20 ppm
Nitrite 0
GH 150
KH 120
PH 7.6
Temp 64 F
<A bit "older"... still; acceptable values>
In the tank resides one female crayfish of unknown species and two "mosquito
fish" (Gambusia affinis). I have had the crayfish since November 2, 2015
when I accidentally caught her from a pond at my school (I was netting some
mosquito fish from the pond to put in an aquarium because I'm just weird
like that). She was only approximately an inch long at the time, and almost
translucent, with tiny little baby pincers. While reading up on crayfish, I
found a recipe for a gel-type food that I could adjust to meet her needs. It
uses gelatin as a binder, and is frozen after it sets, so I can break off
cubes to thaw as needed. I made it with dried Spirulina, dried organic kelp,
fresh spinach, fresh zucchini, cooked whole shrimp, and some salmon. It is
mostly greens, though, as that seemed most appropriate.
Her diet consists of the gel food, shrimp pellets, algae pellets, fresh
greens/cucumber/etc., duckweed, and sometimes frozen brine shrimp. I try to
keep it varied.
<Good... I'd add a modicum of iodide-ate to the water weekly as well. Have
you read on WWM Re Cray nutrition?>
Now she is approximately 4.5" long, and has molted 10 times since I brought
her home. The problem started with the last molt, which was July 15, and
continued with one that happened 5 days ago. Before I get to that, however,
I want to express my reason for emailing you when you have so many posts
already regarding bad molts.
<Ah yes>
I had some mosquito fish fry in my 5.5 gallon aquarium, and on June 5th I
noticed one fry had a bent spine. I thought maybe he had been injured or
something, and never considered that it could be something contagious. Then
there were some other anomalies with the fish in that tank and with the tank
conditions, the specifics of which probably don't matter in this context.
But at some point I realized there were more than one fry with a bent spine,
and finally researched it as a symptom of a larger illness, rather than an
injury. I began to come to the horrible hypothesis that my tank somehow had
been infected with mycobacterium. It explained many of the abnormalities I
had encountered.
<Mmm; well.... This genus of bacteria are about in most all aquatic
systems...>
**Since this took some time to figure out, it is very likely that I used
some tool (a net or whatever) on both the 10 gallon and the 5.5 gallon tanks
after the 5.5 gallon was infected.**
I tried treating the 5.5 gallon with Tetra Lifeguard (it's the only
medication I had on hand so I gave it a try), which was ineffective against
most of the symptoms I was seeing. The number of fish with spinal
deformities was going up, and there were several deaths within a few days of
each other, so I began to consider euthanizing them.
<I would; yes>
Before I did, however, on July 15 the crayfish molted and was left with at
least three exposed gills on one side. They were completely outside the
carapace. I went to my LFS (they have a local reputation as "experts"),
freaking out a bit, and the guy was worse than useless. He said he couldn't
help me, there was nothing that could be done for either the crayfish or the
Gambusia. His actual advice regarding the crayfish was, "just keep checking
the water conditions and see if she makes it."
<?!>
I euthanized about 15 fish that day, mostly fry, and treated the healthiest
ones with Kanamycin. I completely broke down my 5.5 gallon tank and tossed
all the live plants, but didn't know what to do about the crayfish in the 10
gallon. I decided to just go on the assumption that crayfish couldn't
contract mycobacterium (if that's even what my fish had, but I didn't test
them, so I'm not 100% sure), and that the bad molt was due to lack of
iodide, which she only really gets from her diet.
<Again; I'd supplement; weekly, add to the water>
The last few months she was pretty much refusing to eat the gel food any
more and would just make a mess with it and then leave it sitting on the
bottom of the tank. She stopped eating the stuff she usually enjoyed, like
fresh kale, and would almost exclusively eat the shrimp pellets or the flake
fish food that I put in for the mosquito fish. I kept meaning to buy
aquarium iodide to supplement this, but life happened and I never got to it.
I didn't realize how long she went without eating greens until I saw the
effects.
When she had the bad molt,
<You are leaving these molts in the system I hope/trust, for this animal to
consume>
I tried to be more vigilant about water conditions (though when I tested it
at the time, the parameters were actually the same as the first test listed
above, they weren't horrible, but I hadn't been cleaning the tank as often
as I should have been and I wasn't sure if that contributed or not), and
tried to get her to eat more green things. Once again, though, several
things happened in my life that made it get pushed aside, and she must not
have been getting enough iodide still...
She molted 5 days ago and she almost died this time. I found her lying on
her side next to her molted exoskeleton, and she had a number of gills
outside the carapace again but more this time, and on both sides. One of her
antennae didn't look right, and she was not moving. Her little antennules
were twitching, though, so I covered the tank with a dark towel
and kept her in the dark and quiet for about 24 hours before checking on her
again. At that point she was still on her side, but another 12 hours later
she was upright again and eating her exoskeleton. Now I have been able to
see her better and not only are a bunch of gills outside her shell and an
antenna bent (and the part after the "bend" is turning white), but one of
her claws looks really bad, too. She was holding it funny and after a couple
days the "elbow" (for lack of a better word) turned very bright red. The
redness has spread along that claw and it also looks a little fuzzy, like
food that's been left in the tank too long. She isn't very active, she is
barely eating her exoskeleton at all, but she does walk
around a little and she is definitely alive and alert. She looks awful
though.
<I'd also add a level teaspoon of baking soda/sodium bicarbonate and a
"hardness" stone like those sold for turtles in the trade>
I have ordered marine iodide and I am keeping the tank somewhat dark, so she
feels safe and hidden, to minimize stress. I bought gallons of bottled water
and I **VERY** carefully gravel vacuumed the dirtiest part of the tank (I
didn't clean the whole thing because, again, stress. I didn't go too close
to the crayfish herself, I let her feel hidden.) and replaced the water
(about 50% of the tank) with Crystal Geyser, instead of using treated tap
water. I don't know why, it just seemed safer. Maybe that's just paranoia.
<Dechloraminated tap/mains water should be fine. Bottled isn't better for
crayfish>
My concern about getting her through this is, can this be caused by
mycobacterium?
<Not "caused" per se... or per accidens: that is, not the immediate, direct
cause... But bacteria may be playing a secondary role here>
It affects the skeletons of vertebrates, could it affect the exoskeleton of
an invertebrate?? Should I take the exoskeleton out at this point? Is it
just making water conditions worse as it breaks down?
<I would leave it in... and do what I've mentioned above. Triple dose the I2
now>
I adore this crayfish. She is a remarkable little creature. Can I do
anything for her? Is there some medication that would help her recover?
There are things I know I did wrong and will be making an effort to change,
but I don't know enough about invertebrate biology to know exactly what went
wrong, especially when there are a number of possible causes. I'm attaching
a couple pictures of her current condition so you can see what exactly I'm
talking about.
Thank you in advance and let me know if there is more information you need.
-Margie
<Welcome. Bob Fenner; who will place this msg. in Neale Monk's in-box for
his separate resp.>
Crayfish, molt, Myco- pics 12/14/16
Hello again,
<Marge>
Sorry I forgot to attach the pictures when I emailed you earlier today. I
was up late studying for finals so I'm a bit tired lol.
<No worries>
Forgive the reflections off the glass of the tank. Also, I cropped the
pictures to reduce their size, so some may be odd proportions. If there are
any included here that look weird, they are included because they show
something specific, like the gills outside the carapace (which are hard to
see because they blend into the rocks) or the antenna that is sad looking.
The redness of the claw is obvious, but also if you look closely you'll see
the fuzziness... like it's rotting. All these are from the most recent molt
that she had about 5 days ago. The first 2 pictures were taken 2 days after
molting, the next one where she is on her side was taken yesterday, and you
can see how the redness has spread down the claw. In that one she is next to
her shed exoskeleton, so excuse any random extraneous body parts.
Thank you again for all your time.
-Margie
<Can't (of course) discern root cause/s here; but do concur the molt is
odd/misshapen... Perhaps something missing (deficiency)... I'd add liquid
vitamins/HUFA mix to the water weekly as well as to the food mix (like
SeaChem's "Vitality" product). BobF>
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Crayfish, bad molt, and mycobacterium
Neale's go 12/15/16
Hello WWC,
<Margie,>
This is very long because I want to give as much information as possible. I am a
college student working on my B.S. in zoology, so this is exactly the kind of
thing that interests me and therefore I have collected a lot of information
about the circumstances.
<Understood.>
I have a 10 gallon freshwater aquarium with the following water conditions...
the first test is from 5 days ago, and the second is after I did a water change:
First:
Nitrate <20 ppm
Nitrite 0
GH 200
KH 180
PH 7.8
Temp 64 F
<All sounds fine.>
Now the numbers are:
Nitrate <20 ppm
Nitrite 0
GH 150
KH 120
PH 7.6
Temp 64 F
<No major problems here.>
In the tank resides one female crayfish of unknown species and two "mosquito
fish" (Gambusia affinis). I have had the crayfish since November 2, 2015 when I
accidentally caught her from a pond at my school (I was netting some mosquito
fish from the pond to put in an aquarium because I'm just weird like that). She
was only approximately an inch long at the time, and almost translucent, with
tiny little baby pincers. While reading up on crayfish, I found a recipe for a
gel-type food that I could adjust to meet her needs. It uses gelatin as a
binder, and is frozen after it sets, so I
can break off cubes to thaw as needed. I made it with dried Spirulina, dried
organic kelp, fresh spinach, fresh zucchini, cooked whole shrimp, and some
salmon. It is mostly greens, though, as that seemed most appropriate.
