Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Raising Forage and Bait Marbled Crayfish

Has anybody ever heard of these. I looked on Wikipedia under Marmorkrebs. They don't get very big but I was wondering if they night be decent forage.

Local craw species are a good idea.

They are interesting in that they are the only known advanced crustacean to be asexual(parthenogenetically), meaning they are all females and a single crayfish can reproduce. Apparently they are able to reproduce at a young and and in high volume. They don't reach as large a size compared to many crayfish but do have extremely fast growth rates and mature quickly. I can't find any info on where they are native to though. They were first discovered in the aquarium trade in Germany and apparently are tolerant of temperate conditions. I would look for a native species as Eric said...

This could be a hit or miss. Its a hit and they match perfectly to your needs as bass or other gamefish food or a miss meaning they can't handle the temps or do too well and become another snakehead-like species. I'd go with the local species....

Cisco Texas ain't exactly loaded with swamps, drainage ditches or even the rain to fill them if they existed. There are probably some around but probably not enough to constitute an obvious native species.

My best recommendation is go to the closest permanent non moving BOW near you that is open to the public or you have permission to fish. Walk the edge at night with a spotlight and observe the shallows. If there are crayfish, you'll see some. If you do see some, set out a crayfish trap. Once you catch a few, photograph them and post the species you catch on here for ID. If need be, preserve specimens for further ID assistance. Once you have ID'd the species and know it/they isn't/aren't a/ problem species, you can trap and transfer from that BOW to your pond. That is how I have obtained crayfish for my ponds. Many times the crayfish will find the pond on their own though.

I'm a biologist doing research on Marmorkrebs, and I run the Marmorkrebs.org website.

Marmorkrebs should NOT be kept outside in ponds. The risk of them escaping or being transported to another waterway is too great. Marmorkrebs are potentially an invasive species. It's very difficult to assess the threat they pose, because:

1. They have a means of reproduction unlike no other crayfish. They're asexual, so only one is needed to start a breeding population.

2. They have no known natural habitat. This means we don't have any idea where they can survive or thrive.

To date, Marmorkrebs seem not to have been introduced into local waterways North America. I ask people to help keep it that way.

I'm happy to try to answer any questions anyone has about these animals (though the answer is often, "I don't know, and nobody else does, either.")

Thank you Zen for allowing us access to that information! If you want you can kick off your shoes and stay a while too. We don't bite!

Thanks Zen - great info!

Travis I agree 100% with this direction

Thanks Gentlemen. I figured as much but I had never heard of them. I knew someone on this forum would have an answer as always.

Thanks for the info Zen. They do seem like a cool aquarium crayfish, but should be left at that as you said. Ah, if only one could be a male Marmorkreb... What a lucky bugger he'd be!