If you have a blue crayfish, you may have learned the hard way that not just any old fish will work in a fish tank with a crayfish. Finding blue crayfish tankmates isn’t that difficult to do, but you should know what kind of “friends” your blue friend will like.
Bottom feeders and slow fish
Bottom feeders and slow fish are not good tank mates for blue crayfish. As you probably know, crayfish love fish of all kinds. This means live fish and dead fish alike. So if you put slow moving fish in the tank, or fish that feed on the bottom of the tank, the chances of them eating those fish are pretty good.
Tankmates that will work
Turns out there are fish that can be put in a tank with blue crayfish and survive. Well, fish that at least will have a much better chance of survival. These types of fish are, of course, the exact opposite of the fish mentioned above.
Fish that can work in a tank with blue crayfish are fish that can swim fast and / or swim to the top of the tank. For example, I have a red tail shark in my ten gallon tank. He is a fast swimmer and does quite well with crayfish.
I also have an ax fish. Ax fish work very well in a tank with crayfish because they swim on top of the aquarium. This, of course, makes them excellent blue crayfish tank mates. Two other types of fish to consider are pink minnows and rainbow darts; among several others.
Just do your research as you are doing now. There are many beautiful fish that can coexist with the blue crayfish. Just wait for it though, one day you’ll either wake up or come home from work and one of your favorite little fish will be missing … And you’ll know exactly who to blame. – The little blue creature.
Other crayfish
Other crayfish can make good tank mates for blue crayfish. However, you just need to make sure they are the same species.
Crayfish can be territorial. Therefore, it is a very good idea to have a “hideaway” or ornament in your tank for each crayfish. This can be something as simple as a piece of PVC pipe or a store-bought ornament.
Personally, artificial “hiding places” that look like logs work very well. They give the crayfish a place to burrow. – And burrowing and hiding will be especially important when the crayfish molt.
When the crayfish molt, they will soften. – And unfortunately when this happens they can become the target of other crayfish in the tank.