Her diet consists of the gel food, shrimp pellets, algae pellets, fresh
greens/cucumber/etc., duckweed, and sometimes frozen brine shrimp. I try to keep
it varied.
<Good. This all sounds appropriate. Gambusia are a bit hit and miss in fish
tanks, but shouldn't cause any problems with crayfish.>
Now she is approximately 4.5" long, and has molted 10 times since I brought her
home. The problem started with the last molt, which was July 15, and continued
with one that happened 5 days ago. Before I get to that, however, I want to
express my reason for emailing you when you have so many posts already regarding
bad molts.
<Indeed! It's impossible to know the real problems, but iodine may be a
significant factor. On top of that, other dietary deficiencies are possible, but
as you suggest, maximising variety, and biasing towards plant foods, probably
helps here. Then there's exposure to heavy metals. While clearly copper for
example is toxic to crustaceans above certain levels, the problems caused by
lower, non-lethal levels aren't often considered by aquarists, but may be
important. There may be other factors too, such as day length or season
temperature variations we just don't consider, and again, these may be important
with regard to properly synchronising all the different physiological mechanisms
involved.>
I had some mosquito fish fry in my 5.5 gallon aquarium, and on June 5th I
noticed one fry had a bent spine. I thought maybe he had been injured or
something, and never considered that it could be something contagious.
<The odd deformed fry is relatively common among fish. They tend to produce
large numbers of offspring, but with little of the "error correction" typical
among mammals, where deformed embryos will be eliminated long before birth. I
guess it's down to the relative shortness of the pregnancy phase, and the far
weaker interaction between the eggs and the mother's blood supply. There are
exceptions, the Goodeids for example having the equivalent of a placenta, but
your Mosquitofish do little more than carry the eggs and provide oxygen; the fry
get most of their energy from a yolk
sac, and relatively little from the maternal blood supply.>
Then there were some other anomalies with the fish in that tank and with the
tank conditions, the specifics of which probably don't matter in this context.
But at some point I realized there were more than one fry with a bent spine, and
finally researched it as a symptom of a larger illness, rather than an injury. I
began to come to the horrible hypothesis that my tank somehow had been infected
with mycobacterium. It explained many of the abnormalities I had encountered.
<Possibly. But Mycobacteriosis is very difficult to diagnose by visual
inspection. It's probably impossible to do so, really. It may also be the case
that Mycobacteriosis may well be latent in most tanks, but only becomes a
problem under specific conditions where fish are stressed or poisoned. In any
event, it's hard to say that's the story here, because things like bent spines
and failed moults can easily be explained by environmental stress, genetics,
dietary shortcomings, etc.>
**Since this took some time to figure out, it is very likely that I used some
tool (a net or whatever) on both the 10 gallon and the 5.5 gallon tanks after
the 5.5 gallon was infected.**
<Easily sterilised using dilute bleach followed by thorough rinsing.>
I tried treating the 5.5 gallon with Tetra Lifeguard (it's the only medication I
had on hand so I gave it a try), which was ineffective against most of the
symptoms I was seeing. The number of fish with spinal deformities was going up,
and there were several deaths within a few days of each other, so I began to
consider euthanizing them.
<Yikes.>
Before I did, however, on July 15 the crayfish molted and was left with at least
three exposed gills on one side. They were completely outside the carapace. I
went to my LFS (they have a local reputation as "experts"), freaking out a bit,
and the guy was worse than useless. He said he couldn't help me, there was
nothing that could be done for either the crayfish or the Gambusia. His actual
advice regarding the crayfish was, "just keep checking the water conditions and
see if she makes it."
<Would agree somewhat; once crustaceans are sick, it's actually very difficult
to heal them. On the upside, if fed and protected, subsequent moults can put
right any damage.>
I euthanized about 15 fish that day, mostly fry, and treated the healthiest ones
with Kanamycin. I completely broke down my 5.5 gallon tank and tossed all the
live plants, but didn't know what to do about the crayfish in the 10 gallon. I
decided to just go on the assumption that crayfish couldn't contract
mycobacterium (if that's even what my fish had, but I didn't test them, so I'm
not 100% sure), and that the bad molt was due to lack of iodide, which she only
really gets from her diet.
<I would agree with your analysis here, in the sense Mycobacteria species are
unlikely to jump from a fish to a crustacean. That said, I don't know that for
sure.>
The last few months she was pretty much refusing to eat the gel food any more
and would just make a mess with it and then leave it sitting on the bottom of
the tank. She stopped eating the stuff she usually enjoyed, like fresh kale, and
would almost exclusively eat the shrimp pellets or the flake fish food that I
put in for the mosquito fish. I kept meaning to buy aquarium iodide to
supplement this, but life happened and I never got to it. I didn't realize how
long she went without eating greens until I saw the effects.
<Understood. Their scavenging behaviour does mislead some folks into seeing them
as more carnivorous than they really are. Crayfish are more deposit feeders, and
tend to consume a lot of algae and decaying plant material alongside carrion and
other scraps of food.>
When she had the bad molt, I tried to be more vigilant about water conditions
(though when I tested it at the time, the parameters were actually the same as
the first test listed above, they weren't horrible, but I hadn't been cleaning
the tank as often as I should have been and I wasn't sure if that contributed or
not), and tried to get her to eat more
green things. Once again, though, several things happened in my life that made
it get pushed aside, and she must not have been getting enough iodide still...
<I see this from your photo.>
She molted 5 days ago and she almost died this time. I found her lying on her
side next to her molted exoskeleton, and she had a number of gills outside the
carapace again but more this time, and on both sides. One of her antennae didn't
look right, and she was not moving. Her little antennules were twitching,
though, so I covered the tank with a dark towel and kept her in the dark and
quiet for about 24 hours before checking on her again. At that point she was
still on her side, but another 12 hours later she was upright again and eating
her exoskeleton. Now I have been able to see her better and not only are a bunch
of gills outside her shell and an antenna bent (and the part after the "bend" is
turning white), but one of her claws looks really bad, too. She was holding it
funny and after a couple days the "elbow" (for lack of a better word) turned
very bright red. The redness has spread along that claw and it also looks a
little fuzzy, like food that's been left in the tank too long. She isn't very
active, she is barely eating her exoskeleton at all, but she does walk around a
little and she is definitely alive and alert. She looks awful though.
<Agreed.>
I have ordered marine iodide and I am keeping the tank somewhat dark, so she
feels safe and hidden, to minimize stress. I bought gallons of bottled water and
I **VERY** carefully gravel vacuumed the dirtiest part of the tank (I didn't
clean the whole thing because, again, stress. I didn't go too close to the
crayfish herself, I let her feel hidden.) and replaced the water (about 50% of
the tank) with Crystal Geyser, instead of using treated tap water. I don't know
why, it just seemed safer. Maybe that's just paranoia.
<I would be careful dramatically changing water chemistry. Good water quality is
important though, and ideally water that's somewhat hard, to reduce osmotic
stress if nothing else, but also to prevent further damage to her skeleton.>
My concern about getting her through this is, can this be caused by
mycobacterium?
<No idea, in all honesty.>
It affects the skeletons of vertebrates, could it affect the exoskeleton of an
invertebrate?
<Completely different mechanisms of secretion and maintenance, so hard to
imagine Mycobacteria could affect them/these similarly.>
Should I take the exoskeleton out at this point? Is it just making water
conditions worse as it breaks down?
<Crayfish should have access to previous moults; what we do know about
crustaceans generally is that consumption of their moult is often significant,
and budgeted into their energy equation, allowing them to recycle nutrients.
Without access to the moult, they might 'overspend' on calcium or whatever, and
that deficit could be lethal.>
I adore this crayfish. She is a remarkable little creature. Can I do anything
for her?
<Optimise water quality; offer tiny bits of food periodically; provide a
suitable source of calcium such as a bit of cuttlebone to harden the water and
possibly be eaten; optimise diet, to include seaweed-based iodine sources.>
Is there some medication that would help her recover?
<The science just isn't there yet. We know almost nothing about medicating
inverts. Far more effort is put into exterminating them, insects especially. We
probably wouldn't know much about fish medicines either, were it not for
hobbyists keeping them as pets. Only very recently has fish farming been an
actual thing big enough to warrant research.>
There are things I know I did wrong and will be making an effort to change, but
I don't know enough about invertebrate biology to know exactly what went wrong,
especially when there are a number of possible causes. I'm
attaching a couple pictures of her current condition so you can see what exactly
I'm talking about.
<Thank you.>
Thank you in advance and let me know if there is more information you need.
-Margie
<Most welcome, Neale.>
Re: Crayfish, bad molt, and mycobacterium
6/20/16
Hello again!
<Margie,>
Thank you so much for all the information. As Neale observed, there is a lot
more information available out there about exterminating inverts than saving
them, so you guys are a rare and valuable resource.
<Thanks for the kind words.>
Since both responses I got asked about this, yes, I do always leave the
exoskeleton in the tank every time she molts so she can "recycle" it. (Got a
great picture of her eating her own claw once. It was AWESOME. And it creeped my
mom out, too, which was a bonus.)
<Heh!>
The crayfish lost her damaged claw the other day. Not just the part that's
exoskeleton, either-- there was a good sized chunk of flesh that came off too.
She has a little stump that is still bright red and white, and looks quite bad.
She hides 24/7 (making it difficult for me to get a good look at her) and barely
moves at all. She doesn't explore, or rearrange her tank, or scavenge for food
at all. She hasn't been eating her exoskeleton, or anything else that I know of.
