breeding crayfish

[user343434]

Pattaya Plant Market near Mini Siam/BKK Hospital on the Sukhumvit Road. They have lots and sell juveniles about 2" for 150 two. (Red Claw Crayfish)

Also I have seen a few very colourful ones (I doubt saltwater but don't know for real) in Rayong on the Home Pro Plant Market which runs till 6th of March. The Aquariums are near the main entry.

[user343434]

Just to clarify, Think of your home style cooking the BBQ nights with friends and not business or you have some huge land with lots of lakes on it.

These Lakes have to be specifically sloped otherwise the harvest would be a mission impossible. 

Farming Crays in tanks sure has developed but still to grow market sizes in Massa. You will get one (or some) Bullies that rule the Tank and the rest will stay small until the big ones are moved or on the BBQ. Then some new Bullies appearing and so on and on and when we speak Market size around 70-80 grams its 12 for a selling Kilo. They demand one square Meter of ground if enough coverage is available. 

As soon you throw some thousand Juveniles in your pond Mama Snakehead will get babys and starts decimising these Crays with a neverending appetite, the Snakehead fry will grow up quick. just to sort the leftovers.

Eels, Catfish & Co also love them crustaceans..

Sure they will leave you some in your Trap, but as mentioned above think BBQ with friends and a cold Leo in first instance and ..

 

This Point I reached so far (lessons learned) but the optimism dies last, we'll getting there one day.

[aoneseller]

Hi, I would like to buy a few crayfish for commercial breeding purposes. Where can I get them in Bangkok/near Bangkok area? I emailed ratchaburycrayfish a week ago but still no reply.

Thanks

[cincytwboy]

2 hours ago, aoneseller said:

Hi, I would like to buy a few crayfish for commercial breeding purposes. Where can I get them in Bangkok/near Bangkok area? I emailed ratchaburycrayfish a week ago but still no reply.

Thanks

According to the last post of Ratchaburi crayfish farm facebook page, they are closed. I would guess that mean permanently. 

[aoneseller]

I got them already from Chatuchak market. 

[crayfish]

I started this thread 4 years and am delighted to see over 30,000 views and so many informative replies.

There are 2 ways to keep crays, one is commercial and the other domestic. I have a domestic set up which over the past 4 years has supplied the family with over 300 crays which were bbq'ed and tomyammed. I would like to go commercial but do not have the finances to set it up. First you need the land which needs to be dug out, lined with clay and a roof put ovet the entire pond to reduce evaporation and prevent flooding. A wall needs to be erected around the pond to keep the crays in and predators out. A water supply to the pond. After all this you need to set up a processing plant to clean and pack the crays ready for transportation to the customer.

I am quite happy doing it domestically.

About 2 months ago I transfered the crays to a new tank which is the same size ( 6 sq. meters ) but without the raceway walls,

Pic 1 is a male that lost a claw while moulting. A new one will grow in its place but not reach the same size.

Pics 2 & 3 are the new tank without the raceway walls

Pic 4 is the old raceway tank with the walls.

I removed the walls because it is difficult to observe the crays as they hide behind the walls.

In the old tank I had no air stones, the only oxygen the got was from the water returning from the bio-converter. In the new tank I have installed 6 air stones.

During the past 2 months I have noticed they are growing faster and there is a lot less fighting between the males, I think the open space allows them to retreat faster.

A few things to bear in mind when keeping crays.

1. They are nocturnal. They do not like to be disturbed during the day. If you want to observe or count them go out at night, about 1 hour after dark with a light. I counted just over 100 last night.

2 Only feed them once a day, about 1 hour before dark. If there is any food still in the tank in the morning do not feed them again until it has all been consumed. I sometimes go 2 days without feeding them, remember they like to stash food where you cannot see it.

3. They need protein and calcium. protein for their body to grow and calcium to harden their shell. I feed them on fish ( with the bones ) and chicken ( with the bones ) about 2 times a week. The protein they get from the meat and the calcium they get from the bones.

4 Do not keep any other aquatic animals together with the crays. When the crays hatch out they are tiny, about the size of a pin head, they are a good food source for fish and the like.

5 Make sure each cray has at least 2 places to hide. The more the better.

6 . Include a bio-converter in your system to control ammonia and nitrite. A build up of either will wipe out the crays very fast. A bio-converter is very easy and cheap to build.

7. Crays are great escape artists. If there is any way they can get out of the tank they will find it. Be sure to build a lip around the top of the tank as they are good climbers.

They can even climb up electric wires.

Can't think of anything else at the moment.

Any questions please feel free to ask

Regards

Crayfish

 

 

 

 

[aoneseller]

You have a good set up. I saw on youtube there are Thai people who breed crayfish commercially even in their condominum. Very interesting. I have just a couple at the moment but I want to get another couple soon.

[CLW]

Just a thought, how about this approach.
Crayfish grow significantly slower in aquaculture tanks than in ponds. I can say that is a fact.
They are feeding and living in detritus which is abundant in natural ponds.
However, the disadvantage of ponds are the suitable area, pond construction, water level management (drought/flooding), fence and net for the pond, harvesting.
Benefit are low expenses for feed and faster growth.
So now comes my idea. Why not make a layer of soil/clay/organic material in a tank to imitate this detritus layer.
If you have not much turbulent water and a sump before the filter (if you need one) it could theoretically work

[crayfish]

An interesting idea CLW.

