A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Red Claw Crayfish.

So, I hate fish. Well, eating them anyways. So I had to find something that I like to eat. In comes Mr. Red Claw Crayfish <--click link. Vegeterian, non territorial, prolific breeder, gets to 1.25 pounds. Sounds good to me! So I went in search of the elusive Red Claw. There were only a few people that carry them 2 here in California and one I found in Florida. The one in Florida is the only one that bothered returning my call and answering my E-mails. So they get my business. The place is called Stick Fins Fish Farm <--click link. I ordered them last week they shipped yesterday via USPS Express Mail and arrived alive and happy 11 A.M. at my doorstep. I highly recommend Stick Fins!

Here are some pics:

I love presents!

Arrived packaged well. Styrofoam box, care sheet, heat packs, double bagged with ammonia reducer pellets.

Yummy!

In a quarantine tank til spring

This is a "small breeder".

3 members like this

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Chi Ma on January 16, 2011 at 7:53pm

Hey thanks! Ted J Hill is located down your way. check out his system.

http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/new-ap-greenhouse-from-...

Moses Gonzales said:

Those look awesome. I'm just planning my first system. I'm going to start with Tilapia, but that looks like something I'm going to keep in mind for down the road. Good luck, I look forward to seeing your future posts!

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chi Ma on January 18, 2011 at 6:53pm

Here are the crays cleaning up the filter intake of debris

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chi Ma on January 24, 2011 at 9:10am

Crays coming out of their condo for snacks.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Mike Creuzer on January 24, 2011 at 10:44pm

The photo makes it look like the goldfish are 'snacks'.

Does the pile of PVC piping work well for condos? They take well to the different levels?

Chi Ma said:

Crays coming out of their condo for snacks.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chi Ma on January 24, 2011 at 10:50pm

They love it Mikey. Because they don't see each other they feel safe. When I feed they come and roam the bottom. Once they grab what they want they scurry back to their own pipe.

Mike Creuzer said:

The photo makes it look like the goldfish are 'snacks'.

Does the pile of PVC piping work well for condos? They take well to the different levels?

Chi Ma said:

Crays coming out of their condo for snacks.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Chi Ma on January 25, 2011 at 10:44am

They are active whenever I put food in the water :) Other than that I see them sometimes during the day and sometimes during the evening.

Robert B Winebrinner said:

Are they active during the daytime/lights on with the 'condo'? My crayfish are very nocturnal, but it may be the species I have.

Chi Ma said:

Crays coming out of their condo for snacks.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Katie Conrad on February 1, 2011 at 10:43pm

Lobster condos are illegal off the coast of Florida for slightly larger lobsters. :) However, I think they are the most sustainable lobster fishing method for spiny lobsters when they are managed correctly.

I'm doing an aquaponic project for class and I think red claws would be perfect! I used to catch crawfish when I was a kid and would make mazes for them in the beach sand and they would always make it back out into the lake. It would be fun to make a maze for these guys and put food at the end.

Chi Ma said:

Today I made some Crayfish condos out of 2.5 inch PVC.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Andrea on February 4, 2011 at 11:42am

Oh awesome. I'm so glad you posted this. I can't wait to hear more.

▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Katie Conrad on February 5, 2011 at 10:36am

I think that a fun project would be to create a maze for the crayfish. They are extremely adept at detecting food particles so you could build a maze, put the crayfish in it, and watch it try to find the food. I used to catch crayfish from a lake when I was little and make a maze in the sand next to the lake that would fill up with water. The crayfish always would find its way back to the lake no matter what. It would be hard to design a maze because they also can cross walls by leaving the water... You could create an entire crayfish obstacle course! Move aside fleas and make way for the crayfish circus! : )