I want a crayfish!

[helms97]

I want a crayfish. Can they be housed in a 10 gal with a male betta?

[Pitluvs]

Crayfish will pluck a fish from mid water and kill it, so I personally wouldn't put one in a tank with a slow moving male betta.

Normally the crayfish’s claws are too big and heavy to allow them to catch small, fast fish. One factor to keep in mind: When you buy a crayfish and put it in the tank, the fish will normally need about two or three days to get used to the fact that they are now sharing space with a creature that can catch them.

[Brian10962001]

Get a baby that's too small to hurt your fish but just too big to eat. I used to keep crayfish in all my tanks as bottom cleaners and they never bothered the Cory cats or any of the other fish that much. The 10 gallon should limit its growth but keep an eye on it as these things can get BIG. The bigger crayfish I've caught in my day could easily eat even the largest giant betta I've seen.

[Pitluvs]

Originally Posted by Brian10962001

Get a baby that's too small to hurt your fish but just too big to eat. I used to keep crayfish in all my tanks as bottom cleaners and they never bothered the Cory cats or any of the other fish that much. The 10 gallon should limit its growth but keep an eye on it as these things can get BIG. The bigger crayfish I've caught in my day could easily eat even the largest giant betta I've seen.

You are suggesting someone keep an aquatic pet in a smaller tank to limit it's growth? That's like getting a Common Pleco for algae control and stunting it. Not cool :(

Best advice for the OP is to get a crayfish species only tank and not put any fish in potential danger.

[SmokeNLark]

Yeah, crayfish are terrible tankmates for betta. Bettas are slow moving fish with large fins. Perfect crayfish prey. If you want a crayfish, get a species only tank.

[bettafish15]

Crayfish will tear your betta apart without hesitation. Unless you want to subject your betta to that, I would get the crayfish or betta it's own tank. ;)

[tpocicat]

My daughter wants a crayfish, and I won't get one for the simple reason that they eat fish, or any meat item. Many years ago I used to fish for them to eat myself! If you like shellfish, they taste great.

[Sena Hansler]

Yeah.... if you had faster fishies, you could stand a chance... but I'd avoid them unless you want a crayfish only tank.

[Brian10962001]

I live in Indiana, we see Crayfish of every shape and size here. They're not like fish at ALL, you will find ponds with an entire different strain and size of crayfish than you'll see at other places or in rivers. I've kept crayfish with nearly all of my fish, as a matter of fact this is one of the first times ever I've went with something else to clean my tanks (Otocinclus). Yes I've kept crayfish with a betta before. I've also kept crayfish with Cory cats which are slow moving and always on the bottom with them. I've never had an issue. In all honesty if you put crayfish in your tank at a small size chance are you won't even see them until you re decorate and move things. They'll form a den and only seldom come out to pick stuff off the bottom. That being said I've never had experience with a purchased crayfish, only ones I've caught personally. Crayfish will adapt perfectly to almost any tank, they're nearly bullet proof, and I think it's kinder to get a small one and let the tank limit its size than to get a large one that will be miserable and possibly die in too small of a container. I don't think this is cruel to them as they are opportunist species and can be found EVERYWHERE. You can literally find them breeding in stagnant puddles when they're barely 2in long.

[Pitluvs]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree then? I personally believe if you are to get a pet, you give it what it needs and you keep it safe. Don't make the animal fit your needs, but get an animal that fits your needs. As I see it, this is not a safe solution for any cray fish or Bettas.