Crayfish tankmates

Question
QUESTION: i have a small crayfish <2inches and i am wondering if i can place it in a tank that has 5 danios and a few tetras.

thanks

ANSWER: Hi Emmanuel,
I've kept crayfish with fish plenty of times before with no trouble.  Some people say they will eat your fish but I've personally seen that even the larger ones are just too slow to catch them.

One thing is to make sure the crayfish has a good secure hiding place so -he- can get away from the fish when he molts his outer shell. They are quite vulnerable at this time until their new "skin" hardens.

Beat of luck and I hope this helps!
Karen~

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thank you for the quick response, one of my friends told me to release some feeder fish in the same tank were i am keeping him. it sounds like a good test, but i am worried about the tetra because they are slower and like staying near the bottom. also knowing that crayfish are nocturnal wouldn't he attack my fish at night.

thank you again for the quick responce

Answer
Hi there!

Your crayfish is so little though that I think he wouldn't be able to catch anything but maybe an injured fish. You can try some feeder fish if you are worried, just be sure not to get diseased feeders.

I don't think the crayfish would attack your fish at night. I know fish have many sensory mechanisms that sense movement around them so they are usually quite capable of knowing when danger is near and when to move.

I hope this helps and you're welcome!
Karen~