11 Reasons Why Your Crayfish Is Trying To Escape

I have read alot of threads and seen alot of people complain about their crayfish trying to escape or have escaped already, well this is not very surprising. There are various reasons why crayfish will try to escape and also there are various ways to prevent them from ever escaping or trying to escape. I will explain all in this article.

Why is my crayfish trying to escape? A crayfish will try to escape from an aquarium if the environment is not conducive and if it perceive any threat.

These are some of the most commonest reasons why it will try to escape from the aquarium, but not all, there are alot of reasons which we will discuss.

There are so many mistakes, aquarium keepers or crayfish pet lovers make, either out of ignorance or laziness, that will warrant their pet cray to try to escape or escape, some of the reasons or mistakes you can make to warrant your pet cray to try to escape are:

–They will try to escape If there is no oxygen or not enough oxygen at the bottom of the aquarium.

We all know that crayfish or crawdad is a heavy consumer of Oxygen, they consume alot of it.

So when this is lacking or reduced, they will try to escape, in order to go and look for it themselves.

The fact is, crayfish does not like stress and do avoid it at all cost!.

Lack of enough oxygen for effective breathing is very stressful which could kill them in a little time, so they will do anything, in order to get the oxygen they are lacking, even if it includes escaping to sort it out themselves.

SOLUTION: It is important to make sure that the tank is not entirely filled up with water, as this might prevent oxygen from getting to the bottom where the crayfish dwells, just make sure the water covers the Crayfish at least about 2 – 4 inches above it.

— Unsuitable water could cause them to try to escape.

There is one particular mistake so many people make.

That’s, if you want to keep a pet, first of all, make research about that particular pet and know what is suitable for it.

Crawdad popularly Known as crayfish is a freshwater creature.

I have heard a person say ‘he is raising his pet cray with brackish water ‘what!.

Well, that is awkward!.

In such a case, the cray will try every means possible to escape or it will die.

Although being a crustacean does not make it a brackish water lover like it’s crab and shrimp counterparts, So trying to keep it in a salty water will only make it uncomfortable and it has only one option in such case, either escape or die.

Solution: Do try to research enough about the pet you are about to have and know the type of water or things suitable for it and provide them.

— Although there might be no problems or threats, but it might try to escape out of curiosity.

Crayfish is an escape artist (lol).

The truth is that, sometimes, they get very curious and would want to leave the aquarium to explore the environment around, this does not necessarily mean that there is something wrong with the aquarium or air etc, just that they are curious to move around.

This happens so often when the aquarium is not well covered, and they will just swim to the surface and climb the aquarium to escape.

Related: How do Crayfish breath?

Solution: Always try to cover the aquarium, no matter what.

Crayfish are escape artists and will try to escape even if you use slippery things like glad or plastic, don’t rely on those things, just cover the aquarium and make sure there is no route for the crayfish to escape.

— They will try to escape if they perceive any threat.

Like I always advise, it is very very necessary to read and learn about your pet’s attitudes and nature before or after buying them.

Related: Can Crayfish change color?

Crayfish is a kind of a hostile animal and does not make a good tank mate to large number of aquatic animals.

It normally see any other animal in the aquarium as a threat and will either try to kill them or will try to run away if the animal could kill it.

So it is very important to learn about some creatures that could make a perfect tank mate with your pet cray, or it will see the other tank mates as threat and will try to escape the tank.

They are so hostile that they don’t even tolerate their fellow crayfish.

Once you did not put them together in the tank at once, for instance, once you put a new cray in a tank that already has a crayfish in it, they will be hostile to each other and will fight, therefore they may try to escape the aquarium.

Solution: Do not add anything to them as tank mate, not even another crayfish.

Even if you want to, first of all, do research and find out the type of pet they are comfortable with.

Also if you must add another crayfish, it is necessary to put them all together, in that way, they all can coexist without fighting nor trying to run away. If you see them fight, you might as well remove one of them.

— Dirty water will cause them to try to escape.

Do you know that crayfish does not like uncomfortable environment and does not tolerate it?, leaving them in a dirty water will make them very uncomfortable and unrelaxed.

Dirty water could breed all kinds of diseases wihich may eventually kill your pet crayfish. So once they perceived that the water which they inhibit is no more comfortable to them, they will try very hard to escape the aquarium if they have the way to, then they will definitely escape if they can!.

Related:bCan Crabs live with Snakes?

Solution: What is the need of keeping a pet you can’t take proper care of?.

Don’t allow the water to get dirty, try to change it and clean the tank at least once a week.

Pour in fresh and clean water in their tank after changing the old one, also the new water should be of the same temperature with the old one, in order for them to adapt.

— The Smell of the water is another reason why they might be trying to move away from your aquarium.

Like I mentioned above, dirty water is not in anyway good for their health.

Although the water might not be necessary dirty in your eyes, but it is smelly and you might not notice.

This might be caused by a decaying plants in your aquarium with bad odor or poops from your crayfish’s tank mates like fish etc.

When this happens, you might not know and might be wondering why your pet crayfish are trying to run away from your aquarium, well why not check the smell of you water, it might be the cause.

Solution: Remove the water and bring in fresh and clean water and also remove anything corrupting the smell of the water.

— Another and one of the most important reasons why they might try to escape from the aquarium is the temperature of the water.

There are Crayfish that enjoy staying in a cooler environment and the ones that love staying in temperate condition, those that enjoy cooler environment also known as tropical crayfish lives in tropical places and can tolerate temperatures from 77 degrees Fahrenheit to 82 degrees Fahrenheit at most. But those from temperate places need lower temperatures to survive.

