# Cambarellus shufeldtii



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Anyone keeping these? I just won an auction for 10 of them on ebay. I paid 40 dollars including shipping. 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7766422460


----------



## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

I am keeping and breeding these. They are great for planted tanks. They will eat what ever food hits the ground. Not too big, dont get too aggressive!


----------



## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

that guy was on aquabid too... i was wondering about them looked like an ok price..

-=- fish newb -=-


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

I will post a full report when I receive them. They were shipped this afternoon priority mail.


----------



## 247Plants (May 10, 2006)

I currently have about 60 or so in my 65gal and IMO I think they have a TON more personality than any shrimp Ive ever had.....It took awhile for them to get used to the tank but after a few days they were all over the place!!!


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Thanks for all the input. Do they breed easily?


----------



## 247Plants (May 10, 2006)

I would assume so.....I havent had mine that long but the guy I got them from said they were breeding in 60 degree bucket water


----------



## Brian A (Sep 3, 2002)

let me know how they work out. I really want to get my hand on some, guess I'll have to do some looking.


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

If they breed well for me I will try to spread them around here at TPT. I have benefited from many RAOK's and I will try to reciprocate if the opportunity arises.


----------



## Brian A (Sep 3, 2002)

cool. I plan on doing that with my Cherry Red shrimp. At the rate they are reproducing their tank is just going to be an undulating red mass!! :hihi:


----------



## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

The dwarf crays are easy to breed as far as crayfish go. The problem is, the best way to breed them is to have the females separate from the males and introduce 1 male to 1 female and hope the male is in the correct form.

What is the correct form? Well, all male crayfish (except those from Australia) have 2 forms known as form 1 and form 2. When a male is in form 1 he is able to breed, when he is in form 2 he is not. There is no way to tell what form they are in by just looking at them.

The male cray will change forms every time he molts. If you introduce a male to a female and they do not breed but rather the female gets aggressive with the male, he is in the wrong form. The good news with these crayfish is they are a rather non-aggressive type so the female will not kill the male.

Now the tricky part. If you have all your cray fish in a community tank, odds of breeding are greatly reduced. A large population of crays releases a bunch of hormones that are counter productive. At times there will be growth inhibiting hormones which stop the males from molting and changing forms. Other times there are hormones that induce molting and females will not release eggs if they are about to molt.

Another problem with having a colony of crayfish is that if they do breed, they will breed again and again. This will prevent the female for releasing her eggs. What happens is, once the female mates with a male, she stores his sperm pack until she is comfortable to release the eggs (anywhere from days to 5 months). If another male, or even the same male, breeds with her again before she releases the process starts over. So if you have a bunch of males in the correct form the female will have her sperm pack replaced often.

Now I am not saying it is not possible, it very much so is, but it is not the best conditions. Best thing you can do is provide plenty of hiding spaces (large saltwater snail eggs work GREAT) and food that is high in calcium and they should be fine.

Just my 2 cents (long post maybe it was 20 cents)


----------



## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

These guys are really easy to breed. Just put them just about any tank and feed them regularly. I've bred them in both their own dedicated tanks and in the community tank without any effort on my part.


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Thanks for all the information. I appreciate as much info as I can get. Initially I will simply place them in my planted 55g and see what happens. As time goes on I may try a bit more intensive breeding efforts.


----------



## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Something to look forward to; need to take some better pics.


----------



## 247Plants (May 10, 2006)

Awesome pics Ibn....How many ya gonna put in that 55gal? In my 65 I started with 8 and I didnt see them hardly ever........I had to re up to about 30 or so before really being able to see them acting naturally.......


----------



## jimjimson (Feb 10, 2006)

ok, those things look flipping awesome.

i'm sure they're peaceful and all, but they look liked they'd beat you up just for fun.

and the eggs in that second picture look like some magical thanksgiving cob of corn.


----------



## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

Yeah, these are going on my wish list. Very nice!