I kind of gently nudge her tail sometimes just to see if she is still alive (she
is). I'm very concerned.
<Understood. Autotomy, the casting off of damaged/trapped limbs, is within the
normal range of things crayfish do. So in theory, if the break is clean, she
can/will survive without much trouble. But if the damage extends beyond the
natural 'breaks' in their exoskeleton, they can quickly become infected. If she
survives a week, that's probably a good sign though.>
I removed from the tank the part of her dead claw that was fleshy, after a
couple days, since it was beginning to decompose.
<Absolutely! Leaving empty shells to be eaten is good. Leaving decaying hunks of
flesh, that's bad!>
I guess my big question is just... in your opinion(s), do you think she will
make it? Obviously you can't predict the future (or can you?? o_0) but in your
experience is something like this survivable?
<Yes, if the break is clean. Less likely otherwise.>
Also, how much iodine should I be supplementing? Since I usually see the
recommended dose is half whatever the bottle says, but then Bob said triple
dose, so does that mean triple the half dose (so 1.5x the dose on the bottle
label), or triple what the bottle says?...
<Oh, I'd tend to go half the dosage stated for marines. Freshwater organisms
seem hard-wired to get by with less iodine.>
Thank you again.
-Margie
<Most welcome. Neale.>
|
Crayfish plague? 10/28/16
So it's been almost a week of diligently dosing iodine into my p.clarkii ghost's
water and I am pretty convinced that it isn't a problem with his moulting
because he is still in the same state as before, maybe even less energetic.
<"Post hoc, ergo propter hoc" is something to beware of here! Just because once
thing follows another, doesn't mean they're causally linked. In this case, the
failure of the iodine to dramatically improve things doesn't mean the iodine
isn't helpful or wasn't the issue -- it might simply be too late, or
alternatively, things might have got worse without the iodine. So keep an open
mind. Iodine is absolutely essential for crayfish, that much is accepted by all
the hobbyists keeping them nowadays, especially those keeping expensive and rare
varieties.>
I suspect he is having crayfish plague and here's why:
1) His legs twitch uncontrollably as if he has no control over them (did some
research and that's a sign of crayfish plague). He cannot even move around to
eat anymore so I try to feed him by picking him up, turning him upside down and
placing pellets (which I softened by soaking them in water for a few mimutes) on
his beak. He initially accepted a bit of the food but now it seems that he has
lost his ability to squeeze and chew up the food with his beak.
<This just sound likes a stressed/dying crayfish. Not a symptom of anything
else. The clinical tests for Crayfish Plague require examination of the blood
and muscle tissues. Obviously if you're an ecologist who comes across a bunch of
dead or drying crayfish in a river with otherwise excellent environmental
conditions, Crayfish Plague is something to consider. But a single sick
crayfish in an aquarium? Nope, Crayfish Plague is kind of like "Swim Bladder
Disease" in fish -- i.e., meaningless, and just another way of saying "sick and
dying".>
2) On the underside of the tail where his pleopods are, his flesh seems to have
become transparent almost to the point where his alimentary canal is fully
visible (I think this is another sign of crayfish plague correct me if I'm wrong
<Again, indicative of a sick/dying crayfish. Their tissues do indeed change
colour (think about a cooked shrimp versus a live one) but in the case of
Crayfish Plague, one common symptom is darkening of the muscles where the legs (pleopods)
attach to the body. There are some photos you can find via Google, but I stress,
a sick Crayfish will look more or less like this, whatever it's dying from.>
All I can do now probably is to watch him die in his tank, I've probably already
done everything I could to save him.
<I agree, but there are a few things left. Substantial, daily water changes.
Increase aeration. Check hardness and pH. Don't force feed, but do try and feed
every couple of days, even if only a small bit of white fish fillet held in
front of the mouthparts. Crayfish are hardy, and have come back from seeming
death.>
Even if there's treatment, I probably wouldn't have enough money to buy it for
him. This will probably be the last crayfish I keep, unless I can get over this
one's imminent death.
<I do suspect you've been unlucky, and will direct you to the excellent
PetShrimp.com forum, which has a crayfish section where I think you'll get
quick, specific help if you can post photos as well as descriptions:
https://www.petshrimp.com/discussions/viewforum.php?f=3
While I don't agree with this guys on everything (the site owner isn't a big fan
of iodine, for example) they're very thorough and helpful people.>
Thanks for all the help that you guys have previously given me though :)
<Most welcome. Neale.>
|
Blue lobster!! HELP! 8/23/15
So this is Bernie, I love him more than life itself. What's wrong with him?!
This thing on his eye started out a few days ago and looked like a spider web
and now it's progressed. I'm worried....
Please any info on this eye condition would be wonderful! I think he is
completely blind by it now, I just want to know if it's hurting him.
(There's plenty of room in the heart for a special needs blue lobster).
<Let's simplify things by first asking you one question:
What source of iodine are you providing your crayfish?
If the answer is "none" then that's likely your problem. Crustaceans,
particularly the bigger ones like crabs and crayfish, need a supply of iodine to
moult properly. Without it they suffer from all sorts of
developmental problems, and sometimes simply die. Since crustaceans can "self
repair" with each new moult, providing iodine can fix some developmental
abnormalities, though typically over a series of moults rather than just one. It
is possible your crayfish is suffering from an infected wound, bad genes, or
exposure to a toxin such as heavy metals (copper, most commonly; a good marine
aquarium store can check your tap water copper concentration for you). But even
with these, providing iodine would ensure your crayfish has the best chance of
fixing itself. You can buy iodine supplements from marine aquarium shops, and
dosing at half the amount stated on the package is normally ample for freshwater
tanks. In marine tanks it's SOP to add iodine as often as daily, but once or
twice a week should be more than adequate for freshwater crayfish. In addition,
providing iodine-rich foods such as seaweed (Sushi Nori for example) and certain
crayfish/crustacean specific foods enriched with iodine. These will give your
chap a quick boost of iodine that may stimulate moulting and repair. Neither the
iodine supplement nor the Sushi Nori are expensive, so you shouldn't find any of
this too onerous. With luck, you'll see your crayfish patch himself back
together across the next few moults. That's the theory, anyway! Cheers, Neale.>
|
.JPG)
.JPG) |
Please help with my yabbie 5/29/15
Hi
<Howdy>
I have a blue yabbie 'pepper' that I've had for about 7 months now and he's very
much loved. He's been looked after and has been doing very well. 21l tank plus
filter plus an air rock with water changes every 2-3 weeks as it's
needed.
<Umm; what re water quality, feeding... Iodide/ate use?>
I just came home today to find him lying on his back with his tail curled up
dead. I've had him since he was little and I have no idea why this has happened
when he's been so well? There are no markings on him anywhere.
What's happened and what can I do to prevent it.
<Highly likely a simple nutritional deficiency at work here; or a water
quality/environmental one...>
Please I would really appreciate your help
<Have you read here?
http://wetwebmedia.com/CrayDisDiagF.htm
and the linked files above? Bob Fenner>
|
ghost lobster questions; sans data 3/19/15
i have a ghost lobster that is around 4 inches in length. His head is
turning brown. Seems healthy, eating great, active and night as usual.
So see no change in behavior. Just want to make sure there is nothing to worry
about. Was wondering if they may change color some when getting ready to molt.
<Mmm; might be "nothing"; but the color change could be evidence of
something off with water quality (which you give no indication of) or nutrition
(ditto). READ on WWM re Crayfish Systems and Feeding. Do you need help
using the search tool, indices? Bob Fenner> |
 |
do Louisiana crawfish hibernate in captivity
11/17/14
My daughter rescued a crawfish from a crawfish boil last May - about 6
months ago. We keep Isabelle (the crawfish) in a 10 gallon tank, filter,
gravel, half full and a hiding place.
<Neat! I "did this" also... with likely the same species, Procambarus
clarkii; as a college student studying this animal's substrate
preference behavior>
We feed her mostly the pellets and occasionally some veggies. She seemed
to be doing okay. Had some eggs, but lost them.
<Not fertile if solitary>
She molted a month ago and seemed fine. Last week she was on her side.
We flipped her over. Today she's seems virtually dead. Hardly moving.
<Mmm; very common... usually an issue of nutritional deficiency,
particularly a bit of iodine/ide... or usable iron... Search, read on
WWM re... or write back if you can't/don't figure out how to use our
indices or
search tool>
At one point I thought she was dead, but in a shallow bowl of water (to
observe her) the water kept circulating so she is clearly still
breathing.
It is November - is she beginning some sort of hibernation?
<Mmm; not likely if indoors... i.e. kept where warm>
Could this be nutritional?
<Yes; almost assuredly>
We didn't know to keep the exoskeleton in the tank, so she lost out on
that. I'm wondering if I need to be in emergency-doctor mode or hospice
nurse mode. Help!
<Can be rescued likely by application (to the water) of the above...
there are commercial prep.s for aquarium use... or one can assemble DIY>
Thanks for your site, it's really the only place to find good info about
keeping crawfish as pets (though I wish I hadn't overlooked the part
about leaving the exoskeleton in the tank!)
Thank you,
Pamela Berg,
Northbrook, IL
<Please do write back if any of this is incomplete. Bob Fenner>
do Louisiana crawfish hibernate in captivity
11/17/14
My daughter rescued a crawfish from a crawfish boil last May - about 6
months ago. We keep Isabelle (the crawfish) in a 10 gallon tank, filter,
gravel, half full and a hiding place. We feed her mostly the pellets and
occasionally some veggies. She seemed to be doing okay. Had some eggs,
but lost them. She molted a month ago and seemed fine. Last week she was
on her side. We flipped her over. Today she's seems virtually dead.