Is the idea to put soil, clay and organic material on top of a cement floor, or use an earthen floor in the tank??

You mention organic material, This is vegetation and animal matter which in turn produces photoplankton and zoo plankton, both supply the baby crays with food.

I have a spare tank at the moment and might give this a try. The tank has a cement floor so it may not be necessary to put clay in.

 

[cincytwboy]

Hi, Crayfish,

 

Thank you for starting this great thread, I have enjoyed reading it very much. 

 

You mentioned you thought about growing red claw crayfish commercially but didn't. May I ask you a question? What if someone grow commercially (I meant 5-6 rai), Where is the market? I have not seen this crayfish being sold and served neither in market nor in restaurants. Is there really a market out there?  Do Thais really eat this crayfish? Or is it possible to export to China?

[CLW]

An interesting idea CLW.
Is the idea to put soil, clay and organic material on top of a cement floor, or use an earthen floor in the tank??
You mention organic material, This is vegetation and animal matter which in turn produces photoplankton and zoo plankton, both supply the baby crays with food.
I have a spare tank at the moment and might give this a try. The tank has a cement floor so it may not be necessary to put clay in.
 

Sealed floor such as concrete, plastic liner, tiles, etc

[saluandnai]

i'm in saluang, I hour north west of chiang mai, interested in breeding some red claws for my wife to eat, is there a supplier near me

 

[crayfish]

Hi cincytwboy.

You ask about the market for redclaws, I don't know for sure about the market but feel sure there is one both in Thailand and abroad. I know that Australia export redclaws to Europe and the demand there is big. I have had restaurants in my town asking for them but I cannot supply enough to meet their demand. I would imagine the upend hotels and restaurants in Bangkok would be interested in them.

Whwn I started this thread there were very few people breeding redclaws, now there are thousands, there are 4 people in my village breeding them.

If you think about doing this commercially you need to consider finding an agent abroad , such as Hongkong, Japan, Phillipines, Europe. The agent will buy them all and he then sells them on.

Search the internet for retailers etc.

Good luck

 

[crayfish]

Hi Saluandnai.

Before you go ahead and purchace redclaws please read ( page 9 of this thread ) canuckamuck's post. He lives north of ChiangMai and had serious problems with the cold temperatures and lost his crays. How cold does it get where you live??? The crays can survive at 15 degrees but no lower.

Think of a way to heat your water in the cold season.

Good luck

PS. You can buy redclaws from "The King's project" at Doi Inthanon. Search the web

[aoneseller]

I got these two crayfish from different places. The male is bigger and older and has a bit different color (blue). Both eatables. I am asking the experts if they going to mate later on? 

[saluandnai]

anyone know where i can buy redclaws in the north of thailand, i am living between mea rim and pai

 

[saluandnai]

On 14/6/2560 at 8:49 AM, crayfish said:

Hi Saluandnai.

Before you go ahead and purchace redclaws please read ( page 9 of this thread ) canuckamuck's post. He lives north of ChiangMai and had serious problems with the cold temperatures and lost his crays. How cold does it get where you live??? The crays can survive at 15 degrees but no lower.

Think of a way to heat your water in the cold season.

Good luck

PS. You can buy redclaws from "The King's project" at Doi Inthanon. Search the web

 

[saluandnai]

not very often below 15 if at all, any info you can give me on contacting the kings project would be appreciated

[crayfish]

Hi saluandnai.

To contact king's project. Go to google and type in " doi Inthanon Royal Project Thailand" . You will find a contact number,

Good luck

[saluandnai]

thanks very much

 

[noogaloo]

Hi i would like to purchase 1 breeding male and 2 breeding female red claw crayfish my location is khonburi-korat can anyone put me onto a source

[CLW]

Are Redclaws available at Chatuchak market and how they are called in Thai
Thanks for any advice!

[jonnyscot]

Are Redclaws available at Chatuchak market and how they are called in Thai
Thanks for any advice!

They're widely available to buy from some night markets so I'm sure easily found at chatuchak depending on which day I guess, but never looked for them there to be honest, Not sure the Thai spelling but roughly pronounced Kong kam dang,, prices have dropped considerably over the last 9 months or so due to many people farming them, some of those have moved on to trying to breed ornamental (multicoloured crayfish) for the aquarium sales, my wife farms them, although at this stage she has only 3 ponds outside with an indoor area for breeding to stocking size,


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[Pink7]

Is there any regulations or need for any permit to do crayfish breeding/farming?

 

 

Pink

[crayfish]

Hi Pink 7. The law in thailand requires you to register with your local fisheries department when keeping and breeding crayfish. There is no fee for this but they will come and inspect your setup to check that they cannot escape into local waterways and disrupt the local ecosystem. They came to inspect my setup about 3 months after I registered. The fine for not registering I believe is 1000 baht.

