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By William Berg of Sweden, for http://www.aquaticcommunity.com In the text below I shall try to give a short overview of some of the basics when breeding crayfish. Particular species may have other behaviours and demands. It should be said that my main experience as an aquarist is with relation to fish, but I shall try to convey what little knowledge I have. Sexing Crayfish Sexing crayfish isn't always easy. The genital openings are located in different places on the body depending on whether it's a male or a female. Males have their genital openings behind/under their posterior pair of legs. Females have their genital openings under the third pair of legs counted from the posterior. However, many individuals have a male as well as a female genital opening, making the sexing much more complicated. But these are always either male or female; usually male but you can't be sure. Mating and egg carrying In aquariums, spawning is possible any time of year. The male makes a little sperm packet and places it on the female's stomach. The female then spawns her eggs, passing them through the sperm packet so that the eggs get fertilized. It is not uncommon for the female to lose a claw during this process. She then places the eggs under her tail where they will be kept until they are ready to be released. How long this will be depends on the water temperature and the species, but it will be at least 4 weeks. A lot of other factors can also affect the length of the egg carrying period, such as water quality, and food supply and quality. The mother will watch over the young for a short time after birth. Fry The fry are very small when they are born but are fully developed miniature crayfish. Fry are usually detritus feeders, which means that they will feed on any decomposing plant parts and food leftovers they can find while scouring the bottom. Vegetable food is preferred and they can be fed boiled lettuce leaves that are left to decay in the aquarium. Be aware of the water quality. Fry are often very cannibalistic and a large aquarium is required if you want a higher number of fry to survive. Sorting fry for size may help the survival rate. Breeding Now you know about their breeding behaviour and how to raise the fry, but how can you get them to breed in the first place? Well, first of all you have to give them the right environment and good food to get them in a condition in which they can spawn. Some species also need different triggers to breed. These triggers may be a change in the amount of light and number of light hours, a change in temperature, change of circulation, etc. Feeding Crayfish usually accept most kinds of food, and I would recommend feeding them a diet based on boiled lettuce, sinking pellets, shrimps, and once or week or so, fish meat. This will get them in good condition and help the female survive the spawning period since she usually doesn't eat while she is carrying eggs. Housing/environment Many crayfish species can be kept in relatively small aquariums, but I recommend using larger aquariums since this lowers the pressure on the females by the males. The aquarium should be decorated so that a lot of hiding places of suitable size are provided. Hiding places can be created using rocks, roots, flowerpots, coconuts, PVC pipes, and so on. It's important that there is at least one, and preferably several hiding places for each crayfish.
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More Articles:1. About Baby Bunnies By Glenn Livingston, Ph.D. Well, first, if you want to have bunny babies you should read everything you can on the subject and also talk to your local animal shelters and rabbit rescue organizations. (Rabbit overpopulation is a big issue,... it's usually better to adopt than to breed).In any case, here are a few essentials you'll need to know about rabbit babies:* Rabbits breed very quickly. A female can have a litter of as many as nine babies each month. They can have as many as 200 baby bunnies in one year. In fact, f… 2. If You Want A Good Puppy, Start With A Good Breeder By Ron King If you're looking for a good dog, you probably should first locate a good dog breeder. But it isn't all that easy, unless you know what to look for. Fortunately, if you know the signs of a good breeder and ask the right questions, you should be able to know when you've succeeded.Just as some brand new cars are lemons, there are also dogs and dog breeders that are lemons. A dog with health problems can lead to great heartache and serious financial losses. A good dog breeder will stand behind he… 3. Three Steps to Reduce Holiday Stress for Your Kitty You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated - send to nancy@cat-urine-odor-advisor.comThe annual holidays can be a very stressful time for your cat. This is the time of the year when that strange tree goes up, bright trinkets are hung (but all your cat hears is “No, no, bad kitty!” when she tries to explore them), delicious food is prepared (cats need not appl… 4. On Missing The Imprint Stage Of Puppyhood Dear Adam:[From a previous e-mail which questioned why I recommend that dog owners don't try to train their dogs in a group class setting]Yes, I understand about the imprint stages [two week stages from birth to 4 months of age in which a small amount of exposure will have a lasting affect on the dog's socialization to it's surroundings] but not everybody lives in the ideal world of getting their puppy at 6 to 8 weeks of age.[The imprint stage when dogs learn dominant and subordinate behavior w… |
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