Orange Dwarf Crayfish (CPO)

Cambarellus patzcuarensis var. Orange is the orange breeding form of Cambarellus patzcuarensis, which originally comes from Mexico and is endemic to Lago de Patzcuaro. This dwarf crayfish is about 4 cm long and is commonly known as “Orange dwarf crayfish” or “CPO” (abbreviation of its Latin name). The color of the CPO can vary greatly from animal to animal and can vary from light to reddish-orange. Some animals have a stripe or spot pattern in different shades of orange to red over the basic color or are decorated with small white dots. Other animals, however, have no noticeable pattern and appear to be very uniformly colored.

Care in the aquarium

Due to its small size, the CPO is also suitable for smaller aquariums of 30 liters or more, although the floor space is more important than the aquarium height for the animals that mainly live on the bottom. However, if you want to keep a group of animals, we recommend an aquarium with a size of 54 liters (edge length of 60 cm) or more. The tank should be well structured using roots, stones, plants, leaves, etc. so that the animals can stay out of each other’s way. The aquarium must also be made escape-proof, as this crayfish is a good climber. The CPO feels most comfortable in the species tank, but it is possible to keep it with dwarf shrimp and small fish species that tend to live in the middle to upper areas of the tank. It should be noted that losses can occur with shrimp, although rarely.

Feeding

As an omnivore, the CPO is not picky. Shrimp food, green food, leaves and granular food for crabs and crayfish are good options. Newly hatched snails are also often eaten, which is sometimes quite useful.

Sexual characteristics and breeding

Male CPOs can be recognized by the V-shaped gonopods (sexual opening), which are located between the walking legs at the transition to the abdomen. The reproduction of this dwarf crayfish is possible in the aquarium. The female carries the fertilized eggs between its swimming legs until they hatch and even beyond. The newly hatched offspring are fully developed and can be fed with fine rearing food.