Hardly moving. At one point I thought she was dead, but in a shallow
bowl of water (to observe her) the water kept circulating so she is
clearly still breathing. It is November - is she beginning some sort of
hibernation?
<Nope. Just to be clear: only warm blooded animals, specifically mammals
rather than birds can hibernate. For sure some cold blooded animals
become torpid but they don't actively lower their temperature or
metabolic rate -- they are simply forced into a situation where ambient
coldness makes their metabolic rate slow down. So, if you're talking
about crayfish, they'll be as active as ambient water temperature
allows, and indoors, that's pretty
much optimal all year around so far as North American crayfish species
go.
Put another way, unless the tank is frigid-cold then it's very unlikely
a cold blooded crayfish would be deliberately slowing down in the same
way as a hibernating dormouse.>
Could this be nutritional?
<Immeasurably more likely.>
We didn't know to keep the exoskeleton in the tank, so she lost out on
that. I'm wondering if I need to be in emergency-doctor mode or hospice
nurse mode. Help!
<Optimise water quality and chemistry as per normal, but also use iodine
drops (sold for marine tanks, used at about 50% the quoted dose). Iodine
is the "wonder drug" for many crustaceans because it's lacking in their
diet
when given generic aquarium foods. Providing iodine prevents all sorts
of problems, and in some cases, can undo damage. Crustaceans, like
molluscs, tend to exist in a binary state under aquarium conditions --
they're either
thriving or dying, with not much in between. Do start reading perhaps
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
Links to various articles and FAQs at top.>
Thanks for your site, it's really the only place to find good info about
keeping crawfish as pets (though I wish I hadn't overlooked the part
about leaving the exoskeleton in the tank!)
Thank you,
Pamela
<Glad to help. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: do Louisiana crawfish hibernate in captivity
11/17/14
Thank you so much. I'm off to the aquarium shop to get marine iodide
(iodine?) and better food (and a new filter). Didn't realize how much
all we loved this little girl until we thought we lost her.
<Ahh; a good life lesson. BobF>
Re: do Louisiana crawfish hibernate in captivity
11/18/14
Hi Bob,
We changed her water and added the .25tsp of marine iodine (it said 2
tsp per 50 gallon and our tank is 10 gallon). The person at the local
aquarium shop said the calcium in our hard water is probably good for
her too
<Yes it is>
-- and she did almost instantly perk up.
<Ah yes; the I2... miraculous in appearance eh?>
Last night she was crawling all over, trying to escape -- very
uncharacteristic of her, though I've read on your site how they can be
real escape artists, so we were very hopeful, almost giddy with
excitement. We thought it was a real miracle -- my husband called her
Lazarus.
<Ooh, a fave character in the R. A. Heinlein books he shows up in>
This morning she was on her back and motionless, though after I flipped
her I can see she's not dead. She is not eating -- even last night as
her little alien gill-like belly button of a mouth was going bonkers,
she would
not eat any of the food we put in the tank -- bottom crawler pebbles,
lettuce, algae tabs, a frozen pea. I thought about putting a few small
fish in there to stimulate her and maybe she'll eat them. Or get some
fresh plants?
<These would help... and just a drop more iodide-ate every other day>
Thanks for your help-- and any more advice you might have.
Pamela Berg
<Reading (on WWM, elsewhere re Crayfish) and patience. Bob Fenner>
Re: do Louisiana crawfish hibernate in captivity
11/18/14
Bob,
Thanks for all your advice. I made a small donation to your wonderful
website/organization.
Pam
<Ah; thank you. B>
Some Help- Crayfish; the usual lack of data
12/7/13
Hi,
My name is Christa and I have a crayfish that is slate colored and
lives in a 20 gallon with water ranging between 78-82 degrees.
<... what species is this? This temp. is too high for non-tropical>
I have notice his right eye turning color after his molt about a month ago
and now his eye has some huge white ball formation over it. I do not
know what it is or if he will die from it.
I would like some help on this,
Thanks
<Hopefully not die; but need information... re the set up, water
quality, and nutrition. Most Cray species kept by hobbyists need
hard, alkaline water, and regular iodide-ate additions to the water...
Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/CrayDis4.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Re: Some Help- further blather sans reading 12/8/13
I really have no idea what species he is. He's about 4 inches long. He's
been living in my tank with that temp for half a year already with no
problems. But if it's best to put him in colder water, then I can move
him to a small tank. It would be best right?
<Assuming you didn't pay a (very) premium price for one of the
Australian species (Cherax spp.), then you have one of the standard
issue US species, usually Procambarus clarkii or else (usually less
commonly) Procambarus alleni. As you'd expect for species native to the
southeastern United States, they are both room temperature species.
Survival for about half a
year before things go wrong is actually very common -- and my guess
would be that a moult is long overdue, but lack of iodine in the diet
has prevented this from happening. As Bob suggests, get some marine
aquarium iodine drops (not expensive) and use at 50% the dose
recommended on the packaging (so it's even less expensive). Beyond that,
a mixed diet
including Sushi Nori (rich in iodine) and occasional unshelled shrimp
and krill (rich in calcium) will be useful, alongside a predominantly
greens-based diet (algae wafers, cooked peas, softened vegetables).
Basically crayfish are easy to keep for a few months... the real art is
keeping them across several years! Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Some Help- 12/9/13
I have moved my little guy to my 10 gal tank. The little bit of water is
room temp. And I do throw in algae wafers and shrimp pellets. Thanks for
the help!
<...I2? Read where you've been referred. B>
|
Red Growth On Eyes (Cherax Destructor) (photos attached)
2/1/13
To the Crew
<Em>
I think my pet yabby (Cherax destructor) is suffering from some sort of
parasitic infection.
<Mmm, looks more like a deficiency syndrome of some sort; that or an
over-abundance of something that is "burning" this animal>
For quite some time he’s had some brown diatoms on his exoskeleton, I
didn’t think anything of it because I was having an issue with the algae at
the time,
<... are you treating the water w/ some sort of chemical/s?>
but he seems to have some sort of bright red growth on his eyes. It’s
definitely impairing his sight, because things like camera flashes which
used to greatly disturb him no longer have any effect. He seems to be eating
less, but I don’t know if it’s because of a loss of appetite or because he’s
having trouble finding the food before the fish hoover it away. He seems to
be less mobile, spending much time with his tail curled, but when he does
move the movement seems natural. He doesn’t seem to groom as often as
he used to. He has strange ring like growths on his claws and the tips of
his legs seem off colour, but this may be algae. I don’t know the exact
water hardness but there is coral rubble and seashells in the water so it
should be reasonably hard and alkaline.
<... need to know, have adequate biomineral content (Ca, Mg... and
alkalinity) as well as periodic administration of Iodide-ate. Have you
searched, read on WWM re?>
I live in Australia so crayfish plague shouldn’t be possible, but I can’t
find any other diseases known to affect yabbies.
He’s in a 175 litre aquarium, with a sand substrate, an Eheim pickup 2012,
an aqua one wet and dry filter, and a Jager heater that keeps it at 26
degrees Celsius. There are also several Darwin red nose shrimp, 9 black
banded Rainbowfish, three salmon red Rainbowfish and one bristle nosed
catfish in the aquarium with him. The tank has been set up and cycled for
around 9 months, and I haven’t had any issues until now. He has a shelter
from the light made from Mopani wood arranged as a cave. He’s 20cm long with
his claws and tail fully extended, and I suspect him to be quite old. He’s
moulted once while I’ve had him, because of his size I didn’t think much of
it.
I’ve had him for over a year now and I’ve grown very attached to him. I’m
going on a trip overseas in two days and will be leaving him with a house
sitter, and I have no idea what I can do for him! I’d hate to lose him and I
feel that I need to do something for him, as he seems to be near blind and
unhappy. I have obtained an iodine supplement and will start dosing right
away, and I’ll leave a note instructing the house sitters to dose him while
I’m gone, but they have no experience with aquariums of their own and I
don’t want to ask too much of them.
Kind regards, and thank you in advanced.
EM
P.S. I'm very sorry to have emailed this twice, but I took some photos and
forgot to attach them, I've attached them now and I hope they'll help you.
Thank you for your patience.
<Read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
|
  |
|
Red Growth On Eyes (Cherax Destructor) 2/3/13
To the Crew
<Em>
I think my pet yabby (Cherax destructor) is suffering from some sort of
parasitic infection. For quite some time he’s had some brown
diatoms on his exoskeleton, I didn’t think anything of it because I was
having an issue with the algae at the time, but he seems to have some
sort of bright red growth on his eyes.
<I wrote you re this issue a day or two back... Have you read where you
were referred?>
It’s definitely impairing his sight, because things like camera flashes
which used to greatly disturb him no longer have any effect. He seems to
be eating less, but I don’t know if it’s because of a loss of appetite
or because he’s having trouble finding the food before the fish hoover
it away. He seems to be less mobile, spending much time with his tail
curled, but when he does move the movement seems natural. He
doesn’t seem to groom as often as he used to. He has strange ring like
growths on his claws and the tips of his legs seem off colour, but this
may be algae. I don’t know the exact water hardness but there is coral
rubble and seashells in the water so it should be reasonably hard and
alkaline.
<Need to have water test kits, or others test for you>
I live in Australia so crayfish plague shouldn’t be possible, but I
can’t find any other diseases known to affect yabbies.
