Breeding Black Rose Shrimp
Black Rose is a Neocaridina davidi morph that breeds readily in freshwater; females carry 20-30 eggs on their swimmerets and hatch miniature adults with no larval stage.
Overview
The Black Rose shrimp is a selectively bred color morph of Neocaridina davidi. Like all Neocaridina, it breeds readily in freshwater and does not have a larval stage, so a stable, sexed group will reproduce without special intervention.
Sexing
Females are larger, have wider tails for carrying eggs, and show richer, more opaque coloration; in more transparent morphs the developing eggs may be visible as a green or yellow saddle on the back. Males are smaller, slimmer, and less colorful. Aquarium Co-Op reports females reaching up to about 4 cm and males around 2.5-3 cm.
Breeding Conditions
- Temperature: about 22-24 °C is most comfortable for breeding
- pH: 6.5-8.5
- GH: at least 6 ° (around 110 ppm)
- KH: at least 2 ° (around 40 ppm)
- Breeding requires only a sexed pair, stable water parameters, and a food source
Eggs & Young
A berried female carries roughly 20-30 eggs affixed to her swimmerets (pleopods) and fans them to keep them oxygenated. Eggs hatch in about 2-3 weeks (gestation is roughly a month depending on temperature). Hatchlings are tiny copies of the adults, only about 1-2 mm long, with no free-swimming larval stage. Sexual maturity is reached at roughly two months of age.
Color Stability & Culling
Color morphs of Neocaridina davidi are produced by selective breeding. Without culling, populations tend to degrade in appearance over time, so less colorful individuals are removed to maintain a high-grade, stable black coloration. First-time or stressed females may sometimes drop their eggs.