Caridina Shrimp — Crystal & Taiwan Bee Grades
Lacquer-white banding on blood red — the collector's shrimp, tank-raised for stability.
Our Caridina program covers Crystal Red and Crystal Black grades through Taiwan Bee lines — panda, king kong, and blue bolt as availability allows. Caridina are the step up from Neocaridina: they demand soft, acidic, remineralized RO water and reward it with the deepest whites and most dramatic patterning in the hobby. Every shrimp is bred and raised in the exact parameters listed below, so what leaves our facility is already adapted to a proper Caridina setup.
What it needs to thrive
- Lighting
- Any — low to high. Shrimp color reads best against dark substrate under warm, moderate lighting.
- Flow
- Gentle to moderate. Sponge-filtered or pre-filtered intakes only so juveniles are never drawn in.
- Feeding
- Biofilm and algae grazers. Supplement 2–3× weekly with a quality shrimp pellet, blanched spinach, or botanicals; remove uneaten food within two hours.
- Temperament
- Peaceful and non-destructive. Keep with nano fish only — no cichlids, loaches, or large barbs.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Ideal Tank Size
- 5 gallons and up, fully cycled and mature with moss or botanicals.
- Water Parameters
- 68–74°F · pH 5.8–6.4 · GH 4–6 · KH 0–1 · TDS 100–140 · remineralized RO only · copper-free
Active grazers throughout an aquasoil-based tank. Buffering substrate is effectively required to hold pH in the low 6s.
Peaceful. Do not mix with Neocaridina if you plan to breed — they will not hybridize, but their water requirements conflict. Never expose to copper.
Quarantine, dip, and acclimation
Quarantine
Hold all new fish in a bare-bottom 10–20 gallon QT for a minimum of 4 weeks. Observe for flashing, clamped fins, white spots, or breathing changes. Treat preventatively with copper (1.75–2.5 ppm chelated) or tank-transfer method for ich, plus a praziquantel course for flukes. Invertebrates and corals skip QT but go through dip and observation instead.
Recommended coral dip
For every new coral: a 5–10 minute bath in your reef-safe dip of choice (Bayer Complete, CoralRx, or Reef Primer) following label dosage, followed by two clean saltwater rinses. Inspect plugs and bases for flatworms, pyramid snails, and eggs — remove or refrag onto clean plugs before placing in display.
Acclimation
Float sealed bags in your QT or display for 15 minutes to match temperature. Then drip acclimate at 2–4 drops per second for 45–60 minutes until volume has tripled. Net livestock into the tank — never pour shipping water in. Dim the lights for the first 24 hours to reduce stress.
