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Semi-aggressive; best alone.
266 species in our list are a good match.
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 holthuisi 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.
Check the genital openings at the base of the walking legs: males at the 5th (last) pair, females at the 3rd pair.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-bearing mating pairs · Moderate
Direct developer: after a courtship "dance", eggs are laid about a day after mating and carried under the female's tail for roughly 6-9 weeks; 40-80 young hatch and stay with the mother a few days. Offspring are few and grow slowly.
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.
Eggs carried for about 6-9 weeks; 40-80 young hatch.
Juveniles are tiny crayfish; feed meaty foods and keep separate to prevent cannibalism.
A small-eyed crayfish from one lake in West Papua, Indonesia. Museum specimens were bought from local people in 1952 but only described in 2006, when crayfish appearing in the German trade matched them. Wild animals are pink, orange or pale yellow; blue forms are also sold.
Christian Lukhaup and Reinhard Pekny described this crayfish in 2006, honouring the renowned crustacean expert Lipke Holthuis. It reached the hobby from Indonesian Papua, where its soft apricot to orange tones made it popular.
First described by Christian Lukhaup & Reinhard Pekny in 2006. Named for Named after Dutch carcinologist Lipke B. Holthuis.
16 facts checked with sources
Invertebrate (freshwater crayfish, family Parastacidae, New Guinea). Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi Lukhaup & Pekny, 2006; accepted (GBIF). Named after L.B. Holthuis. Common name "apricot crayfish".
Lukhaup & Pekny 2006, Zool. Med. Leiden 80: 101-107, Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi, a new species (peer-reviewed) · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: New Guinea apricot crayfish (Cherax holthuisi)Legacy has no family; recorded as sourced.
Wikipedia: Cherax holthuisi (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010; Lukhaup & Pekny 2006)Total length without claws. Type series (preserved, 1952): 8.1-9.3 cm. Garnelio: usually 8-10 cm, up to 15 cm. Legacy 10 cm fits typical adults.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2006, Zool. Med. Leiden 80: 101-107, Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi, a new species (peer-reviewed) · Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy 24-30 °C is too warm at the top. Single retail source.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy 7-8. Native Aitinjo Lake water is about pH 6.5 (Boeseman, in the description).
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisi · Lukhaup & Pekny 2006, Zool. Med. Leiden 80: 101-107, Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi, a new species (peer-reviewed)Legacy had none. Source gives only an upper limit (GH up to 25); min left null.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiFor a pair; 100 L for breeding. Cover the tank tightly.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy "3-5 years" lies within the retail figure of 2-5 years. No scientific data.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy "semi-aggressive; best alone". Garnelio: rarely friction with its own kind, usually fine with shrimp and peaceful fish, but cracks snails. Retail source only.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy care 2. Retail source only.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy has no range; recorded as sourced. Collected for the aquarium trade (IUCN via USFWS).
Lukhaup & Pekny 2006, Zool. Med. Leiden 80: 101-107, Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi, a new species (peer-reviewed) · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: New Guinea apricot crayfish (Cherax holthuisi) · Wikipedia: Cherax holthuisi (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010; Lukhaup & Pekny 2006)Legacy claw-size and tail-width cues not sourced for this species (in the description, adult male claws are measured, female claws not).
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy "Females carry eggs about 4-6 weeks" is shorter than Garnelio (6-8 weeks in the text, 7-9 weeks in the profile). Retail source only.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiRetail source only.
Garnelio (German invertebrate breeder/retailer): Apricot crayfish - Cherax holthuisiLegacy "blue, purple or orange forms" partly supported (orange and blue). "Rarer than red claw" not checked. Garnelio says it hardly digs or eats plants, so it suits planted tanks.
Lukhaup & Pekny 2006, Zool. Med. Leiden 80: 101-107, Cherax (Cherax) holthuisi, a new species (peer-reviewed) · Wikipedia: Cherax holthuisi (cites IUCN Red List: Austin 2010; Lukhaup & Pekny 2006)US state rules as quoted in USFWS screening summaries (2017 data); 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: New Guinea apricot crayfish (Cherax holthuisi) · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Cherax boesemani (2017), quoting Florida FWC prohibited species list