How to Tell the Sex of a Crawdad
Crawdads are freshwater crustaceans that are similar in nature to lobster, their saltwater counterparts. They are known by a few other names, including crayfish or crawfish. Crawdads are a popular choice for people who keep aquariums because they can survive in a wide range of temperatures. If you have crawdads and hope to know their sex for breeding purposes, or if you're just interested in knowing how to tell the difference, there are a few key ways to determine this.
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Instructions
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Grab a crawdad from behind with a firm, secure grip, and lift it out of the water. You're grabbing it from behind to avoid getting pinched. Crawdads have sharp claws that can hurt if they're pinching relentlessly. If you're afraid to pick the crawdad out of the water, at the very least you'll need to be able to view it at an angle where you can clearly look at its under surface.
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Take note of the area behind the back set of legs. Both male and female crawdads have genital openings. For the male, the genital opening is used to release sperm, while the female's genital opening is made to receive sperm. A male's genital opening will be close to the tail, while a female crawdad's genital opening will be closer to the third set of legs.
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Take note of the claws if you're having trouble locating genital openings. Male crawdads often have a spot or multiple spots on their claws that are colored differently than the rest of the body. For instance, male blue crawdads will often have red marks on their claws.
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Check for pregnancy. Only female crawdads of course can get pregnant. You will be able to tell if a crawdad is pregnant by examining its swimmerets, the legs located under the tail. If a crawdad is pregnant you will clearly see egg packets located on these swimmerets.
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Tips & Warnings
A well-lit aquarium will make this process much easier.
References
- Photo Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty Images
