Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 As many of you know my first trial breed was catastrophic. The fem ate my male in a failed attempt. So, I've learned a bit more and have tried again. Seems the male can be in two forms depending on the molt. One form is not physically able to mate, the other is fine for mating. Also, if teh fem is inseminated already, she can fight off another intruder. Also, even if breeding goes correctly, the male will breed again and again in a short time. Problem is he takes out the "plug" each time, and it starts over each time. So, I just made a trade with thegardenofeder to get a big beautiful male. He didn't want to at first because the shell was cracked, but I managed to convince him that I didn't care and any challenges reflect on me and not him. Gotta have high respect for someone who wants to only sell/trade the best quality stock. So as soon as the white alleni got here, I placed him in the fem tank expecting for it to take awhile to acclimate before being in a breeding mood. Nope. LOL He went right for the fem and mated. 10 min later it was over and I placed the fem in her own tank. A week later, no berries, so I tried again yesterday by placing teh fem with him. With 10 minutes he was breeding and it lasted over an hour this time. Once again she is in her own tank, and we'll see how if she gets berried this time. I have them each in a tank with moss and ramshorns. I see white ramshorn shells, so some must be being eaten and I guess teh moss is being eaten as well. Neither is interested in pmniapro, so they must be eating well enough. I debated moving this to the journal section, but this has to do with crays and I figure there should be more activity here anyway. LOL davesays 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davesays Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Please do keep us updated! I have pair of ghost clarkii that I am hoping to eventually breed. Unlike their smaller cousins; CPOS and other dwarfs, these crays can get pretty aggressive towards each other. I had a similar situation but male instead damaged the female pretty badly where she lost one of her claws and 2 pairs of walking legs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 I've read that a missing claw is not uncommon in mating. Luckily my fem seems no worse for wear. I'd really like this crayfish section to take off too. I'll keep you and others updated, and any things that you do for your cray, keep us updated too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davesays Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 I'll probably introduce the male later again in the future or maybe purchase another female. The original female has been pretty traumatized from the whole incident, she can barely get around now. How do you determine when they are ready to mate,after the female molts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 My understanding right now is that crays are unlike shrimp. Shrimp have to molt to be be berried because the exoskeleton is soft so the sperm ball can be applied. Large Crays are able to do the plug when exoskeleton is fully hardened. The male has to be in one of two forms. One will work, one won't. So you can look under him with a mag glass and try to figure it out, or introduce them at which point they'll start fighting, or start mating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty703 Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Yes that is correct about the males....females can be extremely aggressive and do kill the males who tend to be smaller. If you are going to do it I would wait till you can monitor their behavior each time so no one get killed....separate them with tongs if need be. It is common for first time mothers to drop the eggs, Ive had that happen in several of my crays, but usually its good the 2nd time around. davesays 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Ah, good. I'm glad when there is a shrimp reference that can be used for both. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGardenofEder Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 This makes me very happy to hear, I had that cray for a long time, did you ever figure out what that Crack was, he was due for a shed so did he shed yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunarValkyrie Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Good luck, and fingers crossed for berries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Garden, no shed yet, but he looks very healthy. What food did you feed him? He has been eating ramshorns and moss from me, and turns up his nose at other foods. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGardenofEder Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Algee wafers mostly, zucchini, fish food, blood worms, black worms. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chibikaie Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Do crayfish need more animal protein in their diet than shrimp? It would explain the snail hunting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 Good question. I think they are pretty much opportunistic. If something is around, they'll try to take it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadenlea Posted March 27, 2015 Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 ::ponders :: Life would be so much easier if we could eat our mate if they dissatisfy us. ... Maybe the female alleni has it right. ...........errmm was that out loud? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted March 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 27, 2015 LOL (Best Schultz impersonation:) I Know Nosink! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LunarValkyrie Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 any luck with these? any berries??? I will have to live my crayfish life thru you Soothing....my fish would eat them. updates, updates! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 No berries from the 2nd try yet. She molted though. Marbles tend to berry up after molting, so don't know if these follow suit or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGardenofEder Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 There is no molt in my berried female tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 1, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 Some molt after baby crays are born, garden. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miwu Posted April 1, 2015 Report Share Posted April 1, 2015 I've tried breeding clarkii, and the female can take up to 30 days to get berried from being mated. I'm not sure what the average is though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 2, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2015 Wow. Really? OKay, I'll wait a month and see what happens. miwu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charis Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 My Blue Australian (Cherax quadricarinatus?) took about 4-6 weeks post mate to berry and then 3 weeks for eggs to hatch. My Electric Blue (Procambarus alleni) took a good 2+ months to berry up. I was about to sell her because she had already killed the male two months before and my Blue Australians were doing well... and then boom... berried up! Has yours berried up yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted April 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 No berries as of yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charis Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 I'm sure she's just waiting for that perfect moment! I wonder what that is, in a crayfish's mind! Mine both berried up after a water change... but that wasn't the first one since they had bred... funny little creatures. And, as a side note, I guess I find it amazing how long they go without eating after berrying up. I actually find it amazing that they survive it. Just barely snacking for weeks... Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted May 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2015 Bred March 27, and no berries yet. This is the 2nd try. She has since molted last month. Should I hold off or breed again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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