Characteristics Orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO presented: Today we would like to present a crab that we have been caring for ourselves for a short time. The orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO is known above all for its easy keeping, its size and compatibility and also for its particularly beautiful orange color. Crayfish are being kept more and more often in our home aquariums, but unfortunately many do not know what conditions the animals need.
This profile for the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO is intended to show the most important things in terms of keeping, food, socialization and water parameters. We also look at the breeding of the animals.
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Origin of the Orange Dwarf Crab Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO
In the wild, the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO is best known for its original color variant, the striped dwarf crayfish. It lives in its natural habitat in Mexico. There he lives in Lake Patzcuaro. The pygmy crab has only been seen there so far. The lake is over 2000 meters high and has a temperature of up to 25 degrees. Its origin is incorporated into its Latin name. In the orange color variant, it occurs almost exclusively in our domestic aquariums.
As the name suggests, he has some stripes on his body there. Many speak of a marbled body of the pygmy crayfish. In our article we focus on its particularly striking orange in our cultivated forms. Wild-caught animals should no longer be kept.
The orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO can grow up to 5 cm, so this comrade can also be kept in smaller aquariums. The male is usually slightly smaller than the female. If you want to clearly identify the sexes, then you have to turn the animals on their backs because the males have the so-called gonopodium on the rear part. This mating pen lets you quickly distinguish between males and females. The male has a third pair of legs here. This represents a V-shape. There the seed package is given to the female during copulation.
Of course there are also some related species of the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO. Here, for example, the Montezuma dwarf crayfish or the Louisiana dwarf crayfish should be mentioned.
The age of the animals is given as 1,5 to 2 years, with sexual maturity already being a few months old.
In order for the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO to grow well, it also has to molt again and again. After moulting, it is particularly vulnerable because it is then in a butter shrimp phase. His new skin has to harden first.
Husbandry of the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO
Now let's move on to the attitude of the Cancer. You should make sure that the temperature is not too high. Temperatures up to a maximum of 25 degrees have proven themselves here. Basically, no heating is needed here and you can keep the animals from 18 degrees.
There are also no special requirements for the PH value. Values between 7 and 9 PH are used here. The total hardness of the aquarium water should be between 6 and 20 Gh and the carbonate hardness KH should be between 3 and 20. This also does not place any special demands on us aquarists.
Now we come to the size of the aquarium. We recommend using tanks with a size of 60 liters or more, because it is also possible to keep couples here. Since the male very often claims aggressive behavior and can also be territorial, there should be enough space. The bigger the better, so it's also possible to keep small groups there. There should also be plenty of hiding places for the animals. On the one hand, plants and various caves are suitable here, which crabs particularly love. This is the only way to prevent any hostility between the animals.
Although the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO are not group animals but loners, they can still be kept together. This is possible in pools with a base area of 30 x 30 cm or more.
A sufficient supply of oxygen is particularly important if you also want to breed the animals. Here we recommend using a diaphragm pump or an oxidizer. When it comes to filtering, you can also use a Hamburg mat filter HMF. Information on this can be found in the relevant link.
It is also important that there is enough sludge, because the crabs need this especially when it comes to breeding and reproduction. But more on that later. A tank that is too clean is not very good and should be avoided.
Socialization of the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO
Let us now come to the socialization of animals. Of course, there are also a few things to consider here, because you have to be careful with other bottom dwellers in particular. Again and again there is the question of whether you can also socialize them with shrimp, basically this seems to work well, derived from many experience reports, although it cannot be ruled out that one or the other shrimp falls victim to the animals. This should be noted. It certainly cannot be ruled out.
A socialization with other fish is usually problem-free, as long as they do not come to the bottom at night to sleep there. Then they could also fall victim to the crabs. You should pay attention to this when making your selection. But fish can also attack the crab, as long as you keep a breed which crabs also like to see as food. Of course, these should not be socialized with crabs.
Let's come to the question of how a socialization with armored catfish or L catfish looks like. Here you should pay particular attention to the sizes that the respective animals can attain. Animals of the same size seem to be less problematic here, such as catfish, which are much larger than crabs. This could lead to rivalries and disputes.[the_ad id=”1019″]
Snails or mussels don't seem to pose a problem when it comes to socializing.
Food of the Orange Pygmy Crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO - What does it eat?
Basically, the dwarf crayfish eat everything, but you should still pay attention to a balanced and, above all, high-protein diet. In addition to ordinary flake food and granulated food that sinks to the bottom, specialist retailers also offer special cancer tablets such as those from Sera or Tetra. Autumn leaves from beech or oak are also particularly popular. The crabs also eat stinging nettles and vegetables should also be on the menu. Be it a boiled carrot or broccoli. But you should cook it without adding salt. In addition, you should also give frozen food again and again. Artemia is particularly popular here. The young animals especially like this very much. Mosquito larvae that eat cancer can also. Of course, not everything is taken and one or the other orange dwarf crayfish can sometimes leave something behind.
Breeding and reproduction of the orange dwarf crayfish Cambarellus patzcuarensis CPO
In the last chapter we want to take a look at breeding. There is very good news here, especially for beginners, because breeding should not be a problem. It is also always presented as quite simple. Nevertheless, there are a few things to consider.
The animals are sexually mature from the 3rd to 4th month and can only then mate. Factors influencing the willingness to mate and sexual maturity is the feeding of the animals. The mating act is quite quick and also violent, since the male puts the female on her back and doesn't exactly like that. The female may want to turn again and again. Injuries can even occur. Claws or legs may fall off, but this should grow back with the next moult.
The female carries the eggs on the lower back part of the body. The eggs stick to the webbed feet and are well supplied with oxygen there. Dead eggs are sorted out again and again. After about 4 weeks, the first crabs hatch. This can be up to 50 pieces. These should then be fed accordingly with Artemia.
Since the parent animals are usually also predators, you should separate them if you want to raise many.