He’s in a 175 litre aquarium, with a sand substrate, an Eheim pickup
2012, an aqua one wet and dry filter, and a Jager heater that keeps it
at 26 degrees Celsius. There are also several Darwin red nose shrimp, 9
black banded Rainbowfish, three salmon red Rainbowfish and one bristle
nosed catfish in the aquarium with him. The tank has been set up and
cycled for around 9 months, and I haven’t had any issues until now. He
has a shelter from the light made from Mopani wood arranged as a cave.
He’s 20cm long with his claws and tail fully extended, and I suspect him
to be quite old. He’s moulted once while I’ve had him, because of his
size I didn’t think much of it.
<This is very little moulting behavior... likely indicative of more than
just age... Likely a water quality and/or nutrition imbalance issue>
I’ve had him for over a year now and I’ve grown very attached to him.
I’m going on a trip overseas in two days and will be leaving him with a
house sitter, and I have no idea what I can do for him! I’d hate to lose
him and I feel that I need to do something for him, as he seems to be
near blind and unhappy. I have obtained an iodine supplement and will
start dosing right away, and I’ll leave a note instructing the house
sitters to dose him while I’m gone, but they have no experience with
aquariums of their own and I don’t want to ask too much of them.
Kind regards, and thank you in advanced.
-EM
<Just in case our previous email was lost, please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
and the linked files at the bottom. Bob Fenner>
|
|
Black Spots on Crayfish 1/1/13
Dear WetWeb Media Crew,
My 3-year-old crayfish has two black spots just above his eyes, on his
carapace. I wouldn't be worried about except one of my other crayfish died
two months ago and that crayfish, who had the same marks, died molting. Are
these marks shell rot and something I should be worried about? They are pink
in the center and almost look a bit raw, but are rimmed by black and don't
look like any images of shell rot I've seen before. I am attaching a few
images of my crayfish, Slippy. Hopefully you can help me figure out if
something is wrong. Thank you. (Ignore the white spots in the water, that's
the light reflecting.)
<This crayfish doesn't seem to be damaged or suffering, so I'd not worry
overmuch. But do review two key aspects: diet and water chemistry. So far as
diet goes, make sure you are providing both calcium (e.g., whole krill) and
iodine (e.g., Sushi Nori or marine aquarium iodine drops at 50% stated
dosage). For water chemistry, make sure the pH is above 7 otherwise the
shell will tend to erode over time. Since crayfish moult less the older they
get, older specimens show this type of shell erosion worse than young
specimens. Do review the page linked below, and follow the links at the top
to useful articles:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
<<Excellent concise direct response Neale. Well done as usual. BobF>>
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Re: Black Spots on Crayfish 1/3/12
Thank you so much for clearing this up for me, I wasn't sure and I haven't
seen it anywhere else online. I'll have to go by some Nori for the little
guy.
<Most welcome. Iodine drops will likely work out cheaper, more effective in
the long term. But Sushi Nori can work if used regularly. Cheers, Neale.>
Re Black Spots on Crayfish 1/18/13
My crayfish just shed, and he has these huge bulges in his shell and
where they are on his shed there are these holes where I can see
straight into the shell. The holes were white, but it didn't look like
shell rot though I was worried it was. How can I help fix this? I'm
really worried because of these lumps.
<Not much you can do at this point! If it can sort itself out, it will.
Ideally, allow the crayfish to consume its moult and then hope for the
best.>
I've attached pictures below:
<I see.>
Any helps or tips on what to do would really be appreciated. I meant to
feed the little guy some Nori but for a week and a half he only wanted
to eat his food pellets. Thank you so much.
<You can buy crayfish and crab specific foods (e.g. Sera Crabs Natural)
and these should go a long way to ensuring a balanced diet. Seafood
generally is good: unshelled shrimp, mussels, etc. Using an iodine
supplement (sold for marine tanks) at 50% dosage seems to work wonders
at ensuring good, regular moults. Cheers, Neale.>
Black Spots on Crayfish - 1/25/13
Hi WetWeb,
I found my crayfish on her side this morning, only moving her swimmerets and
occasionally a leg. It doesn't look as though she's about to shed, and her
limbs are all kind of rigid. Is there anything I can do to help her?
I've checked, and she doesn't appear to have any worms or soft spots in her
shell. Her eyes are still clear. I don't have a pump, but I do regular water
changes, and what she swims in I drink. What can I do?
Thanks for any help.
<Can you tell me what source of iodine you are using? And at what dose?
This is a key thing with crayfish care. By the time problems develop,
there's almost nothing you can do, though adding another dose of iodine may
help. Certainly don't try pulling at the moult or anything like that. Do
also check water quality; without a pump, how is this aquarium filtered? No
matter how pure the water you add, it does need filtering unless you're
changing 50% of the water every day. Cheers, Neale.>
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Irregular spots growing on crayfish
7/4/12
Hello there! I have had a blue crayfish with a small guppy for about a year
now. He has a 20 gallon tank with sand substrate, a filter and 2 hiding
spots. He eats algae wafers and on occasion, blood worms. His water temp is
at about 70-73 F. He is very playful, barely ever hides and actually seems
to crave interaction. He has molted at least 5 times since I've had him, but
last time (about 3 weeks ago), he came out with a small, bright red spot on
his head. Over time, the bright red has turned into orange/brown splotches.
She has two more tiny dots like that on her tail. I did some research, and
it said this might happen during molting.
<Mmm, yes; quite common... do leave the old molts in place (they're
reincorporate)... And one needs to be aware of the alkaline earth,
alkalinity needs.... and use/dose a modicum of iodide-ate occasionally. All
revealed by your reading here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
and the linked files above>
He has not molted again since, but I have noticed that there are more, small
spots and it looks like they are growing right at the junction of the head
plate and his back. The blue color in that ridge is darker than the rest of
his body and the spots are growing over the dark blue. His appetite and
behavior do not seem to have changed, but this has never happened to him
before. I love my Cray and he's always been in optimal health! Please help.
What can I do?! Is this shell rot?? I attached a picture of the spots.
Carolina
<The reading... water quality, nutrition. Bob Fenner>
Irregular spots growing on crayfish. Neale's go
7/4/12
Hello there! I have had a blue crayfish with a small guppy for about a year
now. He has a 20 gallon tank with sand substrate, a filter and 2 hiding
spots. He eats algae wafers and on occasion, blood worms. His water temp is
at about 70-73 F. He is very playful, barely ever hides and actually seems
to crave interaction. He has molted at least 5 times since I've had him, but
last time (about 3 weeks ago), he came out with a small, bright red spot on
his head. Over time, the bright red has turned into orange/brown splotches.
She has two more tiny dots like that on her tail. I did some research, and
it said this might happen during molting. He has not molted again since, but
I have noticed that there are more, small spots and it looks like they are
growing right at the junction of the head plate and his back. The blue color
in that ridge is darker than the rest of his body and the spots are growing
over the dark blue. His appetite and behavior do not seem to have changed,
but this has never happened to him before. I love my Cray and he's always
been in optimal health! Please help. What can I do?!
Is this shell rot?? I attached a picture of the spots.
<Do have a read here first, the Disease section, and check your
environmental conditions with the ones you're providing.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
Understanding of crayfish disease (indeed, of crustacean healthcare
generally) is minimal, so prevention is the main way forward. Do check water
chemistry (hard water is better) and that you provide calcium in the diet
(squished snails, unshelled shrimps/krill and small whole fish such as
lancefish -- not feeder fish though!). Do also ensure you're providing
regular iodine, in the form of marine aquarium supplement (at 50% dosage)
with each water change. There are specific crayfish foods with added iodine,
and these are worth using too. There are a few more-or-less harmless
parasites that infect crayfish and cause damage to their shells, but given
sufficient calcium and iodine, crayfish can moult successfully and
effectively minimise this damage. Once crayfish reach a certain age (around
2 years for the common Procambarus clarkii) they moult infrequently, if at
all, and very old specimens will naturally have tatty shells, encrusted with
algae and suchlike, but their shells are still strong and firm, unless the
crayfish is kept in soft, acidic water that dissolves away the shell.
Cheers, Neale.>
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crayfish concern... beh., hlth. -- 10/11/10
I have a concerning question about my crayfish. He is 3 years old and
pretty big now, he's blue and really shy. He use to always stay in
his cave but recently I always see him walking around my tank, he even
tried to get out today by climbing up the bubble cord. I noticed that
he has these long fuzzy transparent things about his legs and I was
wondering what they are and if this is bad. I've never seen it on
him before and I'm scared that he's going to die. I had him at
my mothers in a different tank and she never fed him and the water was
pretty gross because she hated him and refused to take care of it. When
I got him back I put him in my clean tank and I feed him everyday. Will
the transparent fuzzy things come off?
<Hello Stefanie. Chances are that the fuzzy things are relatively
benign parasites you needn't worry about too much. They're
unlikely to be related to your crayfish's odd behaviour. In fact
things should improve each time he moults if you remove the moult so he
cannot become reinfected. Because crayfish recycle calcium this way, be
sure to provide an alternative source such as unshelled shrimp or
whole, frozen lancefish (you can buy these from pet stores). As for the
odd behaviour, one of several things could be
amiss. Check water quality first, and water chemistry second. Water
quality should be good, ammonia and nitrite levels at zero. The tank
should be reasonably big -- 15 gallons would be about the smallest for
a large crayfish -- and filtered. You should be doing regular water
changes, 25% every couple of weeks. The water should be hard and basic.
