Australian red claw crayfish

Water parameters

Minimum tank: 200 L per individual at harvest size.

Feed and growth

Feed protein

28% target

Daily feed (warm)

2.00% of body weight

Daily feed (cool)

0.80% of body weight

Max density

30 g per litre

A 600 g adult eats about 12.0 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~120 g daily.

Legality

Rules vary by jurisdiction and change over time. Verify with your local fisheries or wildlife authority before stocking.

Unlisted jurisdictions default to "check local regulations".

Origin and habitat

Native to tropical northern Australia, in the creeks and water bodies of Queensland and the Northern Territory, and to southeastern Papua New Guinea. The name comes from the red patch on the outer edge of the large claws in mature males. Redclaw is the most widely farmed tropical freshwater crayfish, raised in Australia, Central America, Southeast Asia, Africa and parts of the US such as Florida and Hawaii. It is among the largest tropical freshwater crayfish in culture, reaching about 25 cm and 600 g, though market animals are usually 50–100 g. The meat is sweet and firm, close to marine lobster, and sells at a premium. The species tolerates a wide warm-water band and has no brackish larval stage, so hatchlings emerge as miniature crayfish, which makes it far easier to breed than freshwater prawns.

Climate and outdoor ponds

Climate

tropical (needs warm water year-round)

USDA zones

9–13 (winter low around -7°C or warmer)

Heating needed

yes

Cooling needed

no

Care notes

The leading freshwater crayfish for tropical and subtropical aquaponics. Growth and survival are best in the mid to high 20s Celsius, with peak weight gain and molting near 28°C; growth stalls around 15°C and again near 35°C, and the lethal extremes sit close to 10°C and 35°C. Stock by bottom area rather than volume, roughly 10 to 20 animals per square metre, and give plenty of shelter such as mesh bundles, PVC sections or stacked tiles to cut aggression and protect soft, freshly molted crayfish. Redclaw are calmer than yabbies or marron, so they take higher densities. Reproduction is easy: a female carries a brood of about 300 to 800 olive eggs under her tail, hatching after roughly six weeks into independent young with no larval phase to nurse. Breeding continues year round when water stays near 25 to 26 C, so a colony can renew its own stock. On crayfish pellet of about 28 to 35 percent protein they reach market size, around 50–100 g, in about seven months. Keep dissolved oxygen above roughly 3 mg/L, ammonia low and pH between 6.5 and 8.5. Legality varies sharply: culture is allowed in Queensland and the Northern Territory but limited in southern Australia, permitted in Florida and Hawaii but banned in several US states, and the species is on the EU list of invasive alien species of Union concern, which bars keeping, breeding, trade and import. Source juveniles from licensed crayfish hatcheries.

Further reading

• Fish for aquaponics: tilapia vs everything else