Caridina cf. cantonensis
Crystal Red Shrimp were developed in Japan when a breeder came across a Bee Shrimp in his colony that had turned red and white as opposed to black and white. The first attempt was unsuccessful at breeding, but after another red and white showed up breeding was successful and many generations later we have the Crystal Red Shrimp which comes in many different grades and color intensities. These are bar far some of the most popular shrimp in the hobby across the world as well as some of the most expensive and can vary from a few dollars to hundreds of dollars each depending on grade.
| Temperature | 68 to 75 degrees F. |
| PH | wide range 6.2 to 7.2 |
| Origin | wild form South East Asia |
| Breeding info | fairly easy to breed, young have no larval stage |
| Food | algae, bio-film, regular fish food pellet and flake |
| Size | 1 inch to 1.75 inches as a rule |
| Difficulty | Medium, water quality very important |
| Compatibility | Non-aggressive, but should not be kept with any other Caridina sp. as they may cross breed |
The chart is a guideline only and these shrimp will be best kept at a PH of 6.4 to 6.5 as that is the PH they are accustomed to in my tanks. The Crystal Red Shrimp will breed readily in your tank when the water is kept within the proper range and although these shrimp can survive in a fairly wide range of PH they will not be as healthy of live as long in higher PH also the survival rate of the young will not be as high. I learned this from experience trying to keep them in a tank with a PH of 7.4 on average and the difference is dramatic compared to keeping them in softer more acidic water where they are quite prolific.
Keeping these shrimp happy and healthy is as easy as keeping the water very clean and using a sponge filter or keeping a sponge pre filter over your canister or hang on the back filter is recommended to keep baby shrimp from being sucked into the filter. The young are not much more than 3 mm long at birth and easily sucked into your average filter. As with all Dwarf Shrimp it is recommended they be kept in a shrimp only tank as most fish will eat the young shrimp, yes even guppies and the shrimp will be much more active when not worried about being eaten.
My Crystal Red Shrimp are kept in a 20 gallon long for S+ grade and a 10 gallon tank for higher grade and both are set up with ADA Aquasoil Amazonia II to help keep the PH buffered around 6.4 to 6.5 with R/O water. CRS are somewhat more difficult than other shrimp to keep especially the higher grades and clean water and a stable environment is a must!
I use a sponge filter as well as 2 HOB filters with a foam pre filter on the intake in the 20 gallon tank one air driven, one with internal impeller drive. In the 10 gallon there is a air driven sponge filter as well as a small AZOO 501 canister filter and I firmly believe that CRS require cleaner water than some easier to keep species so I am very careful in this respect.. There is some driftwood, Oak Leaves, and Moss in the tank as well there is more info on why I use leaves as well as moss in the article section. I have found these shrimp easy to keep and breed as long as water parameters are maintained. I also do a 20% weekly water change using water the same temperature as the tank.
My Crystal Red Shrimp are tank raised by me and kept in excellent health and I do have some available for purchase from time to time. I prefer to sell only juvenile shrimp from 3/8 to 1/2 inch long because they ship and adapt to your tanks parameters better and live a longer life than if you are sent adults that you have no clue as to age. These shrimp ship at a larger size than others because it is near impossible to accurately grade very young specimens. Your Crystal Red Shrimp will live from 1 to 1.5 years on average so getting youngsters is always a good idea. Please check my AZ Inverts Store for availability
