Waccamaw Crayfish - Procambarus braswelli

The Waccamaw Crayfish is found in streams and rivers in North and South Carolina in the USA. The animals belong to the species Procambarus braswelli. This wild form is not commonly imported and is therefore rarely found in the hobby. The Waccamaw Crayfish has blue, orange, light brown, dark brown and black hues and comparatively small claws. It grows to a rather medium size with a body length of up to 11 cm. Male and female Waccamaw crabs reach about the same size, though the males get larger claws.

Males, as with all North American crayfish, can be identified with certainty by the male gonopods, the sexual appendages. They are formed by the first two pairs of webbed legs, which point forward in a V-shape under the carapace. Adult females do not have gonopods, but have gonopores, or sex openings, at the origin of the 2nd pair of walking legs. Males have only 3, females 5 pairs of walking legs under the abdomen. After mating, females carry up to 80 eggs under the abdomen (pleon) for about four weeks. Once the young crabs have hatched, they remain with the mother under the pleon for a few more days before leaving her for good. Since the young crayfish can be somewhat cannibalistic among themselves, a sufficient number of hiding places such as a thin layer of brown autumn leaves or caves, perforated bricks or even rolls of sintered glass or ceramics are needed for successful breeding of these rare crayfish.

You cansocialize the Waccamaw crayfish very well with dwarf shrimp, whose demands on the water are similar. Snails and mussels crack and eat this beautiful cancer very gladly. Small fish can be chased. Not with large and predatory fish! Also not with crayfish that are not native to the Americas, but to Europe, Indonesia/Papua or Australia/New Zealand. The Waccamaw Crayfish, like all crayfish from North and Central America, may carry the causative agent of crayfish plague without becoming ill themselves. However, all other crayfish die from this disease. They do not need direct contact with the carrier, contact with spores in the water is already sufficient for infection. For this reason, Waccamaw crayfish must not be exposed to water under any circumstances, and the water in which they are kept must not be allowed to enter natural waters!

As far as food is concerned, Procambarus braswelli is very uncomplicated. It eats all kinds of commercial food, of course especially special food for crayfish (link to Natureholic), but also brown autumn leaves and green food like nettle or spinach. He also likes frozen food.

Like most crayfish, the Waccamaw Crayfish is an escape artist par excellence. Therefore the aquarium needs a gapless cover. He can pull himself up on cables or on the silicone seam. Procambarus braswelli does not need swimming space so much as a large number of surfaces. A good structuring is therefore important. Beware, it is possible for this crayfish to dig, so stone structures should only be placed so that they cannot tip over. Robust aquatic plants such as waterweed, hornwort and nixweed are well suited for aquariums with potentially herbivorous crayfish, as are floating plants (shellflowers or frogbit).

Our food recommendation: Freshwater crayfish have a very varied diet in the wild. The Natureholic Crayfish Feed Sticks contain in a biologically balanced form only those ingredients that these crayfish in this or similar form to their natural food spectrum. This naturally supports and promotes moulting, growth and reproduction. Due to their protein content they are ideally suited for omnivorous crayfish of the genera Procambarus, Cambarus, Cambarellus, Astacus and the Cherax crayfish from Australia, which are basically omnivores that like to eat animal as well as vegetable food. The crayfish of the genus Cherax from Papua also like to eat a portion of animal food when they are young, but later they switch mainly to plant food.

Our plant recommendation: Use for planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planaria and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.