Posted by ashley on February 18, 2004

Q: i want to get a crawfish but i was wondering how i can tell if it is a male or female and what is the best foods to feed them and what kind of tank would you keep it in (size and extras in it)

A: There are many different species of crayfish so I'll give you some generalized information that I trust will help. If you collect your own in a nearby stream or lake (I assume you live in North America) most of what you'll find will apply here. Some of the tropicalfish stores sell exotic crayfish and you may need help from a dealer there if that is where you acquire your animal.

In general, males have larger pincers than females and their tails are narrower (obviously you'd have to compare males to females to find this useful). If you turn your crayfish on its back (hold the animal with thumb and forefinger just behind its eyes and base of pincers, it can't pinch you) and look immediately behind its last pair of legs (it has 1 pair of pincers and 4 pairs of legs), the male has two "mini legs" that fold inward toward its middle and then toward its head - females do not have these. Again, if you have a chance to compare several crayfish, this will be much easier to understand.

Crayfish are omnivors (eat both plant and animal material) but feed mostly on plant material. I'd offer a variety of different kinds of plants (just a little bit at a time) to see what they prefer. Fish food pellets that sink and have plenty of plant material should also be good - goldfish food should work well here. The larger the size of the container, the better. Keep in mind too that if your animals are from local waters, they will probably be best at cool temperatures so place where they'll not get too much heat. Crayfish have gills and will need plenty of oxygen too - if you don't have a pump then the more water the better. Crayfish like to have places to hide so you may want to set some rocks in your aquarium with nooks and crannies they can hide in. Keep in mind that you don't want your rocks to tumble down on your crayfish and pin them so assemble these carefully. I think you've chosen an interesting animal - have fun!

John Wiessinger ( February 19, 2004)