If you live in a soft water area try adding to every 5 gallons half a
tablespoon of Epsom salt, half a teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate (baking
soda), and half a teaspoon of aquarium salt, ideally marine salt mix
but ordinary aquarium salt will do. Supplemental iodine is important
for moulting; use the stuff sold for marine aquaria, but at a half
dose. Without iodine, deformities are common, as are fatalities.
Basically check everything is as it should be.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_1/cav1i4/crayfish/crayfish.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
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lack of appetite and eye changed color, data/reading
9/11/10
I have a leucistic (or white) male crayfish that
I bought from a local pet store and I have had him approx. a year
and 4 months. During the first 2 - 4 months, I owned him, he
molted twice but has not molted since.
<Indicative of? A lack of nutrition, insufficiency syndrome...
iodide lack?>
He has gone at least a full year without molting and is very
small being only a little over 3 inches from the tip of his
pinchers to the end of his tail. I assumed the reason he is not
molting is because I have not seen him eat anything in several
months.
<Very bad>
During the first 6 months I owned him he would eat shrimp pellets
or algae wafers without any problem but he was never a big eater.
But for the past 6 months or so, I have not seen him eat
anything. In addition to the pellets
and algae wafers, I have offered him lettuce, peas, zucchini,
carrots, etc. not only does he not eat but he also shows no
interest in the food at all. I will drop the food near him and he
never even moves to investigate it.
At this point, I really do not know how he is surviving. I have
been sporadically putting 1 drop of marine iodine
<Ah good>
in his tank too but I read that I should probably be putting it
in about once a week, which I will start doing if you recommend
it.
<I do>
Then last night I noticed that one of his eyes had turned brown
and I have attached a picture of this in my email.
Despite these things, he has been acting the same as he always
had. He is not lethargic or sickly. He will come out and walk
around the tank every now and then and he even recently mated
with my female Electric Blue Cray.
I am still extremely concerned over his lack of appetite and over
his eye changing color and I am not sure how to help him. Any
information on this would be appreciated. Thank you.
Alexandra
<What re water quality, maintenance...? Read here:
http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishfdgfaq.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
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crayfish Question... beh., not good -- 05/21/10
Hi, I am trying to find out what it means when a crayfish turns up side
down, the crayfish is still a live in a 10 gallon tank she has every
thing it needs to be healthy I just cant figure out why it keeps
turning on its back like if its going to die, but my daughter just
turns it back over and it goes for a good hour before it turns on its
back again what could be the problem. Please help this is for my
daughter I would hate to see it die on her. thx Jesse
<Hello Jesse. No, it's not normal. In fact it's often a bad
sign. Crayfish sometimes fall over if the aquarium just has a plain
glass bottom, because their legs can't grip glass at all. Fine
gravel or sand is best. Make sure there isn't an copper or anything
poisonous, e.g., insecticide, getting into the water. Make sure the
water is adequately filtered and if necessary heated. Hard, basic water
is usually essential for most crayfish species.
Supplemental iodine is important for moulting; use the stuff sold for
marine aquaria, but at a half dose. Without iodine, deformities are
common, as are fatalities. Basically check everything is as it should
be.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_1/cav1i4/crayfish/crayfish.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
Is our crayfish dying? More reading 05/23/09
My son just got a Cray fish from school and it moulted today (our first
time). After reading the other answers, I still have questions. Ours is
not hiding.
<Unusual... a "normal" behavior... to guard against
predation...>
She is lying on her side and does look exhausted. Can she stay lying on
her side for very long? And how will we know if she is dying and not
just resting, so we can put her out of her misery?
<Mmm, keep reading... re the needs of these animals... Your water
quality may well be deficient in Ca, Mg... and I2 supplementation may
well help here... Too much to reiterate... but is all posted. Bob
Fenner>
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Blue Crayfish with Terrible Wound
05/21/09
My crayfish has developed a terrible wound on the left side joint
on the claw/arm. It is a brown rustic color in the center with a
slight white ring around the edge.
1. I am embarrassed to even post the attached photo as it looks
even worse out of the water.
2. I was hoping to help this problem by increasing water changes
and adding a little salt.
3. It has progressively gotten worse over the past month or
two?
4. Can I cure this without killing the rest of my fish (Gromies /
Cat Fish) in the tank?
Thank you for your help!
<I'm not an expert on treating infections in crustacea,
but I'll give a shot at clarifying this. Hopefully someone
will see this who has dealt with it before to help you.>
<It looks like the claw is hanging limp in the photo, has the
crayfish lost use of the appendage? This would indicate that the
problem is internal, not external. Also, is the rust colored
substance in the suture (space between hardened plates, or
sclerites) a surface gunk or powder that comes off, or is it a
sub-surface discoloration? If we can determine the location and
bacteria/fungus question for this we can start looking at ways to
treat it. It sounds chronic and not acute, so I'm willing to
bet we have some time to deal with this.>
Kind Regards,
Brett
<Hope your clawed friend is holding in there>
<Benjamin>
Blue Crayfish with Terrible Wound
05/23/09
My crayfish has developed a terrible wound on the left side joint
on the claw/arm. It is a brown rustic color in the center with a
slight white ring around the edge.
<Wow... good pic, bad injury>
1. I am embarrassed to even post the attached photo as it looks
even worse out of the water.
2. I was hoping to help this problem by increasing water changes
and adding a little salt.
<Mmm, no>
3. It has progressively gotten worse over the past month or
two?
<From... ongoing microbial/bacterial decomposition? Perhaps a
lack of essential nutrient, water quality...?>
4. Can I cure this without killing the rest of my fish (Gromies /
Cat Fish) in the tank?
<Likely so>
Thank you for your help!
Kind Regards,
Brett
<? Where's the rest of the info? Re the system, history of
set-up, maintenance, foods/feeding, water quality test results?
Am too limited by Net access where I am presently to look up for
you, but just read on WWM (the search tool, indices) re Crayfish
period... Very likely the best course of "action" here
is to assure complete nutrition, adequate biomineral and
alkalinity content in the water... a bit of iodide/ate
supplementation, and time going by... to promote moulting...
healing of the wound site, replacement of exoskeleton and tissue.
Bob Fenner>
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 <<Nice pic! -Sara M.>> |
Sick Electric Blue Lobster? 5/18/09
Hi, we purchased an Electric Blue Lobster about 6 months ago. First he
was in a rather large tank but he ended up eating most of our fish
<Not uncommon... despite being herbivores in the wild, Crayfish are
notoriously opportunistic!>
in there so almost a month ago I moved him to his own 10 gallon tank.
He'd been doing fine until about a week ago we noticed what we
thought were his gills under his thorax turning red, well this has
multiplied exponentially over the last week and the entire underside of
his thorax is swollen to where it looks like there is something growing
on him and bright red.
<Is this something growing on the carapace, or is the carapace
actually swelling up and looking inflamed? Epistylis is a fairly common
"disease", being a type of protozoan that forms fluffy white
to grey scum across the carapace. It's harmless in itself, merely
using the Crayfish as a place to grow. Temnocephala is something
similar, a kind of flatworm that multiply (and move) across the
carapace. Again, they're harmless, though unsightly.
More serious are moulds such as the Crayfish Plague (Aphanomyces), a
fungus that forms dark threads and clots in the muscle, most obviously
on the underside of the animal, especially on the abdominal and leg
segments. It can't really be cured, though some Crayfish are
resistant (e.g., the Signal Crayfish) while others are killed quickly
(e.g., European Crayfish). There are an assortment of other diseases to
which Crayfish are subject, but there's little/nothing about these
in the hobby literature. As with many invertebrates, "prevention
is better than cure".>
We thought maybe it is actually a female with eggs, but we've had
it a long time and never with any other lobster's and the red
"growth's" have some white "fuzzy" stuff on
them as well. I looked through the site but nothing seemed to resemble
what we are experiencing here. I did check the PH and Ammonia and they
are okay. He hasn't molted either since we got him, could he be
molting?
<Or perhaps a stalled moult; do review the need for [a] a source of
calcium, such as whole shrimp; and [b] iodine, via the addition of
marine aquarium iodine drops and one-half the stated dose. In addition,
the diet should be algae-rich; Spirulina wafers are good. Some
crustacean-specific foods are on the market, and recommended. Do read
here for more:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
Stalled/failed moults are very common among crayfish not given the
right diet/iodine supplement.>
Any help would be appreciated, we really don't want to lose
him.
Thanks
<Good luck, Neale.>
Is out crayfish dead? 4/21/09
Hello and thank you for your help.
<Hello!>
My daughter brought home a crayfish from school about 4 months ago.
<Cool.>
We found him upside down in his tank last night.
<Oh.>
Her teacher said he might be molting (said that they look lifeless
during this time).
<No, they don't really become lifeless, rather retiring, and
hide away in their burrow. But apart from that, they're much like
normal. His gills should be moving, his antennae twitching, and so
on.>
He is on his side this morning and I see absolutely no movement of any
kind.
<His metabolic processes are now history! He's off the twig!
He's kicked the bucket, he's shuffled off his mortal coil, run
down the curtain and joined the bleeding choir invisible!>
How long does it take to molt? (I did notice a crack where his tail
meets his body.)
<Depends, best part of a day really.>
Could something have gone wrong during his molt?
<Yes; iodine drops, at half the dose used in marine tanks, seems to
be critical. Do see here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm>
I don't want to dispose of the poor little guy if he really
isn't dead.
<Indeed not.>
Thanks again for your help.
