Neocaridina vs Caridina: Choosing Your Shrimp
Freshwater aquarium shrimp fall into two primary genera that require significantly different water parameters. Understanding this distinction before purchasing shrimp prevents the frustration of buying the wrong species for your water source.
Neocaridina davidi (Red Cherry Shrimp, Yellow Neo, Blue Dream, Chocolate, Orange Rili, and dozens of other color morphs) are hardy, adaptable shrimp that tolerate a wide range of water conditions. They thrive at pH 6.8-7.8, hardness 6-15 dGH, TDS 150-300 ppm, and temperature 18-27°C. They are the recommended starting point for any shrimp keeper — forgiving of small errors, they breed prolifically in good conditions and provide an immediate population to observe and learn from.
Caridina (Crystal Red Shrimp/CRS, Crystal Black Shrimp/CBS, Taiwan Bee, Panda, King Kong, Blue Bolt) are the premium, demanding shrimp of the hobby. They require soft, acidic water: pH 5.8-6.8, hardness 2-6 dGH, TDS 80-150 ppm, and temperature 20-25°C. In Cambodia's hard, warm tap water, Caridina require RO water with mineral remineralizer, temperature management (either AC room or chiller), and significantly more attention to water chemistry stability. They are not beginner shrimp — build experience with Neocaridina first.
Setting Up the Shrimp Tank
Tank size: the minimum for a shrimp colony is 10-15 liters, but 30-40 liters is significantly more stable and forgiving for beginners. Larger water volumes dilute parameter fluctuations that could kill shrimp in a small tank. A dedicated shrimp tank rather than a community tank prevents losses from fish predation and allows you to control water parameters precisely.
Substrate: Neocaridina shrimp do well on standard aquarium gravel, sand, or light-colored aquarium soil. Caridina shrimp require an active buffering substrate — ADA Amazonia, Tropica Aquarium Soil, or Mr. Aqua Aquarium Plant Soil — that buffers pH down to 6.0-6.5 and adds organic compounds beneficial for shrimp breeding. Active substrates exhaust their buffering capacity after 12-18 months and must be replaced.
Filtration: sponge filters are mandatory for shrimp tanks. Hang-on-back filters, internal filters, and canister filters will suck baby shrimp (shrimplets) into the intake with fatal results unless covered with a pre-filter sponge. A gentle sponge filter with light aeration is the perfect shrimp tank filter — it colonizes beneficial bacteria, provides gentle biological filtration without killing shrimplets, and creates a biofilm-covered surface that shrimp graze continuously.
Plants and hardscape: shrimp thrive in planted tanks. Java Moss provides the essential textured surface shrimp use for grazing, molting shelter, and fry hiding. Subwassertang, Christmas Moss, Flame Moss, Anubias, and Java Fern all work well. Indian Almond Leaves (Ketapang leaves) on the substrate provide biofilm, tannins that lower pH, and hiding spots — essential for Caridina shrimp.
- ✦Never add copper-based medications to any shrimp tank — copper is lethal to shrimp even at low doses
- ✦Remove dead shrimp immediately to prevent ammonia spikes
- ✦Add Indian Almond leaves as the substrate cover for natural tannins and biofilm
- ✦Molt protection: leave molted shells in the tank for 24 hours — shrimp eat them to recoup calcium
- ✦Do not feed for 24 hours after a large water change — shrimp are stressed and may be in molt
Water Parameters and Maintenance
Water stability is more important for shrimp than precision. Shrimp are more stressed by fluctuating parameters than by parameters that are slightly outside ideal but consistent. Perform smaller, more frequent water changes (10-15% every 5-7 days) rather than large changes less frequently. Always drip-acclimate replacement water slowly — use a drip acclimation system (an airline with a loose knot to restrict flow) to add water at 1 drop per second into the tank.
In Cambodia, tap water quality for Neocaridina is often workable but should be tested. Check pH, KH (carbonate hardness), and TDS before starting. If pH is above 7.5 or TDS above 300 ppm, add 30-50% RO water to dilute. Avoid water from areas with heavy chloramine treatment — use a dechlorinator specifically rated for chloramine (sodium thiosulfate does not neutralize chloramine; use a product containing ascorbic acid or sodium thiosulfate + ammonium thiosulfate).
Temperature: keep shrimp tanks below 28°C in Cambodia. Above 28°C, shrimp metabolism increases dramatically, molting frequency rises, and breeding slows or stops. Run an air conditioner in the shrimp room or add a small fan blowing across the water surface (evaporative cooling drops water temperature 2-3°C) during hot season.
Feeding Shrimp: Simple and Consistent
Shrimp in a well-planted tank with sufficient biofilm, algae, and detritus require very little supplemental feeding. Overfeeding a shrimp tank is far more dangerous than underfeeding — uneaten food rots, spikes ammonia, and kills shrimp within hours in small tanks.
Feed every other day for Neocaridina in a planted tank; every 2-3 days for Caridina. Suitable foods: shrimp-specific wafers (Hikari Shrimp Cuisine, GlasGarten Shrimp Dinner, Borneo Wild Mineral series), blanched vegetables (spinach, zucchini, cucumber — sink a small slice and remove after 24 hours), spirulina wafers, and occasionally protein foods (bloodworm half-piece, dried daphnia once weekly for conditioning breeding females).
Snowflake food (dried soybean pods or specialized fermented foods) is the recommended daily food for shrimp colonies — it colonizes beneficial bacteria as it softens, shrimp pick at it continuously over 24-48 hours without polluting the water if not fully consumed. It is available at shrimp specialty shops and online.
Breeding and Growing Your Colony
Neocaridina shrimp breed readily in good conditions without any intervention. Females "saddle" eggs in the ovary (visible as a yellow-green patch behind the head), which are then fertilized and moved to the pleopods (underside legs) where they are fanned and incubated for 3-4 weeks until the shrimplets hatch. The shrimplets are fully formed miniature shrimp from day one and require no special food — they immediately graze on biofilm.
A colony of 10 Neocaridina shrimp in good conditions typically grows to 50-100+ individuals within 3 months. Once established, the limiting factor is tank size and food availability. A 30-liter tank can sustainably support 50-80 adult Cherry Shrimp at full density.
For color purity: keep one color morph per tank. Neocaridina color morphs interbreed and the offspring of mixed-color parents revert to wild-type brown/transparent within 1-2 generations. If you want Red Cherry Shrimp, keep only red morphs. If you want a wild-type natural look, mixed morphs over multiple generations create beautiful wild-colored natural shrimp that are actually more robust genetically.