Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Creating the food chain Adding crayfish to the pond

You bought crayfish and don't know the species? That is like buying fish and not knowing what species they are. Some species can be very detrimental to aquatic ecosystems and do more harm than good. Some crayfish form tunnels in the banks of the pond, many species when abundant denude plants and habitat. Some species are fairly aggressive, defensive and it is hard for fish to catch and eat them.

I suggest that whenever one buys crayfish to ask for the common and scientific name and trust that the batch from the supplier is not contaminated with other harmful or non-native species. Moving exotic species of crayfish from state to state is unwise and probably against the law. Many crayfish are nomads and on wet damp nights will travel from water body to water body spreading the new species to areas where native crayfish can be impacted and sometimes eliminated. There a lots of examples of exotic species and not just crayfish causing problems of upsetting the balance of natural communities.