Thanks, phishie.

What I've found with my two is very odd. The larger one seems to have earned the cave as his territory, but when the small crayfish enters and the larger one isn't inside, the larger one doesn't return. Never are the two in the cave together, but encounters do not appear aggressive. When the cave and plastic plant are removed, leaving a bare cage, the two quickly move to opposite corners or sides.

The crayfish seem to have equal fear of each other, even though one is the larger. It's almost as if the larger one can smell that another crayfish is nearby, but has no way of knowing that the other one could be potential prey. The paper of course indicates that cannibalism is common, so perhaps the fact that these crayfish are never forced to contact each other is why there have been no incidents. At night (foraging time) they never leave their usual hides, so perhaps cannibalism is brought on only in high density populations.

I keep the crayfish fed with earthworms, but I don't let them gorge themselves. Since I have no experience in aquarium maintenance, I just keep them in a plastic tub with a few inches of water, which I change every day or so. They're fascinating creatures to observe, if you ever get the opportunity to keep one.

Thanks a bunch for the help, phishie. I looked at past postings and you seem to be answering more of the questions. I can't help because I have no aquarium experience but I know some people who are into this subject. Would you like me to enlist them?

crocacutus

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