2 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Semi-aggressive to tankmates with claws and will grab fish and shrimp.
This one is best kept on its own, or with its own kind.
Semi-aggressive to tankmates with claws and will grab fish and shrimp. Escapes easily.
Check your local laws. EU: on the Union list of invasive alien species since 2016 (Reg. 2016/1141), so it may not be imported, kept, bred, transported, sold or released anywhere in the EU. England and Wales: a permit/licence from Natural England or Natural Resources Wales is needed to keep or sell it. US: no federal listing, but restricted in 21 states, e.g. prohibited in Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Virginia, and covered by blanket non-native-crayfish rules in others (e.g. California, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wisconsin). Japan banned it (with most North American crayfish) in 2020; prohibited in Ontario and Saskatchewan, Canada. Check the rules where you live before you buy one, and never release it into the wild.
Good to know: Illegal to keep or sell in the EU and several countries. Never release into the wild.
Sinking pellets, blanched vegetables, algae wafers and meaty foods.
Tap a food to see what it is.
No sexing needed: all marbled crayfish are female and reproduce by parthenogenesis (cloning); no male has ever been found.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Parthenogenetic (self-cloning) · Easy
Obligate parthenogen: every animal is a female that lays unfertilised eggs which develop into clones. Maturity comes at about 4 cm and under 6 months; under good conditions it can spawn year-round, up to about seven times in a life. Young stay under the mother's tail through two moults before becoming independent.
One animal is enough; never release them.
Closed tank with tight lid; no overflow into drains.
Seasonal temperature changes and good feeding.
Clutches of about 50 to 700 eggs depending on female size (maximum records 416-731); eggs hatch after 2-3 weeks, depending on temperature.
Juveniles are tiny crayfish; feed meaty foods and keep separate to prevent cannibalism.
All marbled crayfish are female, genetically identical clones, probably descended from a single animal that arose about 30 years ago (likely in captivity) from the slough crayfish. Found in the German aquarium trade in 1995, releases have created wild populations in Europe, Madagascar (millions of animals), Israel and Japan.
The marbled crayfish was first noticed in German aquariums in the mid-1990s, and genetic work later showed it arose from the slough crayfish of Florida. Frank Lyko formally named it as a species in 2017.
First described by Frank Lyko in 2017. Named for 'Virginalis' refers to its all-female, virgin reproduction.
13 facts checked with sources
Invertebrate (freshwater crayfish). Named as a species by Lyko in 2017; earlier called Procambarus fallax f. virginalis or 'Marmorkrebs'. The EU and UK legal lists still use 'Procambarus fallax f. virginalis (Procambarus virginalis)'.
WoRMS / DecaNet (2026): Procambarus virginalis (AphiaID 1049466, REST record) · Wikipedia: Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis)New value.
WoRMS / DecaNet (2026): Procambarus virginalis (AphiaID 1049466, REST record)Total length. Maximum 11-13 cm depending on source; typical adults 3-8 cm TL (field measurements quoted by USFWS). Legacy 12 cm is a fair maximum.
Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish · IUCN Global Invasive Species Database: Procambarus virginalis species profile · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), 2023Legacy 18-26 °C matches 18-25 °C within rounding. Survives below 8 °C and above 30 °C for weeks but reproduction stops and mortality rises (Vogt et al. 2004).
USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), 2023 · Invasive Species Centre (Canada): Marbled crayfishLegacy 3-4 years fits: around 4 years (Vogt 2015 via GISD), maximum 4.5 years; ISC says usually 2-3.
IUCN Global Invasive Species Database: Procambarus virginalis species profile · Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish · Invasive Species Centre (Canada): Marbled crayfishBottom-living, burrowing crayfish.
Invasive Species Centre (Canada): Marbled crayfishEasy to keep. Legal status (see traits.legal) matters more than care level.
Wikipedia: Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) · Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfishNew value.
Wikipedia: Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) · Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), 2023Legacy 'self-cloning; females lay 100+ eggs a few times a year' is correct. Breeding is photoperiod- and temperature-driven (ISC, GISD). Legacy breeding 'mistakes: Mixing males' does not apply (there are no males).
Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish · IUCN Global Invasive Species Database: Procambarus virginalis species profile · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), 2023 · Invasive Species Centre (Canada): Marbled crayfishLegacy 'up to several hundred eggs, carried for about 3 weeks' agrees.
Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfish · Invasive Species Centre (Canada): Marbled crayfish · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), 2023Legacy story is correct. It also carries crayfish plague (Aphanomyces astaci) (Wikipedia).
Wikipedia: Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) · Vogt, G. (Univ. Heidelberg), Atlas of Science: Invasion of science and nature by the parthenogenetic marbled crayfishLegacy 'banned in the EU' is right. Legacy 'including Madagascar': no source found for a Madagascar ban (it is invasive there). EU Reg. 1143/2014 has a transitional rule letting non-commercial owners keep pets they already had until the animal dies if it cannot escape or breed; not quoted here. Saskatchewan prohibition per Wikipedia (not separately quoted). Never release.
EUR-Lex: Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1141 (Union list), consolidated text 7 Aug 2025 · Wikipedia: List of invasive alien species of Union concern (summarises EU Reg. 1143/2014 implementing acts) · Wikipedia: Marbled crayfish (Procambarus virginalis) · GOV.UK (Defra): Introduce or keep non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish (England and Wales; last updated 15 Oct 2026) · USFWS Ecological Risk Screening Summary: Marbled Crayfish (Procambarus virginalis), 2023 · Invasive Species Centre (Canada): Marbled crayfish