Blue Velvet Shrimp Breeding Guide

Blue Velvet is a Neocaridina davidi color morph that breeds readily in freshwater, with females carrying 20-30 eggs that hatch as miniature shrimp.

Overview

Blue Velvet is a selectively bred color morph of Neocaridina davidi, a freshwater dwarf shrimp of the family Atyidae native to China and Taiwan. All Neocaridina color varieties belong to the same species, so Blue Velvet breeds with the same ease as any other morph. Adults reach roughly 3-4 cm and live about 1-2 years.

Telling Males from Females

Females grow larger (up to about 4 cm), are more intensely colored, and have wider tails; males stay smaller (about 2.5-3 cm), are slimmer and more translucent. A mature female shows a yellowish "saddle" on her back, the developing eggs visible through the carapace, which signals she is ready to mate. Keeping a group of at least ten shrimp reliably gives both sexes.

Breeding Conditions

Neocaridina tolerate a wide range and breed readily once a sexed group is established in a tank without predators. Reported limits are 16-28 C (60-82 F), with the most comfortable range 22-24 C (72-76 F), pH 6.5-8.5, GH at least 6 dGH (110 ppm) and KH at least 2 dKH (40 ppm). Mineral-rich water is essential for successful molting; in soft water shrimp can suffer failed molts (the so-called "white ring of death"). Shrimp reach sexual maturity at around two months.

Eggs & Young

After molting and mating the female attaches her eggs to her swimmerets (pleopods), carrying 20-30 eggs at a time; a female carrying eggs is called "berried." The eggs darken over roughly three weeks (2-3 weeks) until they hatch. Neocaridina davidi has no distinct larval stage, so the young emerge as tiny copies of the adults, roughly 1 mm long, and the adults do not predate on their own young.

Maintaining Color

Because all morphs are one species, color quality drifts over generations without management. Breeders cull or remove the least colorful individuals once the colony is established so that only the best-colored shrimp pass on their traits, keeping the blue intense. Mixing different color morphs in one tank tends to produce offspring that revert toward wild-type brown.