How Do I Raise a Crawdad?

Crawdads, also known as crawfish and crayfish, are a renowned food source throughout the world and are cherished all the way from Scandinavia to the southern United States. However, more than just good food, crawdads make excellent pets due to their relative ease to care for and ascetic enjoyment. With some effort on your part, keeping a crawdad is a very realistic goal and will reward you with long-term experiences with this amazing crustacean.

Things You'll Need

  • 20-gallon aquarium
  • Water
  • Aquarium gravel
  • Airlift filter ball and tube
  • Artificial plants
  • Digital thermometer
  • Algae scrubber
  • Fish pellets
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Identify an area you wish to place your crawdad tank. When looking for this area, ensure that it is neither in the shade nor in direct sunlight. Optimal room temperature for this area should be within 60 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the tank in this area.

    • 2

      Fill the tank with tap water. Let your tank sit for one week to let chemical compounds that will harm or kill your crawdad, such as chlorine, break down. Although crawdads are an extremely hardy species, letting your water sit for an entire week is essential, as chlorine can linger for days.

    • 3

      Pour your aquarium gravel into your tank, and make a plane along the bottom of your tank. Dig your airlift filter ball into the corner under the gravel, and wind your tube up the back side of your tank. To ensure that your airlift filter can properly supply oxygen for a 20-gallon aquarium, call and speak with your retailer about it. Place your artificial plants all throughout the tank to provide some hideaways for your crawdad.

    • 4

      Attach your digital thermometer to your tank and regularly monitor the tank to ensure the temperature range stays within 70 degrees and 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Scrub the tank weekly with your algae scrubber to avoid algae build up on the sides of your tank.

    • 5

      Feed your crawdad a pinch of fish pellets each day. The fish pellets will sink to the bottom where your crawdad will slowly consume them. Although crawdads are a hardy species, ensure that your crawdads eat the fish pellets on the bottom rather than have them decompose in your tank. Crawdads will grow an inch a year, and will max in length at about 6 inches.