Direct developer: females carry the eggs under the tail for about 3-4 weeks (longer when cool) and the young stay with the mother for about 7-10 days after hatching. Breeds year-round in Louisiana, peaking in late winter and spring.
Keep a group with more females than males.
20-40 L tank with many hides, plants and moss.
Warm water and good feeding.
Wild females carry about 18-70 eggs (average 34 in Louisiana; larger females in Missouri/Illinois average 64-80, up to 109); eggs hatch after about 3-4 weeks. Aquarium broods are often 10-30.
Juveniles look like tiny crayfish; feed powdered food and moss.
Males are smaller, with hooks on the 2nd and 3rd walking legs and V-shaped mating organs (gonopods) formed by the first two pairs of swimmerets; females are larger and have no gonopods.