The temperature of your aquarium will greatly depend on the natural environment your cray came from, or it’s nature, because you can’t possibly keep a tropical crayfish in a warm aquarium and expect it to live comfortably and adapt to the new environment by all means.

Related: 5 signs your Crab is Molting

So as you can’t possibly keep the ones that came from a warm or temperate water condition in a cooler aquarium water and expect them to adapt and live comfortably by any means.

So your cray might be trying to escape because the water temperature in your aquarium is not right for it.

Solution: Just know the nature of your pet and follow it that way, you might find out from your pet shop.

Things like heater, filter can also help you to control the water temperature.

Avoid mixing crayfish of different natures together, so that you could effectively control the water temperature without harming any one of them.

— Hunger. Hunger they say is a disease itself.

Just like every animals, including man could move about when hungry to find things to eat, so do crayfish do too.

Related: Can dead Snail kill Fish?

When you notice your crayfish are moving about in their tank, maybe trying to find a way to escape.

You might need to check their Foods to see if they have any left.

You don’t expect them to stay still at one place and do nothing when they are hungry.

Naturally, they will try to escape in order to look for food, if possible.

Solution: Make sure you feed them properly.

Why would you even keep a pet you can’t feed?.

At least once a day is okay for them. avoid over feeding them too.

— If your crayfish have already escaped, it might be as a result of having a hole somewhere in your aquarium.

Like I explained earlier, they are curious sometimes and will try to escape from any hole or way of escape they could see.

Related: Do Snails need heater?

So, hole or holes or a tank that is not well covered is a good way of escape.

They will simply swim to the top or to the place that is open and simply climb out and escape.

Solution: look for any opening In the aquarium and mend it.

Related: Do Snails eat Fish poop?

Cover the tank very well.

— Dissolved Proteins in the Water can make them to try to escape.

The quality of the tank water is a very important issue regarding this particular matter.

If the water in the tank is filled with nitrates or crayfish poops, it will make it hard for the crayfish to live comfortably in the tank.

So if your crayfish shows unusual signs like trying to escape, then you should check the water quality because it might be the cause of it.

Solution: Clean the tank regular. At least once in a week and give them clean water.

Related: Do aquarium Snails hibernate?

— Have you checked the size of your tank?, is it perfect for the size of your pet? well, tank sizes do contribute alot in making crayfish either comfortable or uncomfortable, that’s just the pure truth!.

You can’t possibly put a big crayfish in a smaller tank, where the water might not even cover the crayfish entirely and expect it not to try to escape.

No matter what, the water should at least cover the crayfish entirely.

Related: Can Aquarium Snails Molt?

So your small and short aquarium might be the reason your pet cray is trying to escape or escaped!.

Solution: Why not get a more bigger tank that could contain your pet crayfish and transfer them there, then cover it tightly.

Can Crayfish Climb Glass?

You might be wondering, ‘as my crayfish is trying to escape, why don’t I get glass aquarium and use it to keep them, or will they still climb out of it?

Can crayfish climb glass? Crayfish can climb glasses. They’re very likely to escape a tank that is made of glasses if it is not well covered.

People often refer to crayfish as an escape artist because they can escape at any slightest chance because they are very curious in nature, or something might be wrong.

Related: Can Apple Snails bite?

Those creatures could climb anything to escape, be it pipe, plants, rocks and even glasses.

They always have their ways and will certainly escape if they have the chance to, and not even your glass aquarium could prevent them from doing so, unless you cover it very well and tightly.

To make things easier for them, they will have to swim to the surface of the water and do the rest by climbing the walls of the aquarium, be it glass, rubber, plastic etc.

Related: Can Apple Snails Change Color?

So in order to prevent this, avoid filling the tank fully, cover the top very well and most importantly, get a taller tank, so that it will be hard for them to do all the climbing on a smooth and slippery glass or plastic tank walls.

How to Find An Escaped Crayfish

Have your pet crayfish escaped already and you don’t know how to find it?, well I think I might help you on that.

How do i find an escaped crayfish? Crayfish is very good at hiding and will possibly hide around dark areas in the place it escaped. Check around the dark places in your room.

Have you forgotten that naturally, those creatures are very good at hiding?, they do hid even in their aquarium, either in sand, stones or caves, so if you mistakenly lost your pet crayfish in your room, why not just check around the dark places there with a good torch or light and you might possibly see it.

The thing is, if there is no way for it to escape very fast from the room, then you might stand a chance of locating it where it is hiding, but if it could have a way to escape very fast from your room, sorry, it will be hard to locate.

Note – Once you notice it is missing, I will advise you to be very cautious and know how you walk about, even when looking for it, to avoid stepping on it mistakenly and killing it. (know you don’t want that).

How Long Can Crayfish Live Out of Water

Did your crayfish escape? and you can’t find it anywhere?. You’re worried and are wondering if they might die without water?

How long can crayfish live out of water? Crayfish could live up to 5-7 days in a dry environment, and up to a month in a humid environment.

One thing about crayfish is, they don’t easily die when they leave water to go to dry environments, they could stay up to a week and still be ok.

Related: Can Dart Frog drown?

They do live comfortably in a humid environment, that’s why they could comfortably leave the water and burrow near the water and stay.

This is because they will still use the humid air to breath. So if your crayfish is missing, you have nothing to worry about for a few days, just make efforts to find it, that’s all.

When you do find it, please don’t put it back immediately in the aquarium where it escaped from.

This is one of the mistakes many people make.Once Crayfish stays on dry land for a day or more, getting it back in it’s tank might do damages to it.

Simply put it in a small container of water and allow it to stay for a day there, finally bring it out, turn it upside down for few minutes, then put it back it it’s aquarium.

This will make it adapt quickly back to the water and environment.

And do not put it back in the wild either, as it may cause diseases to others.