Captured "red swamp crawfish" vary widely in color because of their diet and environmental conditions, but the most exotic colors occur because of mutations in the genes that are responsible for pigment formation.

Limited food resources near the end of the crawfish production season resulted in lower reproduction. Moreover, short-term feeding with high protein/high energy feeds in forage depleted ponds before crawfish burrowing seemed to mitigate the food shortages and even increased the spawning rate over those crawfish from ponds rich in forage.

Existing ponds normally do not need to be restocked. New ponds require 50-60 pounds per acre of mature crawfish. Drain ponds 2-3 weeks after stocking to allow time for crawfish to burrow into the ground.