Fish-keeper often gets confused about what Crayfish eat, as Crayfish are omnivores and eat meat, fish, insects, vegetable, and plants like java moss. Crayfish are also known as crawdads or Crawfish. They are water bodies that live in a natural environment, mostly around small streams and rivers. They look like lobsters and related to that family.
Crayfish have an average lifespan of 2 to 3 years. They are found in 450 different species all around the world.
Mostly Crawfish founded in North America, New Zealand, Asia, Australia, and Europe; they are famous as freshwater lobsters, mudbugs, and Crawdads.
What Do Crawfish Eat In Captivity?
When to kept Crawfish as a pet, these will try to eat anything from their surroundings. In wildlife, they have a habit of consuming plants not to have any issue while living in captivity.
You can feed your pet Crawfish on plant issues besides that you may occasionally feed them pet supplements formulated for Crawdads. Commercial algae pellets can be the primary food source for feeding pet Crawfish.
You may select the leafy green plants like spinach and dead snails for protein intake. Shrimps will also be great to support their health.
What Do Crawfish Eat In the Wild?
They like to consume animals and plants as they belong to the omnivorous Animal family. The shellfish they can even that turtle eat anything that comes in front of them can also feed dead pets. They have cravings for insect Lavas, tadpoles, and amphibian eggs, pests are no exception.
Freshwater Crawfish
If you have ever come across freshwater Crawfish you may wonder what they like to consume? They are somehow mysterious mudbugs, live in freshwater who tends to eat various plants and live animals. They will probably eat anything they found in their surroundings, so they are categorized as eager eaters.
Nutritional Requirements
Crayfish don’t require much protein; a sufficient amount of vegetables can fulfill their dietary requirements. A small amount of meat and fish can probably meet their protein portion.
Crayfish belong to the omnivorous group why it is important to remember that their various types have differentiated nutritional requirements.
Aging And Crawfish
young Crawfish mostly show aggressive behavior; they tend to eat aquatic insects and animals. Adventure fish is active mainly at night can consume a vegetable diet. They mostly like to hide Beneath the rocks during the day, waiting for nightfall to get ready to feed. They have natural antennas to tell them about the taste of food.
Feeding Behavior Of Crayfish
Crayfish look more like a mini lobster like to live in shallow water bodies like ponds, swamps, and marshes. Crayfish can become great pets, and it is vitally important to feed them properly. These voracious eaters like to consume vegetables, and they don’t require a high amount of protein in their food. In captivity, Crayfish will have slightly different meals from what they eat in the wild.
Their feeding behavior changes according to age, you may notice an aggressive behavior with aging. If they are not feeling satisfied with the number of meals, they will adopt an angry mentality to cause harm to you or other family members. So look closely at their feeding behavior to avoid any nasty surprise from them.
Food Habits Of Crayfish
- In the natural habitat, decomposed plants are availably rotted in water to provide a diet for crawdads. They love to rip off these soft and decayed leaves, so the spinach or rotten lettuce leaves into small pieces can be an excellent meal for your Crayfish.
- The pond and streams are the natural habitats of crawdads with many snails, algae, and bacteria. So expect your Crawfish to eat up all the bacteria and algae grown in the tank. This food habits safe water from contamination and keeps it in purified form.
- You have to feed your Crawfish with a sufficient quantity of food; if they are not supplied with adequate food, they will become cannibalistic to attack each other.
- If you would like to have some guppies or minnows besides crawdads, you must keep them in a separate tank. Crayfish will not spare them if kept in the same aquarium; they love to eat these tiny creatures.
- Avoid feeding uncooked Shrimp to your Crawfish, live or dead Shrimp can be a carrier of various fatal diseases. Cooking will remove the chances of getting infected due to bacteria.
Types of Crawfish & Their Diet Habits
Crawfish has few prominent types to be preferred to keep a pet, here to know about that their specific food habits to recognize their additional requirements. Interesting to know that these tiny cuties are called Crayfish as well.
Blue Crayfish Diet Habits
Blue Crayfish has a unique attraction due to its delicate hue. They are very aggressive to damaging aquarium decorations, so keep into observation when adopting them as a pet.
Blue Crayfish is a very active animal while living in a natural habitat. As you will shift them in the tank, they can avoid food for a few days due to limited space anxiety and change the environment.
