yabbies

[Whodat]

I was checking out malaysian prawns on wikipedia and followed links until I came across a reference to Australian crawfish (fresh water) called "yabbies". Here in the US, the crayfish grown and harvested down south aren't as big as wiki says these yabbies get. Does anyone here grow them in their sumps, fish tanks or in tanks just for them? If so, do they do well in such an environment?

[Bakes]

Whodat we have a few different species, the biggest come from Tasmania. The Murray cray and the Western Australian Marrion are the next two largest. The rest are quite a bit smaller than those three.

[kellenw]

Whodat,

Google "Australian Red Claw Crayfish". Those are likely the Cherax sp you will want (see here for pic: http://images.travelpod.com/users/avedawg314/australia-nz_06.1182515280.tinarro_red_claw_1.jpg). There are a few US sources for them, but make sure they are legal in your state. They aren't in mine (Missouri) currently, which is a bummer, because I'd like to try them in my indoor system. I would highly advise against growing ANY non-native cray outside. They can do a lot of harm to our native populations, and we have plenty of that going on already with other invasives. Good luck! :)

[Crusty]

www.crayfishmates.com

[Whodat]

Thanks for the replies! I am just trying to learn a thing or two at the moment, but I think I would like to try growing some eventually if it turns out to be possible (strictly within the confines of my future indoor aquaponics setup). I'm checking out the crayfishmates forums also.

[Popparex]

Whodat... I've been playing with redclaws for a few years now and i have had them up to 12" tip of claw to tip of tail. Might have gotten bigger but he escaped into the back yard and got hisself runned over by my lawnmower. They are fairly easy to raise and breed. The largest concern is they love to climb out of the tank. If you have anything hanging in like heater wires, airhose etc., they will climb out. Most states where they can survive in the wild have banned them, but they are usually freely available for the aquarium trade, go figure.