Aquaponics FL

Fish · Crayfish

Red swamp crayfish in Florida aquaponics

Procambarus clarkii

The red swamp crawfish is the main farmed crawfish of the southern US, raised in Louisiana-style ponds and boiled by the sack. In Florida it is on FWC's Conditional list: pond culture is banned, commercial culture needs FDACS certification and tanks inside a building, and both FWC and FDACS say conditional species cannot be used in backyard aquaponics. The FWC list does let people possess it west of the Apalachicola River, and no fetched page says how that fits with the backyard rule, so ask FWC before keeping it.1, 3, 4, 8

Where in Florida it works1, 8, 10

RegionReading
North Floridanot documented
Central Floridanot documented
South Floridanot documented

Our reading, not a source statement: SRAC 2403 and SRAC 244 give no temperature limits, so the regions cannot be rated on climate. The law matters more here: the only possession exception on the FWC Conditional list is west of the Apalachicola River, which by our reading of the map lies in the western Panhandle of North Florida.

Our reading of the temperature facts below against UF/IFAS's three regions (North Florida north of State Road 40, Central between 40 and 70, South below 70). A tank with a heater, a greenhouse or a shaded sump changes the answer.

Florida rules1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14

FWC statusOn FWC's "Conditional Nonnative Species List" under Crayfish as "Procambarus clarkii (Red swamp crayfish)", with the note "Pond aquaculture is prohibited but P. clarkii may be possessed west of the Apalachicola River or imported for direct sale to food wholesalers and food retailers for re-sale to consumers without permit" (page shows no revision date; read 2026-11-02). FWC's nonnative regulations page says Conditional species "may not be acquired or kept as personal pets, with the exception of red-eared sliders" (page shows no revision date; read 2026-11-02). FDACS lists it among "restricted" species (FDACS-P-02060 Rev. 11/25; Aquaculture BMP manual FDACS-02034 Rev. 11/2023).
Permit or certificateCommercial culture needs an FDACS Aquaculture Certificate of Registration and a Restricted Species Authorization letter (FDACS-P-02060 Rev. 11/25; FDACS Crustaceans page). Personal use: FWC's aquaponics page says "Conditional aquatic species cannot be used" and "Conditional species permits are not issued for personal use"; FDACS-P-01770 Rev. 12/25 says neither FWC nor FDACS "will issue a permit to possess these species in backyard aquaponic systems."
Selling fish or fingerlingsFDACS-P-02060 Rev. 11/25: "Live sale or transfer of restricted species and their hybrids is limited to those authorized by FDACS or FWC", and records of live purchases, sales and transfers must be kept for at least two years. The FWC Conditional list allows import "for direct sale to food wholesalers and food retailers for re-sale to consumers without permit." FWC's aquaponics page notes that the Resident Fish Dealer license "does not allow for the sale of conditional species".
AlsoThe BMP manual limits culture of this species to "tank culture in an enclosed structure" and says "Pond aquaculture of these species is prohibited." Systems must stop animals escaping indoor systems or crawling out of tanks, and all water leaving the building must be treated so no life stage escapes. UF/IFAS EDIS FA195 repeats the tank-only rule. FWC's aquaponics page: "It's illegal to release any nonnative species in Florida."

Rules change and this is a summary; the agency page in the sources is the authority. Check it before you buy, breed or sell.

Growing8, 9, 10

Harvest sizeabout 1 to 1.5 oz (20 to 35 g) per growing season (SRAC 244, for native US crayfish in general)
Months to harvest3 to 5 from hatching in the South (SRAC 2403)
StockingSouthern pond systems stock new ponds with 50 to 60 lb of adult crawfish per acre and do not restock (SRAC 241), but pond culture of this species is prohibited in Florida. No tank or aquaponics stocking figure was found.
FeedCommercial ponds rarely use supplemental feed. Producers grow a forage crop whose decaying plant matter feeds the insects, worms, snails and other small animals the crawfish eat; for top growth crawfish need animal matter or other protein-rich food (SRAC 2403, SRAC 241).
Water qualitySRAC 2403 desirable values: pH 6.5 to 8.5; total hardness and total alkalinity each above 50 ppm as CaCO3; ferrous iron below 0.1 ppm; hydrogen sulfide below 0.002 ppm; un-ionized ammonia below 0.06 ppm; nitrite below 0.6 ppm; salinity below 6 ppt. Dissolved oxygen that stays below 1 ppm for weeks can stop feeding, and levels below 0.5 ppm can disrupt molting and cut survival.

Crawfish grow only by molting, and can gain up to 15 percent in length and 40 percent in weight in one molt when conditions are good; they reharden the new shell partly with calcium from the water. They live 2 years or less in the Deep South and dig nearly vertical burrows, usually 40 inches deep or less (SRAC 2403).

