Crustacean Mating

While doing some work on the aquaponic tanks, I stumbled upon some “activity” by the crayfish. This is good news, not only because I will have some crayfish in a couple of months, but also because it says that the environment is not only good enough to survive, but also to thrive.

This is not so hard; you just need a good biological filter and you are good to go. The filter is external because this aquaponic system does not use substrate. The crayfish tank has been operating for a year by now. The image is a little blurry, but they are underwater and I couldn’t make too much moves without disturbing them.

Mating is a long process for crayfish, so I didn’t want to risk interrupting their business. Male crayfish have two special pair of articulations that are used to place a sperm package in the female, which will keep it viable for several weeks.

When the time comes, the female will fertilize the eggs with the sperm capsule. The eggs will be carried by the female until they hatch. The young crayfish will be born as a miniature adult and eventually will flee their home, since mommy can have a good lunch with them.

Rearing crayfish with aquaponics seems to be a simple thing, but I had never had baby crayfish, so I can’t say for sure. However, I’m confident that they will grow to feed my table. Anyway, it is worth mentioning that crowds don’t seem to embarrass these guys.

Some fish, like Tilapia, need to have a territory, fight for it and choose a female. They can get quite aggressive in that stage. Crayfish don’t seem to care about peeping toms, so they make things a los easier. Right now I have 12 crayfish in a 50 gallon tank, and the idea is to have more, but the little creek does not have many of them.

Fortunately, breeding in captivity raises the odds to have a lot of them available. Procambarus Clarkii crayfish have a short life span, but have a lot of younglings in the meantime, making them an excellent aquaponic guest. Just provide them with enough places to hide and they will be happy. Although you can make them with rocks and the like, I use PVC pipes. They are easy to cut, cheap and light, but that is up to you.

So, find some crayfish and see what you can do with them. They eat the same things like fish and are fun to watch at night.

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Something Important About Crayfish

Yesterday I wrote about my fishing trip and the new crayfish living in my tank. Well that was nice, but I forgot to mention an important fact about this guys and I also forgot to put my “countermeasures” in place last night. Well, I was a little tired… I hate getting old… Anyway, one of the crayfish “had a good one”.

One thing about crayfish is that they are very resourceful creatures that can escape from a lot tight places. If you add the ability to survive for short periods of time out of the water, then you have a little Houdini in your tank.

After the crayfish’s demise, I put in place a piece of wood to stop them from climbing. Well, not much for opportunity, but we humans tend to be like this. Anyway, if you have crayfish, they can climb your air hose and the cable for the pump. In a regular tank, you can just place a cover and that will be it, but here you need to have an entrance for the clean water that comes from the hydroponic part of your aquaponic system, so you will need a “do it yourself” solution, like making an additional hole to your tank’s cover.

This will depend a lot on your aquaponic system and it’s layout, but it shouldn’t be a problem. If you plan to have crayfish, you should be careful about this. By the way, the one I have is a Procambarus Clarikii, a nice little pest that has invaded almost everyplace where humans (again us…) has taken them.

Although is not exactly a problem in Florida, Illinois and Ohio, it has colonized a lot of territory in Europe, Africa and Asia, at the expense of indigenous crayfish. Not a pretty sight, but getting back to the ones you can rear, this “pesty” capability of the crayfish can be used to your advantage.

They grow and breed quickly, so you can have enough of them in a few months. In Louisiana, there is a millionaire industry with this crayfish, so you can take a part of it too. They are really delicious and you should not miss the chance to taste your own.

After all, if you feed them right and take the proper care, you can have your own source of a delicacy that can be quite expensive in a good restaurant.

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Catch Your Own Fish!

Nice, isn’t it? Maybe not as fancy as other places, but with a lot of crayfish. Reaching the place wasn’t easy, by the way, but if you want to get one of this guys without too mucho trouble, it’s best if you can reach a place where there is a little trouble involved. After all, most people will mind the bruises and itches you bet for getting into this kind of places.

Well, the point is that you can get local water creatures if you have a creek, lake, river or water nearby. Besides being a nice ride for a Sunday with the family, doing local fishing has a great advantage for your aquaponic adventures.

When you get local fauna, at least you know that the weather will not be a problem. Local critters are used to live in your own region, so you will not have a lot of trouble making a comfortable place for them. Trout is a very tasty fish but requires cold water. Unless you live in a cold place, you can only rear them on the winter.

Anyway, if you have a little time left, turn off the TV, get a couple of fishing nets and go fish something. After some bruises, insect bites and falling in the water (luckily, only once), you can get some fish that will grow healthy in your home. After all, living in the wild is, most of the time, a losing game for fish so they have a better chance with you.

In this case, I went to get some crayfish. These guys are fun to catch. You just need a fish net (I use two; makes it easier) and just watch closely. If you have a nearby creek like this one, a lot of crayfish should be living on the river banks, under the roots of plants or bunches of algae.

You can also use a trap, but these things have to be left in advance the night before. Of course you can always buy some on your local pet store, but where is the fun in that?


Anyway, having your aquaponic system is really easy and very cheap, if you are willing to do thing by yourself. Local fish can always be there to get you started, before you jump to more difficult (but tastier) creatures, so take advantage of that. Doing aquaponics is easy, just takes a little practice.

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