Assorted Neocaridina Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)

Assorted Neocaridina Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) are a mixed color grab bag of the most popular dwarf shrimp in the hobby. One species, many selectively bred color lines, all netted from the same tank: expect a lively mix of reds, blues, yellows, oranges, greens, and browns. Colors are not selectable, which is exactly the point. You get a cheerful, beginner-friendly colony that grazes biofilm and algae, cleans up leftover food, and breeds readily in a stable planted tank. Browse the rest of our freshwater invertebrates and live aquarium plants to build out a shrimp tank.

Care Guide

• Mature tank first: add shrimp only to a fully cycled tank that has been running for several weeks. Established tanks carry the biofilm that shrimp graze all day, and brand new tanks often do not.
• Acclimate slowly: drip acclimate over an hour or more. Shrimp handle stable water very well but react badly to sudden changes in temperature, pH, or hardness.
• Keep a group: start with 10 or more. A bigger group gives you both sexes, bolder shrimp, and a colony that keeps growing.
• Minerals matter: shrimp need some hardness to build and shed their shells. Aim for 6 to 12 dGH. If you use RO or very soft tap water, remineralize with a product like Seachem Equilibrium.
• No copper: copper kills shrimp. Many fish medications and some plant fertilizers contain it, so read every label before dosing a shrimp tank, and treat sick fish in a separate tank.
• Filter intake: baby shrimp are tiny. A sponge filter such as the Hikari Bacto-Surge Foam Filter, or a sponge over your filter intake, keeps shrimplets from being pulled in.
• Feed lightly: a small pinch of shrimp food once a day or every other day is plenty. Remove anything left after a couple of hours so it does not foul the water.
• Molting: an empty shell in the tank is normal, not a dead shrimp. Leave it in, since they eat it back for minerals.

Specifications

Compatibility

Neocaridina are completely peaceful and ignore fish, snails, and plants. The only question is whether the tank mates will eat them, and the answer depends on mouth size.

• Great with: Amano Shrimp, nerite snails such as the Racetrack Nerite, and Otocinclus. None of them bother adult shrimp or babies.
• Good with some losses: nano fish like Ember Tetras and Celestial Pearl Danios leave adults alone but will pick off shrimplets. Dense moss and plants let enough babies survive to keep the colony going.
• Avoid: cichlids, angelfish, gouramis, goldfish, loaches, and any fish big enough to fit a 1 inch shrimp in its mouth. Bettas are hit or miss and often hunt shrimp.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Hikari Shrimp Cuisine sinking staple sized for dwarf shrimp
• Xtreme Shrimpee Sinking Sticks to rotate in for variety
• Java Moss the best nursery cover for shrimplets and a biofilm farm
• Galapagos Cholla Wood grows the biofilm shrimp graze all day
• Aquavitro Shrimp Small Hut a safe place to hide after molting
• Hikari Bacto-Surge Foam Filter shrimp safe filtration that babies cannot get sucked into

FAQ

Can I pick which colors I get? No. This is an assorted mix netted straight from the tank, so colors are not selectable and every group is a little different. If you want one solid color, ask us which single color Neocaridina we have in stock.

Will the colors stay the same if they breed? Not exactly. When different color lines interbreed, the babies drift back toward the wild look over a few generations, often brown, clear, or dull olive with some color mixed in. The shrimp are just as healthy. If you want a colony that breeds true, keep a single color line on its own.

How many should I buy? Start with 10 or more. That gives you a good chance of both males and females and a colony that grows on its own.

Are they easy to breed? Yes. Females carry eggs under the tail for about a month, and the babies hatch as tiny fully formed shrimp with no larval stage. In a mature tank with moss and no shrimp eating fish, the colony grows with no extra effort.

Can I use aquarium salt or medications in their tank? Skip salt treatments, and never dose copper. Check every medication and fertilizer label, and treat sick fish in a separate hospital tank instead.