Neocaridina; A summary about shrimp care and shrimp farming

In this post we would like to give you a summary about shrimp care and shrimp farming In our case: Neocaridina. In an aquarium or paludarium Neocaridina are a very good addition. They are the cleaners of the tank and in our eyes therefore indispensable. In our ”home” paludarium we have green shrimps; the Neocaridina Green Jade. They are very easy to care for, as they are quickly satisfied with the waste and algae in the tank. However, if you want them to have nothing to eat, it is better to give them some extra food. Below we offer extra:

• Crusta Menu from Tetra

• Nettle sticks

The neocaridina shrimp is very easy to keep. It can withstand the most diverse water values ​​and temperatures.
temperatures between 16 and 30 degrees, ph between 5 and 8 and a hardness of 4-8 gh. Carbonate hardness 2-8kh. In short, almost any tap water in the Netherlands will suffice.

When you buy them, they are often still minuscule and therefore sensitive to water changes. It is very important that you let them get used to the new water slowly.

The nice thing about these shrimps is their active behavior and that they breed easily. After 4 months, the females are usually sexually mature. They will mate with a male during the next molt, after which they will carry 15-40 eggs with them for about 3 weeks. If you are observant, you can see this from the active behavior of the males, who are all looking for the female.

Shrimp farming

For breeding we have various colours. We find it important to maintain a healthy stable line. Any ”lesser” specimens that do not quite meet the requirements are selected out. We categorise them into high, mid and low grade. We only breed the high grade. This way the shrimps maintain their health and strong characteristics are retained.

The basis is our male shrimps. For this we have the Black Sapphire Neocaridina with orange eyes. These are beautiful specimens!

We cross these with females of other colours; red, blue, green, yellow etc. The orange eyes of the black sapphire father is a recessive gene. This means that the F1 generation inherits the genetics of orange eyes, but that this is not yet expressed until this F1 generation produces offspring again: the F2 generation. In this way they inherit the orange eyes and we have created a stable ”orange-eyed” strain. What we like about this is that we can select for ourselves on what we find the most beautiful properties.

For example, with the Bloody Mary shrimp, you can clearly see that the orange eyes have been beautifully bred and that the color is also deep red. We are very proud of such specimens! We try to take into account the behavior and wishes of the shrimps. It is in their instinctive nature to maintain a bit of a camouflage color. We try to take this into account in the decorum of the aquariums. We prefer dark-colored larger stones as the bottom.

It is always a surprise what will come. That is what makes it so much fun! We like to keep you informed about our new specimens.