1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Semi-aggressive; best alone.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Semi-aggressive; best alone.
Check your local laws. EU: not on the Union list of invasive alien species (only Cherax destructor of this genus). US: Florida lists Cherax boesemani as a prohibited species (no personal possession or commercial use); Washington State prohibits all Parastacidae crayfish except Engaeus, C. quadricarinatus, C. papuanus and C. tenuimanus. Never release. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Pellets, vegetables and meaty foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Adult males have a soft, pale yellow or white patch (decalcified swelling) on the lower edge of the claws; females lack it. Young males resemble females until it develops (at about 8 cm total length).
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-bearing mating pairs · Moderate
Direct developer: the female carries eggs under her tail. One wild 9.6 cm female carried 74 eggs (3 x 2 mm); a berried female was collected in early March.
One male and 2 females in a large tank with hides.
Large tank with caves and sand; separate female when berried.
Seasonal temperature changes and good feeding.
One 9.6 cm wild female carried 74 eggs, each about 3 x 2 mm.
Juveniles are tiny crayfish; feed meaty foods and keep separate to prevent cannibalism.
A very variable crayfish from the Ajamaru Lakes of West Papua, Indonesia, described in 2008. Wild colours range from beige, olive and brown to reddish brown and purplish red, with bright blue legs; the claws vary (blue-green, purple or blue with orange-yellow). Selective breeding has produced strains sold as "Supernova", "Blue Moon", "Red Brick" and others.
Described in 2008 by Christian Lukhaup and Reinhard Pekny, this crayfish shares its home region with the famous Boeseman's rainbowfish. Its vivid orange-and-blue forms made it a popular collector's crayfish.
First described by Christian Lukhaup & Reinhard Pekny in 2008. Named for Named after Dutch ichthyologist Marinus Boeseman.
9 facts checked with sources
Invertebrate (freshwater crayfish, family Parastacidae, New Guinea). Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani Lukhaup & Pekny, 2008, named after M. Boeseman, who collected the type specimens in 1955. Trade names include "Supernova", "Blue Moon"/"Blue Marble", "Red Chilli", "Red Brick Papua"; hybrids with C. pulcher are sold as "Thunderbolt Blue Moon" (Wikipedia). Not the rainbowfish Melanotaenia boesemani (separate file species-boesemani.json).
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed) · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Cherax boesemani (2017), citing GBIFLegacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
Wikipedia: Cherax boesemani (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010)Total length. Largest type male 12.3 cm, female 10.3 cm (preserved). Wikipedia gives 13-15 cm, citing a hobby site only. size-pick: the pulcher paper (Lukhaup 2015, citing Lukhaup & Pekny 2014) says C. boesemani "reaches a TL up to 25 cm", far above every other figure, so not used. Legacy 12 cm kept.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed) · Wikipedia: Cherax boesemani (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010)Legacy has no range; recorded as sourced. About 22 km from the C. pulcher locality (Lukhaup 2015).
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed) · Wikipedia: Cherax boesemani (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010)Legacy claw-size/tail cues not sourced; this subgenus character is the clear sign.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed)Legacy "Females carry 30-100 eggs" is consistent with the single wild count of 74. No aquarium breeding source fetched.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed)Legacy breeding.eggs text gave no count; incubation time unsourced.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed)Legacy "blue-green body and orange claws" describes only one colour type.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2008, Zool. Med. Leiden 82: 331-340, Cherax (Astaconephrops) boesemani, a new species (peer-reviewed) · Wikipedia: Cherax boesemani (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010)US state rules as quoted by USFWS (2017); not re-checked on current FWC/WDFW pages. No US federal listing found. German national rules not checked.
Wikipedia: List of invasive alien species of Union concern (summarises EU Reg. 1143/2014 implementing lists 2016/1141 to 2025/1422) · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Cherax boesemani (2017), quoting Florida FWC prohibited species list