Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose crayfish are doing well!!

I put a few crayfish in last summer, saw only 1 in the dead leaves at ice out.. Put a few more in this July. Have not seen them or caught any in a minnow trap.

My boy saw this very large one in the sandy shallows just ambling around. Now that the edges are raked clean we can see the PK shrimp and big snails (look like ramshorn shells)

This one really is eating something, maybe all the weeds? The bottom is pretty barren this year.

If they are making crayfish babies hopefully the perch are finishing them off and growing steadily!






Underside:




Any idea if the big snails looking like ramshorns are helpful/harmful etc? Nothing in the pond can swallow them so if they decide to over take things I guess I start raking them out by hand...

Wonder if that was a big female crawdad as I notice it had it's tail tucked; maybe holding a clutch of eggs?

When I put the crayfish in some water (wading pool or 5 gallon bucket the tail would come back out straight) When we picked it up, or tried to get pictures the tail stayed curved pretty tightly. He or she is back in the pond, probably wreaking havoc on any slow moving fish...

is there a time of year for eggs in crayfish?

They breed in the fall. The female stores the sperm in her body until spring, when she fertilizes her eggs with it. She will usually be 'In berry" in April/May, when the eggs tucked under her tail resemble a blackberry. Just put 120 in my new ponds today... sure hope they grow like yours did!