Crawfish (also known as crayfish, crawdads or mudbugs) are small crustaceans that look like little lobsters. They are actually closely related to the lobster but they are found in fresh water not in salt water. In the United States, the majority of crawfish are raised in Louisiana. They can be farmed in other areas, but Louisiana has the bulk of the production of this creature.
Generally crawfish are known as a food source, but they are also kept as pets in fresh water aquariums. These little guys are exquisite escape artists, so any aquarium that includes a crawfish will have to have a cover with no holes in it whatsoever. Crawfish eat small fish like goldfish, so great care must be taken in stocking an aquarium that has a crawfish as a resident.
There are 77 species of crawfish in the state of Tennessee. Of this number, 10 species are endangered, two species are threatened and two species are under special concern for possible endangerment. It is possible that Tennessee has more species of crawfish than another other state.
For many years, fishermen have used crawfish as bait for fishing. This is a good choice of bait because crawfish is the major food source for most fish in Tennessee. In a recent study, about 70% of the food found in the stomachs of small mouth bass and rockbass, was crawfish, so they are definitely the preferred food of bass.