Breeding and stock5, 8, 9, 11

How it breedsCrawfish mate in open water and the female stores the sperm, then usually retreats to a burrow to spawn; she needs free-standing water to lay. Females carry 200 to 300 eggs on the swimmerets, and large females (over about 30 g) more than 500. Eggs hatch in about 3 weeks at 74 F; the young stay attached through two molts and then remain near the mother for several more weeks. Red swamp crawfish can spawn year-round in the southern US and females may spawn more than once a year; a young crawfish molts about eleven times to reach maturity, after which it stops growing (SRAC 2403).
Getting fingerlings or stockCrawfish farming needs no hatchery: ponds are stocked with adults that breed in place (SRAC 7301, SRAC 241). In Florida, live purchase or transfer is limited to people authorized by FDACS or FWC (FDACS-P-02060 Rev. 11/25).

Florida sellers of fingerlings, breeders and stock

In an aquaponics system3, 4, 7, 12, 13

not documented

Neither SRAC 454 nor SRAC 5007 mentions crayfish. In Florida any culture of this species must be in tanks inside an enclosed structure (BMP manual), and FWC and FDACS both say conditional species cannot be used in personal aquaponics.

On the table11

Red swamp crawfish fat (the hepatopancreas) is orange with a rich flavor. A cooked 3-ounce portion has about 74 calories, 1 gram of fat, 14.9 grams of protein and 116 milligrams of cholesterol. Keep live crawfish moist and cold (42 to 45 F) and cook them soon; the suggested method is 5 to 7 minutes at a rolling boil, then a 10- to 15-minute soak in the seasoned water (SRAC 7301).

What this page doesn't cover yet

  • No fetched source says whether the red swamp crayfish is native to any part of Florida. SRAC 2403 gives its native range as the Gulf states from Texas to Alabama, north up the Mississippi drainage and south into Mexico, without naming Florida; the FWC list allows possession west of the Apalachicola River but does not say why.
  • The FWC aquaponics page ('Conditional aquatic species cannot be used') and FDACS-P-01770 (no permits for backyard aquaponics) do not say how they fit with the FWC Conditional list's exception allowing possession west of the Apalachicola River without permit. Not resolved here; ask FWC.
  • No source gives optimal, growth-stopping or lethal temperatures for this species.
  • No source gives a harvest size specific to red swamp crawfish; the harvest_size figure is SRAC 244's for native US crayfish in general.
  • No tank, recirculating or aquaponics stocking or feeding figures were found; all culture figures are from Louisiana-style pond systems, which Florida prohibits for this species.
  • UF/IFAS EDIS has no fact sheet on this species that could be found.
  • FAO 'Small-scale aquaponic food production' could not be fetched (HTTP 403 on every FAO URL tried).

Sources

  1. Conditional Nonnative Species List. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Read 2026-11-02.
  2. Regulations for Nonnative Fish and Wildlife: Conditional and Prohibited Species. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Read 2026-11-02.
  3. Aquaponics Licenses & Permits. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Read 2026-11-02.
  4. Commercial Aquaponics: Rules and Regulations. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture, FDACS-P-01770 Rev. 12/25. Read 2026-11-02.
  5. Restricted Species Aquaculture: Rules and Regulations. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture, FDACS-P-02060 Rev. 11/25. Read 2026-11-02.
  6. Crustaceans. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture. Read 2026-11-02.
  7. Aquaculture Best Management Practices Manual (incorporated into Rule 5L-3.004, F.A.C.). Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture, FDACS-02034 Rev. 11/2023. Read 2026-11-02.
  8. Procambarid Crawfish: Life History and Biology. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC), SRAC 2403. Read 2026-11-02.
  9. Crawfish Production: Production Systems and Forages. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC), SRAC 241. Read 2026-11-02.
  10. Australian Red Claw Crayfish. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC), SRAC 244. Read 2026-11-02.
  11. Farm-Raised Crawfish. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC), SRAC 7301. Read 2026-11-02.
  12. Recirculating Aquaculture Tank Production Systems: Aquaponics—Integrating Fish and Plant Culture. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC), SRAC 454. Read 2026-11-02.
  13. Principles of Small-Scale Aquaponics. Southern Regional Aquaculture Center (SRAC), SRAC 5007. Read 2026-11-02.
  14. Preventing Escape of Non-Native Species from Aquaculture Facilities in Florida, Part 1: General Considerations and Regulations. UF/IFAS Extension, EDIS, FA195. Read 2026-11-02.

Every fact above is restated in our own words from these documents, written 2026-11-02. Independent of the University of Florida and of every agency named.

Looking for red swamp crayfish fingerlings or stock?

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