CRAWFEEEESH !

The official Crawfish checklist for Florida shows 57 species of native and introduced species. Not sure which one this is, but I know this ...
These guys and gals went from tiny one inchers to full grown adults over the past year as they hung out in my old Tilapia tank. The tank is my catch all for anything interesting that comes up in my dip net.
Currently it's almost empty except for two giant prawn survivors, a couple of bream, and some snails.

I love crustaceans. They are so spunky and a little comical with the expressive stalked eyes, whiskery appendages, and feisty attitudes.
This one looks like he's rolling up his sleeves, getting ready for a scrap.

Apparently, they all felt comfortable enough in the Tilapia tank to do a little spermatophore passing, 'cause this little girl is pregnant. She will carry this precious cargo on her swimmerettes, safely tucked under her abdomen until the time is right.

After hatching the tiny, perfect crawfishlings will cling to her for a wee bit before letting go and taking their chances as small, delicious fish food.

These crawfish were moved to my Anacharis filled garden livestock tank pond where they can live pretty normal crawfish lives and where their babies will have tons of cover to hide in.

That beats a pot of seasoned boiling water any day ... IF you are the crawfish.