Freshwater crabs are fascinating creatures and keeping them as pets can be a really fun hobby. However, if you are planning to get some tank mates for your pet crayfish, there are a few things to consider.
The size of the aquarium
If you’re going to get your crayfish some tank mates, you’ll need at least a 10-gallon aquarium. Anything smaller just won’t work. A tank under 10 gallons is simply too small for a crayfish. Also, a tank smaller than 10 gallons will not be efficient at filtering the toxins produced by the fish and crawfish in the tank. Also, for a crayfish, living in a tank smaller than 10 gallons would be like living in your closet. – It’s not great. Therefore, it goes without saying that the size of the crayfish tank is an essential part of freshwater crayfish.
The Right Tankmates
When finding the right tank mates for your crayfish, you will need to consider a few things. Mainly the fact that crayfish love to eat fish. – But that doesn’t mean all the fish you put in the tank will turn into crab dinner. If you select the correct fish, they should be fine in the tank with your crayfish.
The correct tank mates will be fish that swim near the top of the tank and/or are fast swimmers. Fish that swim to the bottom of the tank or swim slowly are at a much higher risk of being caught and eaten by a crayfish. Some examples of good freshwater crayfish tank mates are hatchetfish, danios, redtail sharks, and tiger barbs. I have all these fish in my tank and I don’t have any problems.
As for putting other crayfish in your tank, this can be iffy. River crayfish are very territorial and cannibalistic. They have no problem eating their brother. If you have a 10 gallon tank, I advise only putting one more crawfish in your tank, if he puts one at all. I personally think a crawfish is ideal for a 10 gallon tank. I’ve already been through the whole ordeal of keeping two crayfish in my tank. It was good at first, but eventually one of the crayfish ate the other. It was kind of ugly.
Remember, having tank mates for your crayfish can be great, but they are not necessary for proper crayfish care.