# Marbled Crayfish (Marmorkrebs)



## metageologist (Jan 10, 2008)

i know this isn't a shrimp but it close enough. 

my question is does any body have experience with these small crayfish from what i have read they can get up to 5" in length but the average is 3" and i know they eat plants so they wont be in my planted tank. are they hard to raise and breed. my primary reason for wanting them is for a source of live food for my cichlids.


----------



## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

they are easy to breed from what I have heard. They are all females and basically create clones of themselves so you only need one to breed.


----------



## susankat (Oct 14, 2007)

there is several here in our club, and pretty easy to breed, but likes kind of a dirty tank. All females and will start cloning themselves at about 3 inchs.


----------



## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

Self Cloning Crayfish are pretty easy to care for and if you have a few of them in a large enough tank, you will have a steady supply of food for your larger fish!


----------



## southerndesert (Sep 9, 2007)

Scuds also make excellent fish food and are super easy to raise and breed like wildfire...


----------



## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

I've been wanting to get some of these for a while, If you do let us know how they are.

Bill, I've been thinking about using scuds to dispose of tank waste (plants and other crap that aren't worth amything, almost like a composter) Do they eat plants fast?

-Andrew


----------



## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

i know many crays can be used as composters


----------



## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

Well my marbled crays have torn up just about every plant they come across except for Java Ferns and Crypts!


----------



## hewhorocks (May 23, 2009)

Hmm So not very planted tank friendly eh? Just got a hit on craigslist for them. 

http://www.marbledcrayfish.com/uses.htm


----------



## marrow (Feb 4, 2007)

I have had these on several occasions, prolific and will eat their young but often do not bother if fed enough. Adults will kill each other if kept in the same tank. You can give them alot of hiding places but eventually you will end up with one adult and lots of offspring. Mine pretty easily reached five inches claw to tail. They dont seem to bother shrimp too much because shrimp are a bit to fast for them. They will eat dead anything, fish, shrimp, bugs whatever sinks they will eat. They will destroy any planted tank soon as they are big enough to be able to(about an inch). They will tear up plants particularly anubias just to be bloody minded and never eat any of them. Be glad they dont live on land, as otherwise they are the borg and will assimilate all other creatures.


----------



## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

TTT!

I just got one of these and have him in a half filled 33gl with gravel, tonnes of rocks and some cactus wood strewn about. 
I was just wondering if they are edible at all, granted that I'll end up with tonnes of them after a while. I do have a pond I can put them in on our property, but wouldn't mind using some in some soups, or having crayfish boils now and again like we used to when we'd trap them from a creek (differnent cray, I know, but still...).

Does anyone know much about these or have any pointers?


----------



## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

Anyone?


----------



## chad320 (Mar 7, 2010)

Regular crays breed easily for boils but require lots of space. And they like bacon.


----------