They can enjoy a fish meal, flakes, granules, and pallets. They would love to eat live plants from the tank. Gourmet blended aquatic food with high-quality algae nutrients can be ideal for feeding blue Crayfish.
Orange Crayfish Diet Habits
Crayfish are Omnivores among the dwarf orange crayfish and are quite different from other types. These species do not adopt an aggressive temperament to harm other tank mates. They like to eat plants and enjoy while some other kinds of Crawfish just want to destroy the plants rather than eating.
Orange crayfish need high protein intake like Hikari Cuisine sinking sticks for bottom feeders, and you can feed dried and freeze killed on alternate days. It is advised to give them flashy items they will try to scrap and eat many algae in their wild habitat.
You can add Spirulina Sinking Pellets in their daily mean as it contains all the essential nutrients for Orange Darf Crayfish. Don’t ignore to add calcium intake as it works that vital element to provide strength to its outer shell. Vegetarian meals can support Crayfish’s health system, along with that warm protein can boost the energy levels to keep your pet active and sporty.
Blue Dwarf Crayfish Diet Habits
Blue Dwarf Crayfish is indeed the most cutest and peaceful creature in various genres of Crayfish. They would rarely fight with other tank mates or destroying the live plants in aquarium out of rage. They would love to enjoy green veggies and flesh things being omnivores.
Blue one keeps on crawling around the aquarium substrate, so you need to include the food that may sink into the bottom of the aquarium as the daily scheduled diet. These tiny beauties are very playful and consume a higher protein level per day.
A plant-based nutrient makes a balanced combination for Dwarf Blue Crayfish must contain plants, dry algae, and frozen shrimps. API Fish food Pellets are valuable food options dwarf blue Crayfish. You can try frozen Carrot Cubes as a source of vitamins to convert it into energy.
Red Swamp Crayfish Diet Habits
Red Swamp Crayfish is an omnivore animal but sometimes develop a cannibalistic attitude towards their species. Cut any meaty items from their diet to snub this particular attitude if you have more than one Crayfish in a single tank.
A Red Swamp Crayfish needs plant nutrients and animal protein in the right blend to promote good health. Mosquito Larvae and Frozen Squid will be the best food choices for Red Swamp as it provides an ample supply of calcium and iodine. These nutrients are crucial for maintaining stronger and shinner shells. The flakes will give essential minerals and higher energy levels to keep Crayfish active all day.
Red Crayfish Diet Habits
Red Crawfish loves to hunt and attack the prey from some hidden place. Sharp claws help him in capturing to kill the victim. Don’t make mind to keep any other mate with him as it can be fatal to the other creature living with this aggressive Crayfish.
Frozen vegetables can fulfill the nutrient requirements of this hyper creature. You can try providing them live food to maintain their aggressiveness. To overcome vitamin deficiency bring more fruit and vegetables to their diet, Zucchini and Frozen Pea can be beneficial fo this. Java Moss will be a good one to add to the Red Crawfish diet.
How Often To Feed Crayfish?
Add few Brine Shrimp and little meaty cubes on an alternate day to this Crawfish. Avoid feeding these daily as due to high protein concentration, they can result in obesity. Dead fish is quite
You don’t need to feed more than 0.75inch pallet for an adult crawfish on the alternate days. Young Crawfish need the same quantity every day. Settle a time to provide feed and stick to it firmly.
Use a non-sharp tong to feed your Crawfish, you may break a flake into a tiny size or either way is to feed crushed shrimps.
Bottom Line
You may have to follow the above-given recommendations to use as guidelines for feeding your Crayfish. Maintain cleanliness and remove toxins by filtration to avoid contamination in the water. Being organized and punctual about the feeding schedule, you can keep your aquarium buddy in the best health conditions.
Hey, I work as a manager of a pet store in Texas. Dealing with a variety of pets is not only part of my job but also my passion. These adorable, loving creatures are so excited when they find their new home. However, many new pet owners struggle in taking care of their pets and come up with a lot of queries every day. So, based on my knowledge and experience, I am using this platform to address major issues faced by pets, their food options, grooming techniques and so on. The major issue I addressed is that most of the part-owners prefer to surf through the Internet instead of going directly to the vet. And the worst part, they are rattled with multiple types of information available there. So, my target is to provide authentic information with my experience. Walkthrough my blogs and ask any of your queries. I would love to help!
