Blue Pearl Yabby 5cm

Blue Pearl Yabby

The blue pearl yabby is a species that almost anyone will think is cool aquarist or not. These once incredibly rare colour morphs of the common yabby have now been commercially bred in captivity for the aquarium and food trade. The electric blue colour and the ease of care for these species makes them a great consideration for budding aquarists to keep. These will make for a fantastic pet for those who are constrained with space or want to maintain a cheaper aquarium set up. The blue pearl yabby is found in the southern part of Western Australia and they are normally a grey earthy colour whereas these blue pearl yabbies are a naturally occurring genetic morph just like albino’s are.

What’s particularly crazy is that these blue yabbies would be a one in a million, if not rarer chance of being seen in the wild but the few that were have now been bred to make them much more available.These invertebrates look basically like a mini lobster and have a solid saturated blue and as they mature the shade of blue tends to be more prevalent through the body. These are an incredibly hardy and personable animal to keep as a pet, they can tolerate a wide range of temperatures going as low as 10 degrees and make for a great entry level aquarium pet. Care should be taken when handling yabbies because they can give a surprisingly powerful pinch that can cause a lot of damage.

Yabbies are a relatively easy species to breed and are basically like an oversized but territorial shrimp. In adequate space, multiple yabbies can be kept together. Females will carry a clutch of fertilised eggs under their tails and fan them for around 30 days. She will then release fully formed but tiny babies into the aquarium.

Tank Recommendations for your Blue Pearl Yabby
Yabbies reach around 15 cm long and are surprisingly active in their environment. It's best to give them an aquarium with a decent footprint and a minimum volume of around 75 litres. This ensures that there is enough room for the yabby to make its territory and have a decent space to explore. It is best to give the blue pearl yabby either a small grain gravel or sandy substrate as they like to move it around to create mounds and burrows. They will also love caves and driftwood to provide them hiding places as well. Yabbies are not plant-safe because they are massive plant eaters, it's usually best to avoid plants or use a range of floating plants.

Suitable Tank Buddies
The yabby is an opportunistic omnivore that will prey on both live fish and plant matter in the tank. Because of this, it is usually best not to keep them with any fish or to avoid slow-moving species. Blue pearl yabbies do molt as they grow, this means that they can often be vulnerable right after a molt to predators as they will be very soft.

Usually Compatible
Fast, top-dwelling fish like rainbows, giant danios, and very large species that may not prey on Yabby.

Sometimes Compatible
Delicate species like angelfish and mid to bottom-dwelling slow species may become an easy target for the yabby or expose themselves to ongoing bullying.

Rarely Compatible
Any large growing species that actively prey on crustaceans such as pufferfish. Slow-moving fish like neon tetras will also become an easy meal for the yabby as well.

Feeding your Blue Pearl Yabby
As the blue pearl yabby is an opportunistic feeder, they will make aquarium foods really well. It is best to feed them a sinking pellet that contains high protein levels for optimal growth. They can also be fed a range of green and vegetable matter which ensures that the water does not get polluted easily.