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Old 01-09-2011, 12:23 AM   #1
alphapacer
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Default AAR on things I might have done to kill my redclaw

Hi guys, I have absolutely no prior knowledge to freshwater invertebrates prior to this. I so happen to catch this cray when I was prawning at haibin and thought that it was a good idea to keep it as a pet. I do not have a tank with me then so i kept it in a 2 feet basin and place a modified plastic container (those that hawkers will give you when you packet) for it to climb out of water if need be.

The next day, I woke up and found both his pincers separated from his body to my despair. Within the day, I got him a 27l tank and proceed to setting up the tank as per the instructions that the shopkeeper told me. However, he never make it to his new home.

Few Q.
1. Is it due to the lack of water depth?
2. Is it due to the food I fed it? e.g bread, dead shrimps
3. Could it be that the plastic container that cause the cray to lose its pincers and subsequently led to its death?

Now I am trying out the fishless cycling method that I found on the web as I intend to purchase a pair of crayfish in the near future.
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Old 01-09-2011, 10:08 AM   #2
issacyeo
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maybe its simply becos of the water?
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Old 01-09-2011, 12:45 PM   #3
lucas_1957
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Hi bro, there are many reasons, we need more information.

1. Did you use any filter?
2. Did you remove the uneaten bread and shrimp from the basin?
3. Did you wash the plastic container properly before using?
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Old 01-09-2011, 04:02 PM   #4
huizhong
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died within a day. my guess would be water condition!
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Old 01-09-2011, 05:17 PM   #5
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The answer to Lucas question is no I did not have a filter then. Nor did I remove the food. I left it overnight but did a 100% wc after it lost both its pincers. By then its tail was curled up tightly and the feelers are bent directly backwards. I kinda feel bad cause it seems like I gave him a slow death by choosing to bring it home.
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Old 01-09-2011, 05:20 PM   #6
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As for the plastic container, I am sure it was clean. Also to add, it was lying on its side in the morning.
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Old 01-09-2011, 05:41 PM   #7
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What water did you use? If you caught it from the wild, and you placed it into your container/tank using tap water, the sudden change in perimeters could have been too drastic. Besides, did you treat the tap water (if you used it)? Water from source could have been ideal for it, and in such case, tap water may be too harsh.

Please do a search on the water perimeter, etc, required for such invert. Please use proper food than bread and dead shrimps (in case of diease). Since you are cycling your tank, make all necessary adjustments. I have no knowledge so i shall not comment much.

Last edited by globalcookie; 01-09-2011 at 05:43 PM.
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Old 01-09-2011, 06:00 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by alphapacer View Post
The answer to Lucas question is no I did not have a filter then. Nor did I remove the food. I left it overnight but did a 100% wc after it lost both its pincers. By then its tail was curled up tightly and the feelers are bent directly backwards. I kinda feel bad cause it seems like I gave him a slow death by choosing to bring it home.
Most likely, i guess the lack of a filter and the rotting food overnight resulted in a great deterioration of water quality. Hence it resulted in the death of the lobster.

Also, did you put dechlorinator?
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Old 01-09-2011, 06:18 PM   #9
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Singapore tap water can be directly drink ... but is a no-no for fishes/invertebrates , the chlorine is too much for any type of species...

no filter... and over night food can be the problem.. did the water stink the next day ? could be rotten food IMO...
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Old 02-09-2011, 11:37 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thxpro98 View Post
Singapore tap water can be directly drink ... but is a no-no for fishes/invertebrates , the chlorine is too much for any type of species...

no filter... and over night food can be the problem.. did the water stink the next day ? could be rotten food IMO...
Yes I think chlorine killed him. If you didn't put anti-chlorine in the water, it is very likely that the chlorine burned his delicate gills and caused him to die. Also, if the water is completely covering the crayfish, it is very unlikely that it can survive. Need to put airstone or filter to increase oxygenation.

When I was young, my uncle caught 4 crays and covered them halfway with water in a basin. I itchy finger go and pour water to completely cover them, and they died overnight. :/

In addition, the type of food you fed it is known to be extremely dangerous when left to rot. My grandmother fed bread to his predator fish because he was overseas and they ran out of MP. The pump failed and overnight, all his fishes died. Bread spoils the water extremely quickly. Shrimp is another notorious pollutant if left uneaten. Once they are dead, the juices in the head start to act on the flesh and cause it to rot very quickly. That's why the head is the smelliest part of rotting shrimp/prawns.

So my conclusion is that chlorine from the untreated water, coupled with the decomposing food that caused nitrate and ammonia levels to go up, along with the lack of water circulation to help increase oxygen content (decomposition uses oxygen) caused your red claw to die.

As for him losing both claws, from my experience, invertebrates shed their limbs when they feel threatened or stressed. Perhaps why he shed both claws was because he was feeling stressed from the poor water quality.

If you would like to purchase a pair of these crays in future and ensure their longevity, you should have a tank that is properly cycled. Red claws are extremely hardy, IMHO the hardiest of all crayfish breeds available locally, but they still have a limit on their survivability. If you provide it the best living conditions, you can be assured that they will live to a long life and grow huge. 10" lengths (including claw) are not uncommon.

Good luck!

Last edited by NigelN; 02-09-2011 at 11:47 PM.
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