Re: NANFA-- FW feather dusters and other inverts

DasArm_at_aol.com
Fri, 14 Jan 2000 01:42:49 EST

In a message dated 1/13/00 1:32:59 PM Eastern Standard Time,
DaveCyndy_at_aol.com writes:

<< With hellgramites at least the reverse may be the problem. Two good
sized(2.5") hellgramites ate a 2.5" crayfish in one of my tanks. The
crayfish had just molted and was vunerable. I don't know if they killed it,
or were simply eating it after it died. >>

Seems likely that they killed it. That kind of surprises me, because I
would've thought that the crayfish's claws would deter hellgrammites from
attacking even just after a molt. Are the crayfish too unresponsive to
attacks at this time or are their claws simply not hard enough to defend
itself at that stage? It would seem that if it was just their claws not being
hard enough at the time that they could just be given a number of refuges in
the form of plenty of cover; caves and the like. However if they're merely
unresponsive to attacks the hellgrammites and other potential opportunistic
predators housed with the crayfish should be EXTRA well fed during this time
with tasty treats to distract them from what they would consider to be an
easy meal. But maybe this is something difficult to watch for all the time in
practice.

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