Yabby

Water parameters

Minimum tank: 150 L per individual at harvest size.

Feed and growth

Feed protein

28% target

Daily feed (warm)

1.80% of body weight

Daily feed (cool)

0.70% of body weight

Max density

25 g per litre

A 100 g adult eats about 1.8 g of feed per day at optimum. 10 fish at adult size: ~18 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 southeastern Australia and the most widespread of the continent's freshwater crayfish, common through Victoria and New South Wales and reaching into southern Queensland, South Australia and parts of the Northern Territory. It lives in rivers, creeks, farm dams and temporary waters, and is remarkably tough: it endures water from near freezing to about 35°C, low oxygen and high turbidity, and it rides out drought by digging burrows up to two metres deep, plugging the entrance and keeping a humid chamber around its gills, sometimes topped with a mud chimney. Adults are usually 10–15 cm, reaching about 20 cm and up to roughly 300 g, though pond-farmed yabbies are mostly harvested at 30–80 g. The flesh is sweet and firm, much like marine prawn, and colour varies from blue through olive-brown to near-black with water chemistry.

Climate and outdoor ponds

Climate

temperate (handles seasonal swings)

USDA zones

4–11 (winter low around -34°C or warmer)

Heating needed

no

Cooling needed

no

Care notes

The most farmed freshwater crayfish in Australia and a practical, low-maintenance choice for temperate Australian aquaponics. It grows best between about 20°C and 28°C within a tolerance of roughly 5–35°C, putting on 30–80 g in 6 to 12 months on crayfish pellet of 25 to 32 percent protein, or on vegetable scraps, grain and detritus, with feed conversion around 2 to 3.5. Stock by bottom area, about 10 to 20 per square metre, and provide plenty of shelter such as PVC sections, mesh bundles or stacked tiles to cut aggression and protect soft, newly molted animals. Yabbies burrow hard, which can undercut earthen pond banks, so solid-bottomed tanks with shelter alternatives suit aquaponics better. Water-quality tolerance is wide, with very low oxygen endurance and a broad pH band. They breed readily, a female carrying several hundred eggs under her tail that hatch into independent young, so a colony needs thinning to avoid overcrowding. Stock comes from yabby farms and bait suppliers across southeastern Australia. The species is legal across most of its native range but banned in Western Australia and Tasmania on biosecurity grounds, in California, and across the European Union, where it was added to the list of invasive alien species of Union concern in 2025. Market value is moderate and peaks in summer.

Further reading

• Aquaponics water chemistry: balancing pH for fish and plants
• Fish for aquaponics: tilapia vs everything else