Yabbies - keeping them alive??

[milo__]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anybody knows how to keep yabbies alive for at least a week? This way I can pump them the weekend before I go out. I have a small tank and air pump, but what do they eat....or is this impossible?

[BARRAkid]

Not sure if it will keep them alive for a week the longest i have kept them alive for is 3 days
But its worth a try get a foam box about 2 foot long i got one from the local fruit shop cost $1 or 50c make sure it has a lid.
Get the box and get a piece of chicken wire or some sort of wire with small holes so its hard for the yabbies to fall through.
Then get a few frozen bottles of water or a bit of ice and sit it in the bottom of the foam box then cut the chicken wire to size( or what ever wire) and sit it inside the box a few center metres above the ice then get peper towl (like kitchen paper towl) and put it onto of the wire then put as much sand ontop of the paper towl as you can before the wire falls down and put the yabbies on the sand and just replace a water bottle as it defrosts.
Yabbies seem to like it when its cool thats why the frozen bottles or ice is there.
Make sure you have no soft,dead or cut in half yabbies mixed in with them.
That is for saltwater sand yabbies.
If you are talking about freswater yabbies fish tank will be fine.

cheers BK

[tunaticer]

You will need to be regularly checking for dying yabbies and removing them before they poison the water. Water changes every 4 hours max and keep them cool. Longest I've kept them alive is about 3 days as well.

I know a guy who keeps his for the same amount of time in the fridge layered in wet paper towels and regularly checked for dead ones.

One dead one will soon kill the rest.

Jack.

[dnej]

wet wood shavings are the go apparently.They also ship prawns internationally that way.
David

[BARRAkid]

wet wood shavings are the go apparently.They also ship prawns internationally that way.
David

The only problem with that is you have to wash the yabbies off before use or the wood chips get in the whay when hooking them on

[dnej]

Found what I was looking for
David

One method of keeping them alive for long periods is to drain away all water and ensure the yabbies are fairly dry. Place a 2 inch layer of untreated wood shaving in an esky and place yabbies evenly spaced on top of the shavings. Place as many layers as needed ensuring the yabbies are not on top of each other and each layer of wood shavings as about 2 inches thick. Put the lid on the esky and keep cool preferabley below 20 deg celsius. Yabbies can be kept alive and kicking for almost a week using this method.

[dnej]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/arc...p/t-61746.html
There is an archive link as well
David

[milo__]

Thanks heaps all......will try a few different ways

[UNCLE NUGGY]

i dont get why youd want to keep them for a week.
why dont you getem on the way or the day or night before you go,just seems like to much work during the week if ya ask me.
yabbies are everywhere
cheers
UN