will room temp be okay for crayfish?

[Morainy]

I'm going to set up a self-cloning crayfish tank at my son's school and I am wondering if they need a heater. The school is always heated but sometimes on the cool side (perhaps down to 60 F on a winter holiday, though I think it's generally around 68 to 70).

I heat all my fish tanks and my shrimp tanks but if the crayfish don't need heat then I think it might just be better not to put in a heater if it doesn't need one in a school environment. There's always the chance that someone will pull the heater out of the tank while it's still plugged in while doing a water change and then forget about it. (It happens!)

[Zeron]

They should do fine at room temp.

[Homahfan]

I had them setup in a small tank (14 Gallon) at room temp and they did quite well.

[Captured Moments]

They are very tolerant of a wide temperature range so they would be fine in an unheated tank. I used to have lots of them along with some newts in an unheated tank in my basement and they were fine.

[Morainy]

Thank you, everyone! I'm really quite excited about this project.

[poiuy704]

I just found one in my sink while washing the gravel of a tank I picked up at MR Pets last week. She travelled from Vancouver to Chilliwack in the back of my pick up on a cold rainy day, spent 10 days in an unheated garage and a half hour being swirled around as I washed the gravel. It looks perfectly happy now in her new home and is actually carrying 5 or 6 youngsters. based on this ones experience I'm thinking they'd be okay at room temps.

[fuzzysocks]

When I started reading your story I thought one had crawled up through the drain!

I just found one in my sink while washing the gravel of a tank I picked up at MR Pets last week. She travelled from Vancouver to Chilliwack in the back of my pick up on a cold rainy day, spent 10 days in an unheated garage and a half hour being swirled around as I washed the gravel.

And that's why marble crayfish getting released into the wild terrifies me...

[Jasonator]

They are resilient little girls, indeed!!

They prefer cold water and are oh so hardy.

The only thing to be concerned about is air in the water. So, a simple airstone will do. If not enough, they try to leave!! and they will, as they are good escape artists - so keeping the water level a little lower is good, and nothing in the tank to easily climb up.... a lid is good too

Have fun!!

[Ursus sapien]

Their hardiness, coupled with their reproductive prowess is why they are such a wild release hazard in places like the Lower Mainland.

Please, lets keep them out of our waterways!