# My blue dwarf crayfish in action



## Modo (Oct 9, 2012)

I put these two in a clear plastic cup to see if they're male or female. As soon as I could sex them, they were doing it. The male had the female pinned down. It looked kind of rough, but yet beautiful to me, cause I may have new baby soon. lol


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Good for you....keep in mind that most 1st time females may lose eggs, that's a common occurrence. 

If she does keep them, you might want to separate her from the male so she can have her babies in relative quiet without having to compete with the male for food. If its a small tank you could put a glass/acrylic divider between them....they won't be able to climb up that.

Females may kill off a male after they become pregnant! Best to separate them for the time being if she's carrying eggs.

By the way where did you get these blue ones?

I have a very nice 2 inch male blue dwarf that I am looking for a female for,
if you hatch the babies and they are blue I might be interested in some of them.


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## Modo (Oct 9, 2012)

Thanks for the tips. I picked them up from Tommy. I think he still have some in stock. If you can wait on the babies, I'll let you know later. I'm looking for CPO as well, if you have some, we can swap.


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

I got some CPO from Tommy a few months ago too. They breed steadily but my female will become so aggressive when berried she would be the one getting most of the food. Most of the time berried females would hide so good hiding spots is probably a good thing for them. 

Another thing I find is that I didn't get many survived babies although I did see them for about a week, and lots of them. I think maybe the adults hunt them down as the babies are pretty "fearless" or just dumb. I put in lots of ceramic rings in the tank and I still didn't see many survivors. Well, until recently the babies started to come out from nowhere. I guess they were hiding in the rings (perfect size for them) until they get big enough to come out.

Would love to swap when you have blue babies. These crayfish are so cute and act differently from other shrimps I have.


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

To ensure the babies survive to adulthood (many don't) you need a good sized tank, with lots of places like moss, driftwood, cholla wood and rocks or ceramic rings etc for them to crawl into.

Also as soon as the female drops the babies, take her out! She WILL eat the babies if she sees them...no maternal instinct here


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## Modo (Oct 9, 2012)

So I found out I have 3 male and only 1 female. I'll separate them for now. One more question is how blue is consider blue? I also read that the more meaty food they eat, they tend to turn more brownish or greyish. Is that true?


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Modo said:


> So I found out I have 3 male and only 1 female. I'll separate them for now. One more question is how blue is consider blue? I also read that the more meaty food they eat, they tend to turn more brownish or greyish. Is that true?


Interesting, I have never heard of that but I don't really pay much attention to crayfish. I do know that they need more protein in diet comparing to other shrimps we keep. And lack of protein can be a cause of them hunting down other animals in the same tank. However, this is what I read and not from my experience. From my experience, adult will try to hunt all crayfish and shrimps in the same tank, but they are too slow for shrimps (I can see they attempt to everyday), but fast enough for their own youngs. (so I believe what Anna suggested will help, isolate the adults after giving birth)


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## Shrimp Daddy (Mar 30, 2013)

Nothing like some crayfish porn on a Friday afternoon.


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## Modo (Oct 9, 2012)

Just an update. Found her carrying eggs today.


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## randy (Jan 29, 2012)

Very nice !! They hatch faster than shrimps, provide covers for babies and you'll see lots of babies soon.


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