The crystal red shrimp is a small red and white dwarf shrimp for a soft-water planted tank. It is a step up from the easiest shrimp, and water is its real challenge.
Did you know
The crystal red shrimp was fixed as a red and white line in the 1990s by Hisayasu Suzuki of Japan. He selected it from a rare red mutation of the normally dark bee shrimp.
Caring for the crystal red shrimp
Keep crystal red shrimp as a colony in a planted tank of at least 5 gal (19 L). Use fine gravel or an active soil, with mosses and plenty of plants for cover and grazing. The plants and soil also help hold the water steady.
Crystal reds need soft, slightly acidic water that stays very stable, usually over an active bufferingsubstrate. Keep it on the cool side, at 64 to 75°F (18 to 24°C), with a pH of 5.8 to 6.8. Never let copper reach the tank, since it kills shrimp quickly.
They graze biofilm and algae from plants, wood and fine substrate all day. Add a good shrimp food, blanched vegetables and leaf litter. Like all shrimp they grow by molting, and they stay soft and hidden for a day afterward.
Crystal reds are peaceful and defenseless. Keep them alone or with only tiny, calm fish that cannot swallow them.
Females grow a touch larger than males. A berried female fans a small clutch of eggs under her tail until they hatch as miniature shrimp, with no larval stage. The species breeds fully in fresh water. Breeding is a moderate challenge, and a colony only breeds when its soft, stable water is held right.
Good to know
Crystal reds belong to Caridina logemanni, a dwarf member of the family Atyidae, which is also sold as Caridina cantonensis. Keepers grade them by how bold and solid the white banding is. The line is also called the red crystal shrimp.
In the wild
The crystal red was bred from the bee shrimp, which comes from cool, shaded hill streams in southern China and Taiwan. That water is soft and clean, and it flows gently over rock and leaf litter.
Weekly picks
Tank mates
The crystal red shrimp is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks share a community profile with it, are safe together in both directions, and overlap on water type, temperature and pH.
Is a crystal red shrimp a different species from the bee shrimp?
No. A crystal red shrimp is a variety of the bee shrimp, Caridina logemanni, and it wants the same tank, water and food as the species.
What size tank does a crystal red shrimp need?
A crystal red shrimp needs at least 5 gal (19 L). It spends most of its time in the bottom.
What does a crystal red shrimp eat?
A crystal red shrimp grazes biofilm and algae from plants, wood and fine substrate. Add a good shrimp food, blanched vegetables and leaf litter.
How big does a crystal red shrimp get?
An adult crystal red shrimp reaches about 1.2 in (3 cm).
How can you tell a male crystal red shrimp from a female?
Female crystal red shrimp grow a touch larger than males.
How does a crystal red shrimp breed?
A berried female crystal red shrimp fans a small clutch of eggs under her tail until they hatch. The young are miniature shrimp with no larval stage, and breeding is a moderate challenge.
1.2 in (3 cm)10 gal (38 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)
1.2 in (3 cm)5 gal (20 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
1.2 in (3 cm)5 gal (20 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
1.4 in (3.5 cm)5 gal (20 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
1.4 in (3.5 cm)5 gal (20 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
1.6 in (4 cm)5 gal (20 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)