Breeding Crystal Red Shrimp (Caridina cantonensis)

Breeding the red-and-white Crystal Red (CRS) bee shrimp, a soft-water Caridina cantonensis line: sexing, conditioning, an acidic low-TDS setup, berried females, shrimplet care and grading.

Overview

The Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS) is a red-and-white selectively bred line of the bee shrimp Caridina cantonensis. According to Wikipedia, it was developed after Hisayasu Suzuki found a red individual among Black Bee shrimp in 1996 and fixed the trait through selective breeding. Unlike Neocaridina, CRS demand soft, acidic water, and years of selection have left them sensitive to poor conditions. They develop directly, releasing fully formed shrimplets with no larval stage.

Sexing

Per Wikipedia the female is larger than the male and has a deeper abdomen, which gives more room to carry eggs. Mature females are rounder under the tail and may show developing eggs; males are slimmer and smaller. Sexing is most reliable on adults.

Conditioning

Keep a mixed-sex group on stable, soft acidic water and feed sparingly with biofilm, algae and shrimp-specific foods. The Shrimp Farm notes the colour-developing range is around 24-25 C (75-77 F), where Wikipedia also reports the strongest colours develop. Stability matters more than heavy feeding for triggering spawns.

Breeding Setup

• Minimum tank volume: 30 L for a stable colony
• Temperature: 22-25 C (72-77 F)
• pH: 5.8-6.8 (soft, acidic); GH 4-6 dGH; KH 0-2 dKH
• Low TDS, roughly 100-180 (active soil substrate helps hold acidic, soft water)
• Sponge filter and dense moss for shrimplets
• Very stable parameters; avoid swings

Spawning & Berried Females

Once parameters are right, CRS breed readily. The female carries the eggs beneath her abdomen; Wikipedia gives an expected hatch of about 28 days at 22 C (72 F). The Shrimp Farm reports roughly 30 days to hatch and about 70 days for shrimplets to reach breeding age. Keep water steady, as stress can cause a female to drop eggs.

Shrimplet Care

Shrimplets emerge as miniature adults and graze biofilm immediately, so a mature, biofilm-rich tank with dense moss is the key first food and refuge. Keep predatory fish out. Final colour and grade clarify as juveniles grow.

Common Challenges

CRS are graded from SSS (highest) down to C by the amount and opacity of white. Named patterns include Mosura (mostly white, top grade), Hinomaru (a red disc on a white back), no-entry Hinomaru, tiger-tooth and V-band. CRS and the Crystal Black (CBS) are the same species and interbreed freely. Crucially, Caridina cantonensis does not interbreed with Neocaridina davidi, a separate genus, so the two can be kept apart only by genus, not by tank.