Crayfish Habitat

Crayfish: A small crustacean very much resembling the lobster, but less indigestible.
Ambrose Bierce

These small lobster-like crustaceans are found in fresh water and have been regarded as delicacies fit for only the royal palate since ages. Also known as crawfish and crawdads, crayfish are freshwater crustaceans which are close relatives of the larger, marine lobsters. Indeed, there is considerable physical resemblance between lobsters and crayfish with the latter being much smaller in size than the former. Although most crayfish are found in freshwater, sometimes they can also be found in brackish water bodies and creeks (from where they might migrate further into salt water). Crayfish belong to the biological order Decapoda and are, as such, also related to crabs, hermit crabs and shrimps, besides lobsters. Let's take a detailed look at crayfish habitat followed by a brief discussion of various interesting crayfish facts.

Crayfish Habitat Details

Mostly, crayfish reside in freshwater, especially where the water is running, such as rivers, streams and brooks. They prefer running water as most crayfish cannot survive in polluted water. Stagnant or standing water bodies are most prone to getting dirty and polluted as they do not have access to cleaner water sources which can flow in and wash away polluted, stale water through aquatic outflows. However, certain crayfish species such as the Procambarus klarkii are more resilient and are even able to survive in a somewhat polluted aquatic environment. Crayfish fall into three different families out of which two are found in the Northern hemisphere and one in the Southern hemisphere. The Parastacoidea family, Parastachidae, is found in Australia, Madagascar and South America in the Southern hemisphere and the Astacoidea family consisting of the Astacidae and Cambaridae are found in the western part of the Eurasian continental landmass and the western part of North America respectively.

Australia is host to about 100 species of crayfish including marron, red-claw crayfish, yabby, Tasmanian giant freshwater crayfish and western yabby. Madagascar, as a geographically significant crayfish habitat, is home to seven crayfish species falling under the genus Astacoides. Seven crayfish species belonging to the genera Astacus and Austropotamobius are found in Europe while seven species belonging to the genus Cambaroides are native to Japan. North America comes out as the geographical habitat of the maximum species of crayfish with a whopping 330 species, belonging to nine different genera of the Cambaridae family, residing the waters of south-eastern parts of North America. Crayfish mostly rest underneath rocks, among submerged logs and twigs and remain hidden among other aquatic vegetation such as weed or grass.

Crayfish Facts

Here are a few crayfish facts that would amuse you as much as reading about crayfish habitat did. Check these out!

• Crayfish are quite ancient creatures in the chronology of the evolution of various life forms on Earth. The oldest fossil records of crayfish has been found in Australia which are believed to be about 115 million years old.
• The water mold Aphanomyces astaci is responsible for crayfish plague, a disease from which crayfish suffer.
• What do crayfish eat? Well, being omnivorous, crayfish eat almost anything including animal as well as plant matter - both living and dead. When in their natural habitat, crayfish mostly feed upon decomposing animals matter or decayed leaves as these are easy for them to rip off with their claws. In confinement, small fish like minnows and guppies, snails, algae, etc. can be included in their feeding menu. Crayfish also eat up any bacteria that may grow in the tank, thereby, preventing the water from getting contaminated. That's good news for fish tank owners who have recently taken upon crayfish care!
• Crayfish tail meat is used as baits for channel catfish, pike, largemouth bass and muskellunge.
• Crayfish as a gustatory treat is very popular all over the world, the most consumption happening in regions like Scandinavia, Spain, France, China, United States, Mexico and Nigeria.
• Natural predators of crayfish include turtles, otters, wading birds and bigger fish.
• As a food item, crayfish has a significant calorific value and has high sodium and protein content. Hey, did I mention that it has almost no fats and zero carbohydrates?

Well, that was a comprehensive overview of the habitat of crayfish, complete with some interesting crayfish trivia. The exoskeleton of the crayfish constitutes the major portion of its body mass, hence, when you eat one, you get very little flesh and a lot of shell, making the eating effort quite demanding. This is one reason why many people do not like to order crustaceans and related seafood. However, most people (myself included) who have ever tasted this culinary delicacy vouch by its gustatory delights - the taste makes the efforts worthwhile! Hope you got a little more information, that's what you came here looking for after all!