What do you see when you visit your local pet store? You might notice a tank of shrimp that all appear roughly the same size and shape. Maybe there’s some variation in color. A bit of translucence. They’re small, transparent animals. And if you don’t know anything about shrimp, they’re all just shrimp.
For a hobbyist who knows much about Neocaridina davidi, though, each one is the product of genetics and patience. What distinguishes a common cherry shrimp from a rare painted fire red shrimp? One costs five dollars and the other cost fifty dollars for the same amount of tank space. Color isn’t the only part, it’s the work behind the color.
How to Choose and Keep Shrimp Colors
Here’s a breakdown of those varieties (see chart). They’re all in the same species but there’s a wide range of what they produce visually. Red’s are the best known and arguably most misinterpreted. Generally speaking, people assume that deeper reds must be superior. Usually this is correct. The color scale goes from very light, transparent shades toward deep solid crimson colors. And here’s where it gets interesting: Not only does the depth of color matter, but also how opaque it is.
A truly well-colored shrimp, whether light or dark (meaning clear throughout, even on the body and legs), has a more stable gene expression of its homozygous recessive traits than a shrimp that’s got a patchwork of coloration. This means best grades command a premium price. This is not because they have more color, but because they show greater consistency.
There are also several shades of color beyond just the reds that react uniquely to underwater light. Colors like blues and blacks do not depend on carotenoid pigments but instead rely on melanin expression. Breeding a true black velvet shrimp take time as well since it’s all about having a really dark black across the body with no translucence whatsoever. This can only be achieved over generations of culling out the less strong shrimp and selecting only the best to grow the line.
Mixing colors in the same tank will result in quick loss of intense color you’re paying for. For example, the wild type brown gene is dominant, which will take over your yellow or blue colored shrimp within a few generations. What happens then is that you wind up with muddled brown shrimp when you wanted vibrant and distinct lines. Many folks mess up here. They want variety in one tank but they end up with a muddy brown mess instead of vibrant distinct lines.
Unlike cichlids, these shrimp are much easier to keep alive than they are to keep looking good. They’re all Neocaridina species with very similar water parameter requirements. You do not need a chemistry degree to make them happy and healthy. Stability matters more than perfection here. Molting goes better when pH and temperature is consistently steady rather than constantly changing.
Feed them minimally, they won’t be able to eat any fast enough before it rots, which raises ammonia and stresses out the colony. Your best friend in this configuration is moss. Moss provides hiding places for vulnerable molting shrimp and biofilm for a steady diet of snacks. If there’s no place for them to hide, even hardy shrimp won’t survive well during their growth stages due to stress.
But if you really get into the hobby, the next step is breeding your own. To have high-grade stock, you need to be a curator. You need to select your best shrimp, the darkest, most opaque females, and breed them and cull out the rest. I know this sounds harsh, but unless you do so, you’re going to genetically dilute your fishs. To keep healthy bloodlines, each colony should of have at least ten individuals. Fewer, and you run the risk of inbreeding problems which reduce fertility over time.
The reason why most people quit after a couple of generations is because the color fades. But with careful selection, you can stabilize a line in about five to eight cycles. It’s a slow game, but when done right, you’ll have a tank that looks planned instead of accidental.
So really, which shrimp color you choose comes down to which story you would like to have in your glass box. The drama of black roses on a white substrate or the traditional blend of a cherry shrimp to match your red decor. As the chart above makes clear, there’s everything in between, ranging from the most popular base colors to hard-to-find specialty variations. Each variation takes the same amount of day-to-day care, but provides a different visual payoff.
Pick a color line; isolate it. Let it become the only story told in the tank. Mastering one color will make you appreciate another. It’s the same water, just a totally different view.