Can Redclaw be conbined with Fish

[Good Food]

Can Redclaw be conbined with Fish in an Aquaponics System or should they have a system of their own? Has anybody tried Redclaw? This is my first post I hope I have done it correctly. I would also like to thank the administrators of this forum and the people who contribute to it.
Goodfood.

[BARRAMUNDI BRETT'O]

Hi there Good Food,red claw go with your fish no worries.The red claw will have a crack at your fish and occasionaly might get one so it really comes down to the density of either in your tank.Red claw differ from other yabbies as they are social by nature,put 20 red claw in a bucket of water and they are all mates,put 20 of the native blue yabbies we catch around emerald and there is carnage,they really give it to each other. red claw differ also as that they don't burrow like a normal yabby so i guess they dont have to defend their territory,they are always on the move grazing,but will obviously take cover in rocks weed etc to stay safe from predators.I have about 30 combined of the 2 yabby species in a hundred litre tank happily living with 8 gold fish 2 20 cm catfish a couple of dozen shrimp and a couple of dozen gudgeons and bony bream, and have only had one half devoured fish in the last 2 weeks.they will all be going into my 2500L tank when i get my jade perch,much to their delight i bet.
Bye Brett

[Crusty]

I agree with Brett that it depends on density. Though I don't recommend polyculture of any crayfish and fish in a tank environment.

[wannabee]

I agree with Brett that it depends on density. Though I don't recommend polyculture of any crayfish and fish in a tank environment.


Why not, Crusty? Is there a compatibility problem other than occasionally attacking each other?

Mike

BTW, I successfully keep a couple of redclaw with a freshwater shrimp (just in a tank, not AP), and the only problem was that the shrimp lost both his long claws once. They grew back over the next couple of moults, however.

[Crusty]

Hi Mike

Poly culture of species like the jade with redclaw work perfectly well in pond conditions where the pond design allows additional depth or the fish are cage cultured. In tank culture, things get a little tight and the risk is injury to the fish more than injury to the crayfish. This is where pathogens enter the system. I too have had a tank with several hundred crayfish and a few fish in it. However all the fish showed signs of injury, if not from the crayfish attacking them but more so from bumping into the sharp bits on the crayfish.

Your shrimp may have lost it claws from stress, not so much a crayfish or fish having a taste. Shrimp work well with crayfish because the shrimp can swim relatively fast forward which gives them an addition escape compared to the crayfish tail flick response.

[Good Food]

Gee Guys thanks for your imput. May have to keep them separate.
Thanks again Good Food

[RODOLFO]

Has Anybody Tried To Grow Red Claw Under The Rafts Of An Aquaponic System?
I Will Guess That The Red Claw Will Nibble In The Roots Of The Veggies...but If You Place The Red Claw In Cages Or Containers?

[hellbent]

i bought 4 crayfish and put them under my raft tank. there are only 2 water hyacinths in there and they all promptly died in 2 days.
not sure if my water quality still suffers or if there was not enough oxygen in the water. at first the water level was pretty high, about 5 inches, someone suggested that they needed to be able to get out of water and i reduced my water level to 3 inches, they still died =(

[kellenw]

This is a pretty old thread, but I thought it worth mentioning that Redclaw are pretty skilled climbers and like to explore. You should take measures to prevent them escaping your tank. For those in the US who wish to keep Redclaw, keep in mind they are an exotic species and possibly highly invasive. They could potentially wipe out many of our diverse and unique varieties of native crays should they escape and make it to "the wild". The state of Missouri is extremely concerned about Redclaw, and they're working to put them on the prohibited list until they know more about them. For that reason, I've decided to wait and see what happens, even though I would really like to try them out.

[GaryD]

Hi Kellen,

I agree with your sentiments about Redclaw. They are native to my area and we love them (particularly with a nice salad) but they should stay home.

The Signal crayfish (a US citizen) has devastated wild crayfish stocks in many part of the UK and serves as another good example of what happens when a species is translocated.

Tilapia have been introduced into the river systems in Far North Queensland and are showing signs of becoming established in some places. This is bad news for native fish stocks.

Gary

[SanJuanCap]

Question for KellenW, What kind of crustaceans do you recommend in the US? Anything in particular for Southern California?

[kellenw]

SanJuanCap,
If the Virile Crayfish (aka Northern Crayfish) is native or established in your general area, I would probably go with them. They get quite large (though not as large as Australian Red Claw), are quite hardy and grow quickly. They taste just like lobster, but maybe just a bit sweeter. Excellent meat.

[SanJuanCap]

Thanks, I am thinking of using a separate tank for them if you think there is a better way let me know. I would rather have them eating up all of the bottom leftovers from the tilapia but I think the Tilapia will get hurt, disease, etc. Now the question is where do I buy these critters or should I just trap them with a coke bottle at the local pond?

[kellenw]

You could use a blocking net or a fish cage to keep the tilapia in if you wanted. The tilapia won't usually bother the crays except when the crays go through molt. I would be inclined to keep them separate somehow though just to be on the safe side.

The Virile Cray is not native to California (I just looked it up), but it is widely introduced throughout the state and has actually caused some major issues for the native Shasta crayfish (a small cray that can't compete with the Virile. I would probably avoid it in your area as it might get you in trouble. Check with fish and game, and see what they say because if you can raise the Virile cray, that would be my pick. Where I live, in Missouri, it's the top choice of our available natives. Also, importation of ANY kind of crayfish into California requires a permit, so capture will likely be your only option outside of buying an unknown species from a bait shop. If you capture them in public waters, make sure you get a fishing license. It's required. I also believe they even prohibit collection from some lakes and streams in California, so you might want to check into that.