Keeping Freshwater Shrimp

How to keep dwarf freshwater shrimp: Neocaridina versus Caridina parameters, molting, copper sensitivity and building stable colonies.

Overview

Dwarf freshwater shrimp are small invertebrates kept for their colour and their role as part of an aquarium clean-up crew. The two most common groups in the hobby are Neocaridina and Caridina. Neocaridina davidi, the species behind cherry shrimp, is native to Taiwan, eastern China, the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam, and reaches roughly 3 to 4 cm at maturity. Adults may live one to two years.

Neocaridina vs Caridina

Neocaridina species tolerate a wide range of conditions and are considered beginner-friendly, while many Caridina (such as bee and crystal shrimp) need softer, more acidic and more closely controlled water. Keeping the two genera in separate tanks avoids hybridisation and lets each be given its preferred parameters.

Water parameters

• Temperature: roughly 14-30 °C (57-86 °F); comfortable around room temperature near 22 °C (72 °F), so no heater is required (Aquarium Co-Op)
• pH: 6.5-8.0; Neocaridina tolerate a fairly broad range
• GH: at least 6 °dGH (around 110 ppm) for healthy shells
• KH: at least 2 °dKH (around 40 ppm)

Molting

Shrimp grow by shedding their exoskeleton, and they molt periodically throughout life, with juveniles molting more often than adults. They commonly eat the shed shell to recover its minerals. In soft water, adding mineral supplements helps prevent failed molts, sometimes called the white ring of death, where a gap appears behind the head of a dead shrimp.

Copper sensitivity

Invertebrates are highly sensitive to copper, which is toxic to shrimp even at low concentrations. Many fish medications and some plant fertilisers contain copper, so products must be checked before use in a shrimp tank.

Diet

Neocaridina are omnivores that graze on biofilm, algae and detritus and do not eat healthy vascular plants. In the aquarium their diet can be supplemented with prepared shrimp foods and blanched vegetables.

Building a colony

Females carry 20 to 30 eggs at a time, which hatch in two to three weeks into miniature copies of the adults rather than free-swimming larvae. Sexual maturity is reached at around two months. A 10-gallon (about 38 L) or larger tank with stable parameters supports a self-sustaining breeding colony.