Sulawesi harlequin shrimp

Caridina woltereckae

Also known as Towuti beauty shrimp, Celebes beauty shrimp, Towoti beauty shrimp

FreshwaterShrimp

Care at a glance

Temperature: 79–88°F (26–31°C)
pH: 7.5–8.5
Adult size: 1 in (2.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 5 gal (20 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Lake Towuti, Sulawesi, Indonesia
Family: Atyidae

Overview

The Sulawesi harlequin is the showpiece of the Sulawesi shrimp, a small, peaceful species for a warm, hard-water tank set up for it alone. It is social and does best as a colony of at least six, and in a stable, biofilm-rich tank it will come out into the open and even breed. Keep it only with its own kind or other Sulawesi shrimp, never with fish that eat shrimp or in a soft-water community. Feed fine shrimp foods and let a mature tank grow the biofilm it grazes. A well-established 20 liter tank or larger is enough, provided the heat and chemistry hold rock steady.

In the wild

Caridina woltereckae is found in only one place, the clear, rocky shallows of Lake Towuti in Sulawesi, where the water is warm, alkaline, and remarkably constant. That stability is what you must reproduce: hold the tank at 26–31 C and pH 7.5–8.5 with strong filtration, rock cover, and no sudden changes. Slow, careful acclimation matters, as this shrimp does not forgive swings.

Good to know

Caridina woltereckae is an atyid dwarf shrimp described in 2009, reaching about 2.5 centimeters, banded in white and deep oxblood red. It is a direct developer that breeds in fresh water, and while spawning is of medium difficulty, keeping it in the exacting water it needs is the real work. It is listed as Critically Endangered in the wild.

Did you know

Every harlequin shrimp in the hobby traces back to a single lake. Caridina woltereckae lives nowhere but Lake Towuti, so pressure on that one body of water, from mining and introduced fish, puts the whole species at risk.

Tank mates

Sulawesi harlequin shrimp is a peaceful, social species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.