Susan
<Cheers, Neale.>
Turning brown with white spots on claws 4-13-09
Hello,
I have an electric blue crawfish and he is getting more of a brown fuzz
around his back, head, and pincers. He is also getting white spots on
his claws. Could this be because of a stressed environment around him? He constantly tries to climb up the aquarium walls and also seems to be
trying to clean his back with one of his little claws. I keep him in a
10 gallon tank with two artificial items where he can hide and climb
on, but there are no plants or anything.
Thank you
Brandon
<Hi Brandon. I need more information that this. In particular, tell
me about the pH and carbonate (not general) hardness. These are the two
critical factors with Crayfish. Like other animals with shells, in
water
that is acidic or has a low carbonate hardness, they have problems
making their shells. Over time the shell can become pitted if the pH is
below 7.0, and these pits can become focal points for growths of algae.
In the bigger picture, when the Crayfish gets ready to moult, it will
have problems building its new exoskeleton. I'd also make the point
that Crayfish are primarily herbivorous in the wild, so should have
access to plant material of some sort. Some folks make the mistake of
giving them feeder fish and the like, and nothing could be further away
from what they actually need.
Plant foods such as soft vegetables, Nori and algae wafers should
predominate, augmented once a week with calcium-rich animal foods such
as an unshelled prawn or a whole lancefish (for the bones). Do read
here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/crayfish_basics.htm
Cheers, Neale.>
Yabbie In Distress - 06/10/2008 Hi Crew,
<Hello, Denisse. Sabrina with you today.> We have a 10-gallon
aquarium, 1-Colbalt Blue Lobster <Actually, this is a
crayfish/crawdad/yabbie.> & 4-Mollies. <Know, please, that
the crayfish can and will eat your mollies if he can catch them.>
The Lobster was doing great, until we noticed it wouldn't go into
its hole anymore, had a missing antenna and was walking in circles a
lot. <Excellent observations and description.> Then it
wouldn't move as much, but now it seems to like being on it back
for some reason. <Mm, it doesn't "like" being on its
back....> It rarely moves, and the times it does move the Lobster
turns back around on its legs walks about an inch or two and then turns
back on its back again. <Again, *great* observation and
description.> What could be wrong with it? <Almost certainly this
animal is molting or has molted and is having real problems with this
important process. Molting is basically where the crayfish will shed
his old shell - like a snake shedding its skin - and grow.
Complications with this process can cause the animal to lose limbs,
form the new shell improperly, or even die. Some things that can lead
to complications molting can include iodine or calcium deficiency -
since most freshwater tanks have a decent amount of calcium, I would
hazard a guess that he's lacking iodine. Some food items can
provide iodine to him, including sushi Nori (seaweed sushi wrappers you
can find in Asian food markets) and human consumption shrimp,
especially the tails. If you feed him shrimp or other frozen human
consumption fish or shellfish, freeze the food first or buy it frozen
before feeding it to him. I like to buy the foods fresh and cut them
into meal-sized pieces and then freeze them, as that makes it easier
for me.> We noticed that the aquarium had some tiny white/light pink
worms, some about 1/8" & others 2/8". They would crawl on
the glass and gather at a corner on some larger rocks, by the
"Cladoceran" apartments. <Daphnia, eh?> I always
wondered how we got the worms and Cladocerans. <Tons of
possibilities - foods, gravel, plants - perhaps even eggs stuck to the
crayfish.> Are they harmful to fish? <Not likely. They may be a
bit of an indicator that your tank is being overfed if they are very
prevalent.> Are they Parasites? <Not likely.> Thank you for
your time. <And thank you as well.> Denisse N Luna <Wishing
you well, -Sabrina>
Crayfish died :( 5/4/08 Hey
guys, I've tried searching but haven't found something that
fits my situation. My crayfish died today sometime while I was out (it
was mostly rust coloured/brown specs with much deeper red in its claws,
about 3". sorry not sure of species). I had it for about 2 months
in my 18gal aquarium with little problems i.e.: devouring 2 small angels
and chasing everything it could. <Typical> even climbing my
plants and freefalling to snap at the fish. I removed it to a smaller
10gal tank by itself and added a few white clouds for entertainment -
they are cheap at my LFS and fast enough not to get caught. For the
next 2 months almost everyone was happy (some clouds were a bit slow on
the learning curve) but last week it began to get lethargic and rarely
came out of its home (a small pvc length). It moulted 3 times in the
first 2 months <This... is a bit too much ecdysis... telling> but
never since changing tanks. <Also> I had an algae problem so over
a week i cleaned all the gravel <... how?> which made it more
active but as soon as the algae started coming back it stopped eating.
I feed it mostly shrimp pellets occasionally a small cube of Tubifex
worms goes crazy for these). the other day it looked like it was
walking on its claws - pointing straight down tail in the air balancing
on its claws. <Interesting...> thought it could be ammonia so i
did a 20% water change. today it was upside down in the middle of the
tank lifeless. Fish are all fine, reading makes me think I needed
Iodine (didn't have any, apparent rookie mistake) but wouldn't
it have had problems sooner not almost 5 months down the road? Sorry
about the length but I enjoyed keeping my Cray and would like to again,
but may opt for some shrimp instead so they can join my larger tank.
thanks, Bob <Interesting to speculate, but I believe this animal was
lost due to a few circumstances... One, being in a situation that was
"unnaturally" warm and protein rich (allowing, driving
moulting...), the strain of being moved, too much change in water
quality, AND an absence of iron particles to replace its
"statocyst"... an orientation organ... Please read here:
statocyst of crustaceans in your search tool/s. Bob
Fenner>
Blue lobster beh., hlth. 01/08/2008 Our behavior
of our lobster is weird, he is in a tank (55 gallon) with a red devil.
The red devil is not bothering him and we have had him approx. one
month. We have been feeding him wafers, and cichlid food. He is
currently lying on his back or side, been alive for five days like
that, we have been turning him over and he will start crawling to where
ever as if he is ok ? He is not hiding anywhere any more? We don't
know what is going on, Can you help? <Hello Sally. Usually when
crustaceans aren't able to stand up properly, they're dying, or
at least stressed. Start by checking water quality, and in particular
consider if any copper could have got into the tank, e.g., from
medication that was recently used. Do also check your dechlorinator
neutralises copper that gets in via the pipes. Copper is very poisonous
to crustaceans. Otherwise make sure water quality is good in all the
usual regards: zero ammonia/nitrite, low nitrate, and in the case of
crustaceans (and indeed Red Devils) that the hardness is nice and high
and the pH well above 7.0. Crustaceans need additional iodine in the
water, and the lack of it causes gradual, long term health problems.
Iodine can be purchased as a simple supplement you add to the water, a
bit like a medicine. It's sold primarily for marine tanks, so the
place to buy it is from stores catering to reef keepers. Cheers,
Neale.>
Question on sick crayfish, reading -- 10/04/07
Hello, my daughter brought home a crayfish from school a few months
ago. It was doing just fine until it had it's molting stage not to
long ago. Now, It is completely lethargic. No movement unless you
attempt to touch it. It has been laying on it's side for approx. 3
days now and I have no clue what to do. Can you please help??
Sincerely, Yvonne & Mykkaela <Likely something lacking
nutritionally or in terms of water quality. Covered here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishdisfaq.htm and the
linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Crawfish death - 6/1/07 > Hello there.
<Greetings.> > I am emailing with my second crawfish question;
You guys really were informative concerning my first question about
tank setup, etc.. Unfortunately, the crawfish in question has just
expired (I think)!! <Oh dear.> > He was doing really well- we
had him about a month or so, and we had his tank set up according to
all of your info on your webpages. He just recently molted without any
apparent problems but it seemed that he consumed almost all of his
skeleton- could this have killed him? ( I read they do this). <They
do indeed; it's normal, even necessary. It's a way of recycling
the valuable minerals and protein.> > About 1 day after he did
this, he was walking around his tank from end to end constantly,
seemingly fearless, but previously, he would only come out of hiding if
he sensed no one was around. Anyway, all other conditions seemed to be
fine, but he is just sitting on the tank bottom, stiff, and does not
move when he is touched. It sounds silly- they don't do this,
right, unless they are dead? <It does sound as if he's an
ex-crayfish. At the very least, he should react to being prodded. You
could try shining a flashlight at him and looking to see if he reacts.
Also look for signs of movement of the "limbs" around the
face, particularly the small second set of antennae. There should also
be movement of the swimmerets under tail. Moulting is a
"sensitive" time for crayfish (and indeed crustaceans
generally) and if things are going to go wrong, that's often the
time. Certain minerals have to be present in the water, and conversely
certain other substances, such as copper, absolutely should not be
present. As a rule, most crayfish are inhabitants of clean, well
oxygenated water rather than swampy conditions (though there are
numerous swamp-dwelling species as well). So good water quality is
important.> > Thanks so much for your insight. Diane <Good
luck, Neale>
Crawfish dragging claw 5/15/07 Greetings My daughter brought
home a crawfish from school last September. He's been a happy
healthy guy and a really good eater. Last week, he moulted and lost a
claw at the same time. Problem now is his other claw is just dangling.
<Something "missing" either nutritionally or water quality
wise... for the "replacement" to be complete> He's
dragging it along side of him. What, if anything, can I do to help him.
