What to Expect When


You’re Expecting Baby Crayfish By Kristen Keenan


“What should I do? I think my crayfish have laid eggs!” That seems to be the ques- tion of the season this fall. Much to their surprise, Candy Clemens and Tom Davis, both of Allegany- Limestone Elementary School, discovered that their crayfish had laid eggs. Three momma crayfish were separated from the others, and nurseries were set up in anticipation of the new arrivals.


Each crayfish can lay hun- dreds of eggs, which stay attached to the mother’s swimmerets . The mother holds the mass of eggs un- der her tail, and this known as being “in berry” since it looks like she is carrying a bunch of berries. Depend- ing on the type of crayfish and the water temperature, it can take anywhere from 2 to 20 weeks for the eggs to hatch. Once they hatch, the babies will stay attached to their mother until after they have molted a couple of times.


After only a few weeks, the students in Mrs. Clemens’s class were able to see the first set of baby crayfish in early November. It was ex- citing to see the teeny tiny babies zooming across the water. You can see just how tiny they are when compared to a dime!


According to Mrs. Clemens, “the children really enjoyed this experience. This is the first time we have had baby crayfish, and we learn some- thing new about them every day.” One child added, “I was happy when we found out mommy was going to have babies. When we look at the babies, we need to look quick because they swim away fast.” Another student said, “the babies stay on mommy’s tail for a while, then they swim off. Mrs. Clemens put plastic plants in the water so the baby cray- fish could hide. The baby crayfish look very grown up now.”


So, what should you do if you discover that your crayfish is “in berry?” Here are some tips that will come in handy if this joyous occasion should happen in your classroom:


Separate the mother from the other crayfish so she has a peaceful and safe environ- ment.


It is important to provide plenty of cover for the cray- fish to hide in or under. Make sure the mother has a flower pot to hide under, and try not to disturb her. The mother will eat the eggs if she becomes too disturbed. Once the babies are born, they will eat each other if


they don’t have a place to hide. Pebbles and plastic plants work great at provid- ing a safe haven for the newborn crayfish.


Baby crayfish will eat flake fish food that is crumbled up into a powdery dust. You can also feed the flake fish food to the mother when she is “in berry.” She p r o b a b l y a lot, but gets too she will t h e


won’t eat if she hungry, e a t eggs.


Want to share a Success Story from your classroom? Success Stories is produced by Instructional Support Services of


Cattaraugus-Allegany BOCES and shared with educators in Cattaraugus and Allegany Counties. The goal of this publication is to highlight students, teachers, and leadership in education in our region.


To highlight Success Stories from your classroom submit articles and photos via email to: tim_cox@caboces.org


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