Caridina sp.
There is still much debate among shrimp keepers regarding exactly which species is which and this shrimp is even is labeled differently depending on what website you visit for information making it even more confusing when trying to positivly ID these shrimp. I have chosen to use the term "Dark Green Shrimp" because the shrimp I currently have match the description at a very reliable site run by Mustafa Ucozler who has been involved with Freshwater Dwarf Shrimp for longer than anyone I know of. His info can be seen here Dark Green Shrimp and like some of the other imported species in the hobby until an expert has looked at the shrimp a person actually has in their possesion getting a positive ID is very hard.
| Temperature | 74 to 82 degrees F. |
| PH | 7.0 to 8.2 |
| Origin | wild form India |
| 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 1.5 inches as a rule |
| Difficulty | Medium to easy, 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 around 7.6 to 7.8 as that is the PH they are accustomed to in my tanks. As young Dark Green Shrimp will show varried colors from green to redish and even brown. As they mature the differences between male and female become apparent with the males being much smaller than females and not as green as a rule with some males showing little if any green coloration. I will have more information posted about breeding as time passes and my first berried female has her young. I do have about 60 young in the tank in all sizes that came as part of the original two purchases so it is already a very active colony.
I have found the Dark Green Shrimp very easy to keep and breed so far and I started with 12 adults and 60 or more young. These Dark Green Shrimp are very active all the time and make for a fun shrimp to keep and breed. I feed a variety of foods as well as some green vegetables from time to time. I also have a good amount of leaf litter for the young and adults to forage on in my tanks.
I keep one tank of Dark Green Shrimp at this time a 10 gallon with a single air driven sponge filter. I will be moving some to a 20 gallon long very soon, just waiting for the tank to fully mature. It is about 2 months old now and showing a good growth of bio-film and nearly ready for shrimp
Keeping these shrimp happy and healthy as with other Dwarf Shrimp Species 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 2 mm long at birth with these shrimp 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 Dark Green Shrimp are tank raised by me and kept in excellent health and I likely will soon have some available for purchase from time to time. I prefer to sell only juvenile shrimp from 1/4 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. Your Dark Green Shrimp will live from 1 to 1.5 years on average so getting youngsters is a good idea. Please check my AZ Inverts Store for availability
