How to Make Crawdads Turn Blue

Crawdads or crayfish live in most lakes and rivers, near the shore. You can buy crawdads from your local pet store or catch them yourself. Catch them by hand or using bait. If they grab hold of the bait, they will not let go, so you can just pick them right out of the water. Crawdads molt or shed their skin when they grow. The new skin is a striking blue. You can turn your crawdad blue by manipulating the environment to induce molting.

Things You'll Need

  • Tank
  • Filter
  • Aeration system
  • Heater
  • Gravel
  • Plants
  • Rocks
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Instructions

    • 1

      Create a safe and healthy environment for your crawdads. Ensure that the water is clean, and create a "cave" out of rocks where they can hide. Crawdads are very territorial, so keep only one at a time unless you have a tank that is 50 gallons or more.

    • 2

      Increase the temperature in your tank to between 78 and 80 degrees F.

    • 3

      Feed your crawdad more than normal. Overfeeding and high temperatures will induce molting and reveal the blue skin beneath the outer sheath.

    • 4

      Leave the shed skin in the tank. The crawdad will eat it to replenish vitamins and minerals.