My wife is going to freak

[Diver0001]

I have a tropical fresh-water aquarium in my living-room and in that aquarium I have a small collection of interesting fishes and some platys (which aren't unusual but they're cute, home bread and they make a lot of babies, which is entertaining enough)

One of the things in my aquarium are crayfish (population control for the platy's ). They're just like little palm-sized lobsters and they look fabulous in the aqaurium.

But now I have a problem. I was working at home today and just after lunch I heard some rustling behind a couple of plastic storage boxes. I went to check it out, assuming it to be a mouse and .... you guessed it .... a cray fish. I don't know how it happened and I don't know if it's the first time or not but I do know how my wife is going to respond if it happens when *she's* home.....

We've obviously never had a problem with crayfish running around the living room before be we have had mice and my wife gets completely hacked over mice. Anything that crawls around and doesn't need it diaper changed in unnatural and terrifying in the mind of city dwelling Dutch people, I guess....

I can hear her now .... "Rob, get that !#$#$* Hitchcock's monster out of this house".

I don't know what to do.....should I tell her that I know they can do this or should I wait until she's sticking her arm under the couch reaching for a toy and discovers it the hard way.... ? It's a dillemma. I don't want to be mean to my wife but I like the crayfish a lot

R..

 

[ScubaBabe22]

Wait, then IF it happens again, you can address what to do with them

How did it get out of the aquarium(IYO) in the first place?

 

[redacted]

Enjoy

http://www.cajuncrawfish.com/page.cfm?sct=cookbook&pg=recipes&recipeid=1

 

[Corigan]

ScubaBabe has the right idea here. Seal up that aquarium tight with some of those glass covers you can buy at the fish stores. They usually have little plastic pieces that attach to the back where you cut little slots out to allow for your hoses, thermometers, filters, powerheads, etc. to fit in. I had to do that with a few aquariums in my day, very few are open top. I have one right now that is closed up tight since I have some fish that tend to be jumpers. When I was a kid I had a blue lobster. I think it was just a little crawfish in actuality. It used to climb out of my tank and I used to find it all over the house. I eventually just had to plexi-glass in the top of the aquarium so he wouldn't get out. Make sure you have plenty of water movement and even add in an air pump to make sure there is plenty of o2 in the water since you are closing it off tight and it won't have the atmosphere to exchange oxygen with the water column. Good luck on keeping a very cool species in your home.

Another reason that I have read that shrimp/crawfish will crawl out of the water is if they are not happy with the clarity/quality of the water. This is why they are leaving it, to search for better water. Crawfish/invertabrates are a very finicky species, and they require crystal clear water. He may be a little unhappy with the conditions. Might want to add some extra filtration/aeration and see if it makes him/her a little happier.

Matt

 

[inter_alia]

If you tell her (and I'd advise against that) you could explain that the crayfish are also population control for the mice -- or vice versa?

 

[The Kraken]

Well, at least you didn't experience what my ex-wife and I did, oh so many years ago.

Coming home from a Ga/Fla football game we just HAD to stop and buy a baby gator.

Well, to make a long story short, it happened to get out of its impoundment one night and she just happened to step on it on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Ended up putting it in the Oconee River in Athens, GA. I know, I know . . . environmentalism etc. !!!!

God, I miss that gator. I'm surprised it didn't die from the bite.

the K

 

[ScubaBabe22]

Well, at least you didn't experience what my ex-wife and I did, oh so many years ago.

Coming home from a Ga/Fla football game we just HAD to stop and buy a baby gator.

Well, to make a long story short, it happened to get out of its impoundment one night and she just happened to step on it on the way to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

Ended up putting it in the Oconee River in Athens, GA. I know, I know . . . environmentalism etc. !!!!

God, I miss that gator. I'm surprised it didn't die from the bite.

the K

Die from the bite? Did your ex bite it back?!

 

[The Kraken]

No, it just bit her.

 

[ScubaBabe22]

No, it just bit her.

Oh lord, I'm not going there!

 

[Diver0001]

ScubaBabe has the right idea here. Seal up that aquarium tight with some of those glass covers you can buy at the fish stores. They usually have little plastic pieces that attach to the back where you cut little slots out to allow for your hoses, thermometers, filters, powerheads, etc. to fit in. I had to do that with a few aquariums in my day, very few are open top. I have one right now that is closed up tight since I have some fish that tend to be jumpers. When I was a kid I had a blue lobster. I think it was just a little crawfish in actuality. It used to climb out of my tank and I used to find it all over the house. I eventually just had to plexi-glass in the top of the aquarium so he wouldn't get out. Make sure you have plenty of water movement and even add in an air pump to make sure there is plenty of o2 in the water since you are closing it off tight and it won't have the atmosphere to exchange oxygen with the water column. Good luck on keeping a very cool species in your home.

Another reason that I have read that shrimp/crawfish will crawl out of the water is if they are not happy with the clarity/quality of the water. This is why they are leaving it, to search for better water. Crawfish/invertabrates are a very finicky species, and they require crystal clear water. He may be a little unhappy with the conditions. Might want to add some extra filtration/aeration and see if it makes him/her a little happier.

Matt

Thanks for the advice, Matt. You gave me an idea. It could very well be the water. I usually clean my aquarium every week but we've been on vacation and I left it for 3 weeks. I'll go clean it now and maybe my crayfish will stay put

R..