<Improve both of the above... for "next time" it molts>
It's breaking our hearts to see him like this. I find lots of
information about claw loss, but nothing about a claw that wont drop
off. Any suggestions please??? Thank you. Carol <Please read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i4/crayfish/crayfish.htm
and the linked files at bottom... on Systems, Health, Feeding. Bob
Fenner>
Lethargic Red Claw Crab - 04/12/2007 Hi, <Hello.> I
have a red claw crab, I keep him in a tank with land, fresh and salt
water. <Excellent!> For the past two days he hasn't been
moving a lot. (not that he does usually, but he seems like he has
gotten somewhat stiff!) <Hmm.... Like he's.... moving more
slowly when he moves? Or....?> I have been checking the heat if he
is cold, but it hasn't changed a lot. <Do you have a thermometer
to check the temperature? What is the temperature in the tank, and is
it constant?> I have even been warming him up in my hand, but I
don't think it's helping him. <That may actually be
stressful to him, if he isn't accustomed to being handled.> I
have had him for almost four months already, and I don't want to
lose him. Please help!!! <If he hasn't molted yet, I would wager
that that's what's happening (or about to happen). If he
doesn't have a place to dig underground, try to give him a lot of
nooks and crannies to hide in really well. Molting is a dangerous time
in a crab's life, and they need to feel very safe and not be
handled or messed around with. Try to make sure the temperature in the
tank is warm (75-78F or thereabouts) and try to give him foods rich in
iodine (shrimp tails, krill....). He may not eat for a few or several
days, so remove any uneaten food. I should also say that he may not be
molting; he might be sick. Unfortunately, there just isn't a lot we
know, and really nothing we can do, about sick crabs. Mostly, the best
things to do is provide them a perfect environment (you're doing
great to give him fresh and saltwater, and land space), good nutrition,
and help them to stay in good health. I hope he's just molting and
growing though; that will be a sure sign that you're doing a great
job for him. All the best to you and your crab, -Sabrina>
| Unidentified Yabby 'bubble' 2nd email -
photos attached. 2/13/07 Hi, just me again. <Hello>
I've taken some very unclear photos to show you the
'bubble'. I apologies for their quality. I can get pretty
good shots of the Yabby in the other tank as it has a built in
light. But with this tank one I'm at the mercy of the camera
flash and I just can't get the settings right. After much
research online I'm wondering now could it be a sperm sac?
<Possibly> I cannot find any photos on the net so I'm
hoping one of you nice people with experience in this area will be
able to confirm or dismiss that theory. Thanks again. Kind regards
Tascha Aus. <Same response as before... not much to do other
than provide a decent environment (including chem., physical) and
nutrition. BobF> |
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| Re: Blue Lobster ill 2/2/07 Nope Pics of
crayfish with growths?? on pincers <Very nice pic... This
appears to be an algal growth (likely a Blue-Green... Nothing to
worry about really... may likely "go" with time...
molting. Cheers, Bob Fenner> |
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Help me please!!! Cray in the way in an African Cichlid Tank
1/3/07 Hey how is it going? <Might fine> I have an electric
blue Lobster (Crayfish) and he is in my 70 gallon African Cichlid tank
(he has been in there for about 6 months and the fish do not bug him
(unless he strolls through their breeding area)). <Or should s/he
molt...> I have had him for about 10 months and he has doubled in
size. <Oh! Has molted a few times then> He has lived through Ich
twice. <Mmm, crayfish don't "get" this> I have
found him dried up on the floor after he crawled out one night and he
still seems to be good and healthy. <Ah good> I change the water
in the tank at least once a week (as the cichlids are so demanding).
<Yes> All of my water parameters are good and the tank is
thriving with about 2000 baby cichlids from about 5 different species
of fish. <Wowzah!> My lobster (His name is Claude) <... Am
given to suggest you get some "Mud-fish"... and have them
next door, name them "Jean-Claude Killifish"> is still
eating and roaming the tank as he normally is and all is good but I got
home tonight and I noticed a black spot about the size of half a dime
on each side of his body right behind his head!!!! <Mmm, possibly
fungal... but most likely due to an insufficiency in biomineral and/or
alkalinity...> Could you please tell me what this is and how I can
fix it. <Yep... please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/crayfishdisfaq.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner> I do not want to lose him as
he is the life of the tank. Please help me. Any help is good help.
Thank you so much. Dustan <Welcome>
Yabby/Crayfish, Age, Molting,
Problems - 05/21/2006 G'day <Aloha.> I've read
through quite a few of the questions and answers on your site and found
them very useful. <Excellent!> Congratulations on such a
comprehensive and informative site; I have a question of my own. <I
hope I can help out.> Recently My Pet Yabby (Australian Cherax
destructor) <A BEAUTIFUL species!> started to become very
lethargic. As she had shed her shell several days before it did not
concern me too much. <Mm, it is actually disconcerting that the
animal be lethargic for this long after shedding....> However it
became become worse over the last few days and she kept falling over
onto her side and curling her tail in, and then struggling to get back
onto her legs. I had the water tested for by the local aquarium, and
they concluded that minerals water quality and pH levels were as they
should be. <Hopefully you were able to verify this yourself, as
well.... It's best if you test the water yourself, too.> However
the condition got worse so I made water changes, and tried adding a
small amount of Sodium Bicarbonate but this still didn't help. I
also tried aerating the water more. Eventually it got to the point that
my Yabby could no longer roll back onto her feet without help, and I
lost her to Yabby heaven. <Yikes. I'm sorry to hear this.>
Can you please suggest anything that may have caused this? <Lack of
iodine in the water, perhaps....> As I now have a new Yabby and
would like to avoid any repeat. Could she have died of old age?
I've kept her for at least 6 years happily and healthily without
ever having a problem. <Six years? Yeah, I'd say "old
age" may be the ticket. She had a long life with you.>
Suggested lifespan is 3-5 years... Also about 4 weeks ago I moved house
and had gotten my Yabby a larger tank (30 litre). So could the change
of environment have something to do with this as well? <Possibly,
but again, it may have just been her time to go.> Although she
seemed to love her new tank and was quite lively before she shed her
shell. I was feeding her Yabby and crayfish pellets (including fish and
kelp meal), vegetables, and the occasional Lucerne pellet, all of which
I've fed her for the 6 years. I did notice that there was a piece
of uneaten broccoli that I missed, which would've been there for
several days, could this have poisoned her? <Only if it had begun to
rot and there was measurable ammonia in the tank.... I'll hazard a
guess here and say that there was likely not much you could have done
to prevent her passing.> Any advice your team could give me would be
much appreciated. Thank you for your time, and also for providing such
a useful and informative site. <Thank you for your kind words. I do
wish you the best with your next Yabby pet.> Crystal, Victoria
Australia <-Sabrina, currently in Hawai'i, USA, but usually in
California.>
Crayfish/Yabby Deaths - 08/17/2005 We purchased a Yabby last
week and put it in our small(ish) tank. We had been keeping danios so
we were used to changing water and keeping clean etc. The water had
been treated and left for 42 hours to get rid of chemicals - all seemed
well. The Yabby looked well for 3 days then it became very quiet, I
partially changed water, it didn't recover and died. <Any chance
you have EVER used a copper-based medication in this tank? Any metal
objects in the tank?> We bought another Yabby (we had liked
"Godzilla" for the short time we new him). This time, just to
be sure, we used our bigger tank, conditioned the water, washed the
gravel and installed a filter. A day later (today) the Yabby shows the
definite signs of soon demise -it's falling on it's back or
side and doesn't move (except a little when I think it's dead
and I go to remove it). WHAT are we doing wrong! <Not sure. I trust
you are maintaining ammonia, nitrite at zero, nitrate less than 20ppm?
pH somewhere between 6.8 and 8.5?> And why does it happen so
quickly. My kids are scared off from getting anymore yabbies but they
were so delighted with them and they paid for them themselves. Iodine
is mentioned quite a bit on your site but usually in conjunction with
molting problems. Neither of the yabbies showed signs of molting.
<Mm, all the same, I think a lack of iodine may indeed be a problem,
here.... If you do try another Yabby, please do considering adding
iodine for a week or so prior to purchase.... You've seen the FAQs,
so I assume you know I use and recommend Kent marine iodine at a rate
of one drop per ten gallons each week (NOT the marine dose)? I have,
occasionally, doubled this when adding new shrimp from somewhat
disreputable stores.... My only other thought is that there may be
something in the tank(s) that is actually toxic to the crays.... Copper
is the very first thing to come to mind. Medications like CopperSafe,
Cupramine, Aquari-sol, all contain copper. Something to think
about.> Please help, Kelly (mother and grief councilor!) <Wishing
your sad patients a swift recovery, -Sabrina>
Crayfish/Yabby Deaths - 08/17/2005 Thanks for speedy reply.
<Of course.> "Spartacus" died overnight (should have
picked a longer-living namesake perhaps?) <Perhaps
"Lazarus" next time, eh?> No copper, no medications -this
tank was started from scratch with all new components and all prepared
24 hours in advance. The little fishes are still happy, water quality
looks clear but i haven't the means to check chemical make-up (we
were assured that these Aussie yabbies were cyclone proof, more like -
don't breath too heavily!) <This reminds me of the importance of
teaching folks how to distinguish healthy shrimps and crays from sick
ones prior to purchase.... Can be tough, unless you know what to look
for. Next time, find a Cray that is active, brightly colored and has a
quality of "clarity" in the coloring.... very tough to
describe, until you've seen the "opaque" look of a sick
shrimp. Make sure the animal is interested in food prior to purchase,
as well - if the shop employee puts in food and the Cray is not happily
bumbling about looking for it, pass on that animal and look for a
healthier one.> I'll try iodine if we have the nerve to try
again. <Do please try again - I fear that the animal may have been
quite ill prior to purchase, to die so quickly.> Thanks again for
your help, -Kelly <Wishing you and your kiddos well,
-Sabrina>
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Chili and Pep
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