Marmorkrebs | Self cloning crayfish care & info

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Categories: Care Guides

Tags: Freshwater crayfish

Posted On: February 1 2023

Posted By: Marijke Puts

10 Comments

Barry D

October 17 2019 at 9:13 am

This is an informative article, but with one serious oversight. Since Marmorkrebs are illegal to possess in several states, you should have included this information with a list of those states. I think they're awesome, but they are considered an invasive species in many places.

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Reina

April 18 2022 at 10:02 am

Hi there I have a large blue female crayfish. I had a smaller blue male crayfish with her for 3 weeks. They matted all the time. But it's been 2 weeks and.she still has no eggs? How long does it take before u see eggs? Also I think he teyed matting with her during her molt because I found him ripped apart with his claws around her molt? She ate him. I since then got am orange male. But have yet to see them mate. They are the same size. So im just wondering how come she's not pregnant?

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Max

September 28 2022 at 9:11 am

I bought a crayfish a while back and the store didn't know it was a marbled crayfish since it was a baby when they got it in. Is there a way to suppress a marbled crayfish's self cloning? I don't want to hurt the crayfish, of course, but I'm worried about taking care of all of the crayfish once my current gets old enough to reproduce. I read somewhere that some scientists use marbled crayfish for cancer studies, maybe I could donate a few to a local researcher?

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1. Mari Puts
  
  October 17 2022 at 7:42 am
  
  Hey! Whoops, yeah, they can be quite prolific and I don't think there are any ways to prevent them from reproducing. What you can do with them depends on how you feel about how they end up, but since you mention donating them to local researchers, I assume it's not an issue as long as they get put to good use? If you can't find anything like that, there's a Wired article suggesting you eat the offspring, and I was personally going to suggest offering them up on Facebook groups and such. Obviously, though that means they may be used as food for carnivorous aquarium species like pufferfish.
  
  Good luck, I hope she takes it easy and doesn't flood you with crayfish! They really are cool little creatures.
  
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  1. Lynn
    
    June 10 2023 at 3:26 pm
    
    This is Madelyn and Lynn. Please advise us. We are returning from a Fish Auction.
    Do you have legal crayfish in Florida? I need small crayfish for my Puffers. Currently, I am am feeding the Puffer Red & Black Ramshorn Snails. Also, Rosey Feeders. My Puffer will not eat the Rosey, unless it is pink. I bought a self cloning crayfish because Puffers like to eat them. Puffer refuses to eat frozen red worms. She Loved them as a baby. Now she will not eat red or black worms, or clam on the half shell or frozen raw fish. Very picky. What do you suggest? She Loves chasing her prey. I made a Rain Forrest for her and she Loves to Sneak around the plant leaves. Puffer thinks I do not see her.
    
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    1. Mari Puts
      
      June 13 2023 at 8:19 am
      
      Hey there! I completely understand your situation, I used to keep pufferfish as well. What species is this? They're amazing and I love watching them hunt.
      
      So: as far as we have understood (though if anyone has different info, feel free to chime in), three species of crayfish are illegal in Florida. According to this doc, they are the Australian red claw (Cherax quadricarinatus), red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) and white river crayfish (Procambarus zonangulas). What that means is that self-cloning marmorkrebs actually appear to be legal. In some other states, they are not. We don't carry them right now, but since you already have one, you should be fine.
      
      For a good alternative, we've always had great success with getting CPO crayfish to breed. I don't see anything indicating they are illegal in Florida. I bet you could have a thriving population within a few months. We do carry these, you can buy them here. You can read all about caring for them in the CPO crayfish care guide.
      
      If you need any more info, feel free to let me know.
      
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L. L.

April 3 2023 at 6:12 pm

Be aware that these can proliferate quickly in an aquarium. They can reck havoc in a planted tank, cutting off plants and plant stems. I had to get rid of them in my tank.

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1. Mari Puts
  
  April 13 2023 at 8:12 am
  
  Absolutely! They're best for a single-species set-up, where you can tailor the tank to their needs. They do reproduce very quickly!
  
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Wessie

January 21 2024 at 12:39 am

May be a bit of a hot take but I've been looking into keeping these in order to have a cost-effective feeder for my snapping turtles. Is there any reason to suspect they would be unsafe for a turtle to eat?
planning on setting the cray up in a 55g and hoping the clone so can be feeders. will not be "keeping" them with said turtles.

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1. Marijke Puts
  
  January 21 2024 at 10:59 am
  
  Not that hot of a take, no worries. I've recommended them to pufferfish owners loads of times. As far as I'm aware, snapping turtles do eat crayfish in the wild, and marmorkrebs are actually used by other snapping turtle owners. So you're good to go! Just me sure to include loads of hides, because they are aggressive toward their own kind. Maybe it would be good to have a separate tank or tub on hand to keep the biggest and baddest specimens in until you're ready to offer them to the snapper. Good luck! :)
  
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