Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Crawfish

What are generally considered to be the best crawfish for midwestern ponds in terms of least likely to present problems for the pond manager and suitability as forage for LMB?

People seem to like papershells. Bill Cody can offer some good advice on these.

You'll need extensive crayfish habitat to prevent them being extirpated by LMB.

"extensive crayfish habitat" I don't know exactly what that is, but I doubt that my pond has it. Are there things that could be easily added to the pond to provide habitat?

Yes. 6"-12" dia. limestones, i.e. "riprap", 2-3 rocks thick, from shoreline to 3'-4' deep in the pond. It gives them places to hide where they can't be eaten by fish or turtles. The more the better, but I wouldn't put less than 50 to 75 linear feet of it along the shoreline.

I'm going to stock papershells this spring. One of the things I like about them is they tend to stay smaller. I think they might be a better match to the mouth gap of my WE, SMB and YP than some of the larger ones. I will be interested to see what Bill C has to say on the subject when the predator is LMB.

I prefer papershells because they are least likely to dig or burrow into the pond banks. I use papershells primarily for YP-SMB-Walleye ponds.

Lots of rock riprap habitat reduces the chances of burrowing by most pond dwelling crayfish. My crayfish pond has riprap lining on 3 shorelines. Broken concrete of all sizes down to 3-6 ft deep offers good habitat for crayfish. This crayfish habitat is also utilized as cover and feeding areas by many small fish. The more habitat you create the more crayfish it will support per linear yard.

If the main predator is LMB then I would use a larger specie of crayfish such as northern crayfish aka virile crayfish (Orconectes virilis). Larger species of crayfish will better be able to defend against predation and maintain their breeding population compared to small varieties of crayfish. For Southern ponds consider the red swamp crayfish or white river crayfish who get large enough for human consumption. I would only add the aggressive rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) into a pond if the specie already exists in your state.
http://iz.carnegiemnh.org/crayfish/country_pages/species_by_state.htm

All the above mentioned crayfish are capable pond dwellers and are not the species that climb out of the pond and build holes with 'chimneys'. Crayfish chimneys out of the pond are usually built by other crayfish species.

I will probably try raising a few in my small pond. If they multiply, I'll move some from time to time to my larger pond.

A question I was hesitant to ask because it may be a dumb question. I hear people talking of paper shells like they were a species. I thought papershell were a soft crayfish just for a while after they shed their hard shell so they could grow larger and then their outside shell grew hard again for protection. This question has bothered me for a long time. Bill Cody or anyone, tell me.

As you suggest, most (if not all) crayfish have an unhardened exoskeleton when they first molt (like many insect and other arthropods). Papershell crayfish are a specific species.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orconectes_immunis

Depending on how fast crayfish grow, they can molt more than once a month too. Another name for any crayfish in the molting stage is softshell crayfish. Sometimes the term papershell and softshell are used interchangeably.

I didn't expect the soft shell crayfish we stocked would multiply as fast as they do. If you have the right rocky shore line they will populate like crazy. We have about 12 feet in length changing in 4-5 feet of depth 4" medium crushed recycled concrete.

I am guessing it has to do with the high level of lime in the concrete as well as ample places to hide.

Cheers Don.

Nice DonoBBD. I like it.

Note that DonnoBBD has no bass in his pond thus I think he can have a good population of crayfish in a relatively small area of rocky shoreline. Bass are 'better' and more aggressive at preying on crayfish compared to some of the other species such as YP, panfish, and HSB, walleye.

Where can one purchase crayfish for stocking in the Midwest

Brian, I have had some shipped from Louisiana crawdad farms. I've tried the grocery store "live" ones but they seldom lived.

Brian,

You can get Papershells (PSC) shipped from Smith Creek Fish Farm June thru September. I don't know of anywhere that sells Northern Crayfish (NCF). Maybe a local bait shop.

If using local bait shops, be very specific when asking about what species they are. A local bait shop sells "softshell" crayfish. You would assume they are Papershells, right?

There's that assume again.....

They are actually Rusty Crayfish (I was told by the owner) that have just molted.

All "softshell" crayfish are some specie of crayfish that has just molted their old hard shell. Thus the new outer shell or exoskeleton is soft and pliable and gradually hardens in several days. Softshells could be any specie of crayfish. Lobsters have a softshell whenever they molt out of the old hard exoskeleton.

If the specie or name of the crayfish is important to you, you better learn how to recognize at least one or better,,, two unique features or characteristics of the specific crayfish you are seeking. I always question the identification ability of anyone selling crayfish as bait. I even have had fish farms mix lots of rusty crayfish in with papershell crayfish. Many do not know the specific morphological differences among the species. They are not as easily as sport fish to visually identify and separate into species.

I contacted Smith Creek Fish Farm about pricing and shipping for papershell crawfish and they didn't have the shipping costs but would in a new internet page coming out soon.

I have riffraff and an artificial stone reef in my pond that would accommodate the crayfish and make them happy. To develop a clear pond I now have only grass carp, Fathead and Golden Shiners plus turtles and frogs so as not stir up the pond sediment. So if I add the crawfish I will enter into a pond experiment that has less clear water and will have less plants. Then if the pond becomes excessive with papershell I would add a couple of male largemouth bass for some control of the papershells.

I am no expert on crawfish. When trying to determine what crawfish lived on my land, I read when a new crawfish type is added to you pond, the native species might just wipe the new one out, but like most things here with ponds, "it depends" on what type of crawfish live @ or around your pond now. Red swamp crawfish, might be a local to you, if so, he may not like the one you introduce to your pond. Louisiana Red swamps live from the Gulf of Mexico all the way up in some of the Midwestern states.

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