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

247plants: I am getting 10 of them. probably 2 or 3 in my Endler's tank and the rest in my 55g


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Thanks for the great pics, IBN. I am really amped about getting these little guys!


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

The guy I am buying form has some more for sale.
http://cgi.ebay.com/TINY-DWARF-NONAGGRESSIVE-CRAYFISH-DUTCH-FREE-SHIP-LOT_W0QQitemZ7767613695QQcategoryZ66795QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


----------



## JenThePlantGeek (Mar 27, 2006)

Did you get yours yet? How do they look. I'm sure we'd all like to know.


----------



## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

247Plants said:


> Awesome pics Ibn....How many ya gonna put in that 55gal? In my 65 I started with 8 and I didnt see them hardly ever........I had to re up to about 30 or so before really being able to see them acting naturally.......


None, since I don't have a 55. :hihi: Dropped about a dozen of these guys into the tank awhile back and last time that I redid the tank, there were quite a few babies in the mix (they blend in amazingly well with the wood and plants).


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

I got mine today. Camera is on the blink so no pics but they were well packed and look healthy. The largest one was about 3/4" and smallest about 1/4" I put three in my Endler's tank and the rest in my 55g. They seemed to go on about there crawdad business and quickly faded into the undergrowth. Hopefully I will see them now and again...


----------



## 247Plants (May 10, 2006)

heh....I was askin daFrimpster about that, I was just givin kudos on the pics!!


----------



## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

daFrimpster said:


> I got mine today. Camera is on the blink so no pics but they were well packed and look healthy. The largest one was about 3/4" and smallest about 1/4" I put three in my Endler's tank and the rest in my 55g. They seemed to go on about there crawdad business and quickly faded into the undergrowth. Hopefully I will see them now and again...


good luck with them once you get them goin im inetersted!


----------



## HammerJoe (Jul 15, 2005)

Nice shrimp.

Can these guys go along with other shrimp like cherries/ghost/bamboo/etc?

I am definately interested.


----------



## Saverio (Nov 26, 2006)

Anyone keep these with discus, or in a warm water tank? My discus tank-to-be is around 84F. No discus yet; only cardinals, sterbai cories, and rams. 

Thanks in advance. :icon_smil


----------



## stcyrwm (Sep 1, 2005)

I'm curious about an update on how these guys are doing???????


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

The ones I mention above were killed in an unfortunate accident that killed everything in the tank they were in. I have recovered from that an purchased some more. They are doing great and I have females carrying eggs. I highly recommend these little crays.


----------



## stcyrwm (Sep 1, 2005)

I have read some mixed messages about these guys and their aggressiveness. Do you see any issues mixing them in a tank with 6 dwarf neon praecox rainbows and about 25 harlequin rasboras? There are also 2 giant Amano shrimp (about 2 inches long) in there but I was thinking I would move them just to be on the safe side.

Sorry about the loss of the first batch.

Bill


----------



## milalic (Aug 25, 2005)

stcyrwm said:


> I have read some mixed messages about these guys and their aggressiveness. Do you see any issues mixing them in a tank with 6 dwarf neon praecox rainbows and about 25 harlequin rasboras? There are also 2 giant Amano shrimp (about 2 inches long) in there but I was thinking I would move them just to be on the safe side.
> 
> Sorry about the loss of the first batch.
> 
> Bill


Bill,

I have them with fish (cardinals, rams and endlers) and have not had any problems.


----------



## daFrimpster (Mar 7, 2005)

Echoing Pedro's response. No problems with the dwarf cray's and fish that I have seen.


----------



## spypet (Sep 15, 2006)

Thanks for the awesome information, Dwarfpufferfish.
I've been searching the threads and could not answer;

about sexing; how do you tell males & females apart?


----------



## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

Males have extrernal organs females have internal.

This link shows a male crayfish (differant species but shows the same idea) females would have 2 small holes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/376782188/


----------



## Industry (Nov 6, 2011)

Sorry to raise this thread from the dead, but is anyone currently keeping these?


----------

