HCA: Hermit Crab Association

Well, it looks like in a couple of weeks, I'm gonna have a 29 gallon tank to play around with, and I'm considering setting it up as a crayfish or other crustacean tank. There's just one problem; I've never had an underwater crustacean before. If anyone could make some good beginner recommendations, that would be good. I'm somewhat experienced with fresh water fish keeping, not at all experienced with marine, so I'd like a freshwater type. Anyways, advice, recommendations, and websites to look at would be tremendously appreciated. Thank you, and whee!

By and large, crayfish are much easier to care for than land hermit crabs. Most of them do well in freshwater from 65 to 75 degrees F, and there are literally hundreds of species. You might want to find out how hard your local water supply is as it can be hard to keep a crayfish healthy in water that's too soft. A 29 gallon tank is large enough for most crayfish species, and large enough to keep two of some types. The main drawback to crayfish is that you have to choose their tankmates carefully. Usually small, fast fish like mountain cloud minnows and danios do well with crayfish. My two crayfish are a lot of fun - they always come out and wave their claws at me when I come by the tank. And my husband's crayfish is a total banana - she'll take on anything and everything and dashes around her tank constantly. I got a lot of my initial information from http://www.bluecrayfish.com and the forum there is a great place to find answers. The moderators there are really cool, too. Some crayfish stores and related sites, mainly to get an idea of the variety of species available:http://www.shrimpcrabsandcrayfish.co.uk ... uarium.com (actually low on stock at the moment)http://www.alink.com/personal/appy/index.htm http://www.crayfishshop.com I like the idea of trying mangrove crabs, which are freshwater, but I get the feeling they're not quite as easy as crayfish are. Wood shrimp are really cool too. Have fun pondering the possibilities! My 20L is currently unoccupied, and I have been admiring the Procambarus clarkii from http://www.crayfishshop.com ...

I made two attempts at keeping crayfish and both failed. One died after a molt and one escaped. So my big advice is: get a tight lid! They are escaped artists.I love them, they are so much fun and just so cute, but I won't try again just now.

I have a bunch of aluminum foil taped over the spots where the filter and air line tubing go into the tank. Crayfish can climb anything!

Thanks so much for the advice. Okay, sounds like crayfish is the way to go...now which kind? Hehe, our water is actually on the hard side, so no real problem there. Plus, I've heard that putting in a seashell is a good way to add some calcium to the water. If that's true, I've certainly got some extras.

Yeah, I am having the same dilemma with my 20L since I just found out that my LFS has a new distributor who can get some crayfish for them. They don't have the Latin names so I can't figure out exactly what they can get yet, though. You're in New York State, right? Bob, the owner/administrator of bluecrayfish.com is in that area and breeds some nice blue crayfish: Procambarus alleni (the electric blue crayfish, florida blue crayfish) and Orconectes immunis (New York papershell crayfish - my husband and I each have one of these from Bob).