The Thai pronunciation for Red claw crayfish is Gang karb daeng. Gang = crayfish. Karb = claw. Daeng = red

 

[jonnyscot]

Hi Pink 7. The law in thailand requires you to register with your local fisheries department when keeping and breeding crayfish. There is no fee for this but they will come and inspect your setup to check that they cannot escape into local waterways and disrupt the local ecosystem. They came to inspect my setup about 3 months after I registered. The fine for not registering I believe is 1000 baht.
The Thai pronunciation for Red claw crayfish is Gang karb daeng. Gang = crayfish. Karb = claw. Daeng = red
 

You spoilt my many attempts to get the pronunciation correct from my wife there Crayfish,,, hahaha,,, wife still thinks the pronunciation is as I typed but possibly Goong instead of Kung,, joking aside, I guess different locations have slightly varying pronunciations,,,
my thai is extremely limited so I'm almost totally reliant on the wife and kids to help me out,, hope your Crayfish are still coming on nicely, the wife lost around 350 Crays from our first attempt at pond growing after taking them from the pond and leaving them the following day in a slightly salted water solution in an effort to minimise any possible bacteria but the following morning 350 had perished, a bit disappointed to hear that as we hadn't lost any for the full timespan since they were introduced to the pond,, our breeders seem to be going well, got home from my work 10 days ago to news from the wife that 10 new berried females appeared on the day I arrived home


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[crayfish]

Sorry to hear your loss with the salt water, live and learn. The learning process with redclaws is never ending.

Regarding the pronunciation again, goong is a prawn where as gang is crayfish, in Thai = กั้งก้ามแดง. I made a mistake in my earlier translation with karb, it is garm and not karb. I think we have got it right now. you can check this on Google translate.

just out of interest, why did you remove the crays from the pond???

[jonnyscot]

Sorry to hear your loss with the salt water, live and learn. The learning process with redclaws is never ending.
Regarding the pronunciation again, goong is a prawn where as gang is crayfish, in Thai = กั้งก้ามแดง. I made a mistake in my earlier translation with karb, it is garm and not karb. I think we have got it right now. you can check this on Google translate.
just out of interest, why did you remove the crays from the pond???

Thanks for the correction Crayfish, yes she removed them from the pond at that particular time because she planned to make her own calculations on growth difference and feeding requirements as there are also some comparable stock in plastic tanks too, the wife also intended to introduce some of the pond reared ones back into the breeding stock and trial out the remainder to some food trade businesses. This initial "trial" pond shall we say isn't very big, probably a maximum of 1100 Crayfish at capacity, we've dug out another 2 ponds with a planned capacity of around 3500 each in these,, the plan was to dig out another 4 ponds of similar capacity, and rotate monthly if possible,, the wife's planning was to stock 1 month old Crays into the pond and harvest after 5 months in the pond,, general size from our "trial" pond over a similar period was approx 5 inches,,, not sure whether she will achieve her target to sell somewhere I guess around 200 kg per month, personally I think it's too tall an order, but time will tell, the main thing is it's a product that's a shared interest to the family, even our 10 year old Daughter has got in on the act and made some videos of our breeding area and sold some around her school,,,


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[Kitmakmak]

FYI, if anyone is interested, I have a limited amount of Australian Red Claw brood stock available that I'm willing to sell.

 

I'm in the Pattaya area. You can send a PM to me if interested.

[user343434]

Hi all,

 

My wife and I decided to go for a small scale Aquaponics System made for100 Leafy Greens and a Fishtank Yabbies placed in our Backyard which has expanded and owns now the entire Back Garden.

Meanwhile we have rebuilt the whole System 4 Times and on the do do list comes now a Drum filter. 

Now ending about 500 leafy greens and some trial veggies from around the world plus 2000 each Yabbies on our and the tables of our neighbors.

Beside this we have at least once a month a BBQ with the Lads and off cause, when the fire is on in my Garden the Crays making every time the highlight.

The dominant brood stock is now 18 huge males and 5 females for each one. The 2nd choice keeps coming and here and there develops another big one in that group.

BBQs with over 200 each 45-60 grs Yabbies have been wiped clean off.. From my point of view, easy to grow hard to control when the System starts running.

Somehow the dominants brood stock berries always at the same time within one week. Just built a new fry station so I don't need to chase them through the entire system. (Lesson Learned: They WILL go everywhere)

Commercial in this scale: too much food cost so I started to make my own food only soy beans and eggs need still to be bought. Electrical its acceptable as its all running with one oxygen pump and one water pump. 

The Yield in Tanks is for home consumption as the marketable size rate is very low. My alphas have just above 110grs, the 2ndary brood stock is most around 90 grs and the very most of all never touch the 65-70 grs within a year where the economical clock ticks against them and another BBQ gets sparked.

I recon in a Tank/Aquaponic Culture its a step further to think about integrate them into the grow beds and make those min 6m wide and min 50m long. Sell as a welcome by catch and concentrate on Tilapia or other fish. 

One thing is sure: Crayfish out of tanks and the chance to feed them with all leftover greens and mix some herbs out of your own production makes an unbeatable taste where any Lobster is totally overrated.