Remarks: Neocaridina, or cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi), are very popular among aquarists of all skill levels. They are easy to breed in a home aquarium, very tolerant of a wide range of water parameters for a shrimp, and fun to watch explore every corner of your aquarium. These shrimp exhibit a fascinating reproductive process beginning with the female molting and sending out pheromones to signal to the males she is ready to breed. After mating, the female will hold her eggs under her tail with her swimmerettes to keep them clean and aerated until they hatch into tiny shrimplets. As the shrimp grow, they molt many times and will also molt when introduced to a new environment, so they should always be provided with a mineral source such as cuttlebone, shells, or mineral balls to feed on and rebuild their exoskeleton. Due to the fact these shrimp are very small and have almost no defenses against predation, we do not recommend keeping them with any fish that can fit them in their mouths as they will be seen as prey. Their babies are even smaller and can be consumed by just about any fish in the hobby so they need plenty of places to hide. Neocaridina shrimp only live for one to two years so they are best kept as a colony rather than individuals. The combination of their young being so vulnerable and the need to keep a healthy breeding population is why we recommend keeping these shrimp in an invertebrate only tank until you have at least one generation of babies reach adulthood before keeping them with any fish. This process typically takes anywhere from 3 months to a year but the wait is worth it to have a thriving colony. Selective breeding over the years has resulted in there being a wide variety of color forms and patterns ensuring that there will be at least one kind of Neocardinia that catches the eye of any aquarist. Mixing these different variants, however, is advised against as it will result in most of the babies showing more wild type colors of clear or brown. All the different colors of Neocaridina shrimp that we sell are bred at our breeding facility here at Imperial Tropicals. You will have much more success keeping shrimp that are domestically raised, compared to imported shrimp. Black shrimp are a very unique looking line of Neocaridina shrimp in that their bodies match the rich, dark color of their eyes making them almost look like a living shadow. We have found these shrimp to look best when kept on a light colored substrate.
