Breeding Orange Rili Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)
Breeding the pumpkin-orange Rili morph of Neocaridina davidi with a clear midband: sexing, conditioning, colony setup, berried females and rearing shrimplets while culling for the Rili pattern.
Overview
The Orange Rili, sometimes sold as Pumpkin Rili, is a Neocaridina davidi line showing pumpkin-orange head and tail with a clear middle band. It develops directly with no larval stage and breeds as readily as any Neocaridina. The work lies in keeping the warm orange tone and the two-tone Rili split through selection.
Sexing
Females are larger, deeper-bodied and more saturated orange, with a wider egg-carrying tail and a visible ovary saddle when maturing. Males are smaller, slimmer and lighter in colour.
Conditioning
Keep a mixed-sex group in a mature tank and feed varied rations of biofilm, algae, blanched vegetables and occasional protein, without overfeeding. As females mate right after molting, the practical triggers are stable parameters and consistent feeding.
Breeding Setup
- Minimum tank volume: 20 L for a colony
- Temperature: 20-26 C (68-79 F)
- pH: 6.5-7.8; GH 6-12 dGH; KH 2-8 dKH
- Sponge filter to protect shrimplets
- Moss and plant cover for molting shrimp
- Stable parameters for continuous breeding
Spawning & Berried Females
A berried female fans 20-30 eggs under her abdomen with her pleopods. Per Wikipedia the clutch hatches in about 2-3 weeks. Avoid disturbance and large water changes during incubation, since a stressed female may drop the eggs.
Shrimplet Care
Shrimplets are miniature adults that feed on biofilm and detritus from the start and rely on dense cover and a predator-free tank. Orange depth and Rili split sharpen with growth, so cull weakly patterned juveniles to maintain the line.
Common Challenges
Keep copper out of the tank. Each generation will produce solid-orange and faded individuals; remove those without a clear midsection. Crossing with other Neocaridina colour morphs pushes offspring back to wild brown over a few generations. Neocaridina davidi does not interbreed with the separate genus Caridina cantonensis.