By Pat McNiel
My article is about Indian Zebra shrimp that I have been keeping for about 6-8 months now. I have included the striped and non striped varieties of these shrimp in the same article because they live in the same water parameters and both varieties are included in the shipments I have received. It is my understanding these shrimp originate in India.
Caridina cf. babaulti
PH: 7.2 - 8.0
Temperature: 72 - 80
Non Striped Color: Tan to almost black with a cream colored stripe down the back extending onto the tail. I have one individual who is a rusty color.
Striped Color: Tan with black stripes vertically on the body and some have a cream colored line down the back extending onto the tail.
The largest Indian Zebra shrimp I have is around ¾". These shrimp are more active when the temperature is warmer but survived at the lower temp. Indian Zebra like to stay in the moss that is in their tank whenever possible or on the sponge filter but are starting to come out more enthusiastically at feeding time now that they have been in their tank for awhile. They tend to be a fairly shy shrimp. I have not raised any IZ shrimp from shrimplets to adults as of yet. It will be interesting to see what the shrimp look like as they mature. The striped juveniles I see have faint stripes compared to the adults with stripes in my colony so I'm excited to how they grow out. When trying to catch them you had best be quick. They are very fast and do their best to stay out of the net. I have several berried females of both varieties along with shrimplets of both varieties. The shrimplets are quite small and grow very slowly compared to other shrimp I keep and are very shy.
Whether they are actually smaller at birth than other shrimp is doubtful, but they do grow at a much slower rate. I don't know yet if there is any difference in longevity due to the slower growth or not. The picture to the right is of a group of IZ juveniles. Even though they show slight striping on their bodies I suspect they won't be distinctly striped as adults. There are a few striped babies in the group that show the strong striping of the adult striped shrimp. It will be interesting to see whether my assumption proves to be true as they grow.
Currently, I am keeping them in a 29 gallon tank. It is my understanding that in order to get a striped IZ you must have at least one striped parent. It would be interesting to know whether they actually live together in the wild or are mixed at some point after collection.Currently, I am keeping them in a 29 gallon tank. It is my understanding that in order to get a striped IZ you must have at least one striped parent. It would be interesting to know whether they actually live together in the wild or are mixed at some point after collection.
Indian Zebra shrimp are typical of other wild caught shrimp and are very hard to get established in an aquarium setting. I hope to be able to make this pretty little shrimp available to other hobbyists in the future.