BREEDING GHOST CRAYFISH
When breeding Ghost crayfish, you want to make sure you have a male and a female. You can't throw in a female and a male and expect them to breed right away, the female must be ready or the male will keep harassing her. When she is really, she'll go to the male willingly. Another way to tell is grab the female and turn her upside down and look at the underneath of her tail, you should see egg spots. She will turn upside down, the male will then get on top and deposit his sperm. The female will pass the sperm over her eggs to fertilize them. After the mating has finish, move the female to a tank by herself, here she will care for the eggs that are kept underneath her tail without any stress from others that are harassing her.
Before any of the mating, they must be condition and well kept. Feed high quality food and keep the water pristine. Plump them up so they will have energy for mating.
She will then carry the eggs for a certain period, this period can last 4-6 weeks depending on the temperature of your water. In this period, keep the water clean and do water changes. 20-50% weekly water change will do the trick to keeping the water clean. The mother should still be fed regularly but she might not eat as much so it is very important you condition them right to have her make it through the period.
Once the mother has dropped her babies, I would recommend removing the mother so she doesn't eat any of the babies. The little babies will be looking for food at the bottom of the tank, sinking vegetables to the bottom of the tank and feed a mixture of diet. They should receive fresh vegetables and also a sort of protein (our crayfish food has excellent protein) mixture daily. Since you will be feeding a lot, be on top of your water quality! Make sure they get at least weekly water change or more often if their water gets dirty very quickly Feed them good with clean water and they should be growing rapidly!
When breeding ghost clarkii, not all will show the pattern. Only a percentage will come out looking like the parents. Another thing to consider about breeding these ghost is the linage. Make sure whoever you buy from is a reputable seller, if the line has been producing higher percentage of the pattern each generation, yours should as well.
