NANFA-- Crayfish ID

DaveCyndy_at_aol.com
Sun, 2 Jan 2000 00:14:12 EST

Hello all,
My roomate has a tank with a 6" smallmouth, 5 or 6 crayfish, and several
hellgramites. One of the crayfish is completely different than any I have
collected or kept. It was collected from Catoctin Creek in Frederick Co.,
MD(as are all the others). The crayfish is about 4" long and a deep, uniform
blue color. The large claws are more slender and sharper the the other
crayfish I have collected and kept.

His behavior is completely different also. He never seeks cover. All
crayfish that I have kept excavate holes under rocks or utilize crevices in
rock piles and only spend time out in the open when there is food present.
This crayfish has staked out a spot on top of a large rock in the center of
the tank and defends it against everything. It has completely intimidated
all the other inhabitants of the tank including the smallmouth. This
crayfish also is extremely predatory. As soon as feeder minnows are put into
the tank, it begins stalking them. When it creeps close enough it jumps at
the minnows. The success rate of this technique is very low but it will not
quit. It eventually catches a minnow everytime. The other crayfish
completly ignore the minnows.

Any help identifing this guy would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
DAVE HOUGH

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