Blue dream shrimp

Quick facts

Adult size

3 cm

Lifespan

can live up to 2 years; typical Neocaridina lifespan

Tank zone

all

Temperament

peaceful

Difficulty

beginner

Schooling

recommended 10+ (critical minimum 5, thrives at 20+)

Water parameters

Temperature

18–28°C

pH

6.5 to 8.0

Hardness

6 to 15 dGH

Tank requirements

Minimum volume

19 L

Minimum length

30 cm

Flow

low

Lighting

dim preferred

Substrate

any

Driftwood

preferred

Hiding spots

needed

Feeding

Diet: omnivore, feeds primarily at the all.

Grazes constantly on biofilm, algae, and decaying plant matter. In an established tank with live plants, a colony of 20-30 shrimp may not need supplemental feeding at all. If feeding is necessary (bare tanks, new setups, large colonies), use specialized shrimp food, blanched vegetables (zucchini, spinach, cucumber), or small amounts of high-quality fish food. Snowflake food (dried soy hulls) is popular because it doesn't foul the water and the shrimp graze on it over 24-48 hours. Avoid copper-based medications and foods with copper sulfate listed as an ingredient; Neocaridina are sensitive to copper at levels that don't bother fish. Feed sparingly. Overfeeding is the most common beginner mistake with shrimp tanks and leads to water quality crashes. Two or three times a week is enough if the tank has biofilm and plant matter.

Vegetable matter required (algae wafers, blanched zucchini, spinach).

Compatibility

• Same species as cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi), just selectively bred for blue coloration. All the same care rules apply. The blue is a recessive color morph stabilized through linebreeding.
• Cross-breeding with other Neocaridina color morphs (cherry red, orange, yellow, green jade) produces wild-type brown offspring within a few generations. Keep color lines separate if you care about maintaining the blue.
• Safe with any fish that won't eat them, which in practice means nothing with a mouth large enough to swallow an adult shrimp. Even small tetras pick off shrimplets. A species-only tank or a tank with otocinclus and small snails is the safest setup for colony growth.
• Hardy and tolerant of a wide range of water conditions, but the blue coloring shows best in harder, more alkaline water (pH 7.0-7.5, GH 8-12). Soft acidic water washes out the color.

Habitat

Blue dream shrimp are a selectively bred color morph of Neocaridina davidi, the same species sold as cherry shrimp, fire red shrimp, orange sakura, yellow neon, and a dozen other trade names. The wild form is a dull brown-green shrimp native to freshwater streams in Taiwan, China, Korea, and northern Vietnam. The blue coloration was stabilized by hobbyist breeders selecting for the darkest blue individuals over many generations. Grading runs from pale translucent blue (low grade) to opaque deep blue covering the entire body and legs (high grade, sometimes called "blue velvet" though that name is also used for a slightly different line). The genetics behind the color morphs are not completely mapped, but the working model is that Neocaridina color is controlled by multiple pigment layers, and the different morphs result from selective suppression or enhancement of individual layers. Blue dream shrimp suppress the red and yellow chromatophores while enhancing the blue-black ones. Tank-bred worldwide. Among the most commercially available freshwater invertebrates.

Breeding

Breeds readily in home aquariums with zero intervention. A healthy colony in stable conditions will produce berried females (carrying eggs under the abdomen) continuously. Females carry 20-40 eggs for about 30 days before releasing fully formed miniature shrimp. No larval stage; the young are born as tiny versions of the adults and are immediately self-sufficient. They graze on biofilm from day one. Colony growth is exponential when conditions are right: a starter group of 10 shrimp can become 200+ within 6 months. The main limiting factors are predation (fish eat shrimplets), water quality (ammonia and nitrite kill them fast), and copper exposure. To maintain blue coloration in the colony, cull wild-type (brown or clear) individuals that appear in each generation. Without culling, the colony reverts toward wild-type brown within 4-5 generations because the wild-type pigmentation genes are dominant. Selling or trading culls to local fish stores or other hobbyists offsets the effort.

Common problems

Molting failures are the main killer. Shrimp grow by shedding their exoskeleton, and if mineral levels are wrong (specifically calcium, magnesium, and GH), they get stuck mid-molt and die. Maintain GH between 6 and 12 dGH and provide a calcium source (cuttlebone, mineral supplements, or remineralized RO water). Sudden parameter swings are more dangerous than being slightly outside the ideal range; shrimp that have adapted to GH 14 will do fine, but shrimp that go from GH 6 to GH 12 overnight will mass-die. Acclimation during introduction should be slow (drip acclimation over 1-2 hours). Copper is toxic; even trace amounts in plant fertilizers or medication can wipe out a colony. Read ingredient lists. Planaria and hydra are predators of shrimplets and can establish in shrimp tanks via hitchhiking on plants. Fenbendazole treats planaria; manual removal handles hydra. Color fading over generations happens when culling is neglected; wild-type genetics reassert themselves. The bacterial infection called "white ring of death" (a white band behind the head at the molt line) indicates a shrimp that failed to fully separate from its old shell. There's no treatment; it's a symptom of mineral imbalance.

Bioload

Bioload coefficient: 0.1 (same species as cherry shrimp; negligible bioload).

Bioload coefficients are calibrated against the neon tetra as the anchor (1.0). See the methodology page for the formula and how each value was derived.

Further reading

• How to cycle a fish tank
• Stocking ideas by tank size