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Encyclopedia / Shrimp / Giant freshwater prawn
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Variations

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Giant freshwater prawn

Macrobrachium rosenbergii · Giant river prawn, Giant prawn, Malaysian prawn, Blue lobster prawn

Aggressive and territorial, and will eat fish and shrimp.

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32 cmAdult size ✓
25–30 °CTemperature ✓
7–8.5pH ✓
UnknownSmallest tank ?
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This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.

Not recommended
  • Giant freshwater prawn should be kept without other species.
  • Only a narrow temperature range suits both: exactly 25 °C.
Not recommended
  • Giant freshwater prawn should be kept without other species.
  • Only a narrow pH range suits both: exactly 7.
Not recommended
  • Giant freshwater prawn should be kept without other species.
Facts checked against sources on 16 Oct 2026. ✓ means a source backs it; ? means no reliable source yet. See sources

Care and water

Hardness ✓1.1–8.4 dGH
Group size ?Can live alone
Temperament ✓Aggressive
Swims at ✓Bottom
Care level ?Moderate
Diet Carnivore
Lifespan ✓up to 3 years
Size in shops 3–6 cm
Growth Fast

Behavior

Aggressive and territorial, and will eat fish and shrimp. Keep alone.

Check your local laws. Not on the EU list of invasive alien species of Union concern (consolidated list to Aug 2025). No other national rule was checked; in the US it is sold live (aquaponics) and is not federally listed as injurious in the source checked. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.

  • brackish

Food

Meaty foods, sinking pellets and shrimp.

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Male or female

Males grow larger and have much bigger second walking legs (the main claws), which in dominant 'blue claw' males can be up to twice body length; females have a wider abdomen and smaller claws. Gonopores are on the 5th walking legs in males and the 3rd in females.

Health

Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.

Breeding

Amphidromous: the female carries the eggs for about 3 weeks, then free-swimming zoea larvae hatch and must be reared in brackish water (about 12 ppt) through 11 larval stages; most metamorphose into postlarvae by day 32-35 at 28-31 °C. Postlarvae then move back into fresh water, where juveniles and adults live entirely.

Full breeding guide, day-by-day plan and simulator →

Where it lives in the wild

RegionSouth & Southeast Asia to northern Australia
HabitatRivers, lakes and estuaries, moving between fresh and brackish water
Native rangeAbout 3,500 km across
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The story of the giant freshwater prawn

One of the largest freshwater prawns, native to the Indo-Pacific from India to Southeast Asia and northern Australia, and farmed throughout the tropics for food. Modern farming began in the early 1960s in Malaysia when FAO expert Shao-Wen Ling found that the larvae need brackish water. Males can reach over 30 cm, so it needs a very large tank.

Dutch zoologist Johannes Govertus de Man described this large prawn in 1879. It became one of the world's most important farmed freshwater crustaceans and is now raised in many tropical countries, while aquarists keep it as an impressive oddball.

First described by Johannes G. de Man in 1879. Named for Named after the German naturalist Hermann von Rosenberg.

  • It is one of the largest freshwater prawns, with males growing very long blue claws.
  • Its larvae need brackish water to develop, which is why farms use special hatcheries.
  • Adult males come in distinct types, from small sneaky males to big dominant blue-clawed males.

Sources

15 facts checked with sources