Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis var. white
The Snowball Shrimp is another shrimp selectively bred in Germany and became popular here in the USA very quickly due to their beauty and the fact that they are fairly easy to keep. These are some amazing shrimp and their internal organs are clearly visible through their clear white body. The females like most Neocaridina sp. will be sexually mature in 6 to 8 weeks as will the males, the female showing a brilliant white saddle when ready to breed. After the eggs are fertilized and moved from the ovaries to under the tail she will carry bright white eggs for about 2 weeks give or take a few days depending on temperature and water quality. The young are born as mini versions of their parents and grow quite fast.
| Temperature | 70 to 80 degrees F. |
| PH | wide range 6.8 to 8.0 , best around 7.4.to 7.6 |
| Origin | Selectively bred in Germany |
| Breeding info | fairly easy to breed,young have no larval stage |
| Food | algae foods, regular fish food pellet and flake |
| Size | 1 inch to 1.5 inches as a rule |
| Difficulty | Fairly Easy, similar to keeping Blue Pearl Shrimp |
| Compatibility | Non-aggressive, but should not be kept with any other Neocaridina sp. as they may cross breed |
Please remember that the chart is a guideline only and these shrimp are very adaptable and will survive in much cooler water with lower or higher PH than shown, but the parameters shown are recommended for best health and color as well as breeding. As young your Snowball Shrimp show very little white, but as they mature the females will become a opaque white while the males although not colorless stay somewhat clear with a white tint and are smaller than the females.
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.
Currently my population is kept in a 10 gallon tank with one sponge filter, fluorite substrate, with some driftwood, moss, and leaves for more surface area that bio-organisms will grow on for them to eat. This bio-film is also very important for young shrimp at birth and a healthy well matured tank will assure a good survival rate.
My Snowball 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 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 Snowball Shrimp will live from 1 to 1.5 years on average so getting youngsters is a good idea. Please check my forum for availability
