Crystal Red Shrimp

The crystal shrimp was developed in Japan in the 1990s from a red mutation that Hisayasu Suzuki noticed in his bee shrimp line. It has two main colors: red-white ("Crystal Red") and black-white ("Crystal Black"). Shrimp are divided into grades according to the intensity of the white and the band pattern; top-grade individuals are quite valuable.

The price of its beauty is its sensitivity: unlike the red cherry (Neocaridina), it needs soft, acidic water and does not forgive parameter swings.

Crystal shrimp are named with letter grades according to the quality of their color and pattern. The higher the grade, the more intense the white and the smaller the colored area.

• C grade: The white is thin and semi-transparent, the bands wide and irregular. The entry-level grade.
• B grade: The white is more opaque, with three distinct red or black bands.
• A grade: Thick, opaque white; the bands are narrower and more even.
• S grade: White dominates; the red/black area is reduced, with a white cap on the head.
• SS grade: Most of the body is white, with color in small islands.
• SSS grade: Almost completely white, with only small traces of color on the head and tail.
• Hinomaru and Mosura: These are specific pattern names: Hinomaru has a single round red spot on the head of a white body; Mosura has a small colored area in the tail region of a white body.

Its wild relatives live under rocks in the cool, clear, soft-water, flowing mountain streams of southern China.

• Volume: 20 liters or more; 40–60 liters keeps parameters more stable.
• Water: Reverse osmosis (RO) water with a shrimp mineral (GH booster, no KH): GH 4–6, KH 0–1, pH 5.8–6.5. Tap water is unsuitable in most areas.
• Substrate: An active substrate (shrimp soil) that lowers and buffers pH; it becomes exhausted over time and is replaced every 1–2 years.
• Temperature: 20–23°C; losses increase if it stays above 25°C for long. Cooling should be planned for summer.
• Filter: A sponge filter; a matured aquarium with established biofilm (at least 4–6 weeks).
• Water changes: Around 10% a week, with new water at the same GH and temperature; adding it by drip is ideal.

Omnivorous; biofilm is its main food. Shrimp food, mineral-containing tablets, dried leaves (catappa, oak), in small amounts. Remove food not eaten within 2 hours.

Completely peaceful.

Good companions: Kept on its own, or with otocinclus, very small, peaceful fish (accepting some loss of young), nerite snails.

Avoid: Neocaridina shrimp (they need different water), almost all fish (the young become food), any product containing copper.

The crystal shrimp is set up as a colony. Start with at least 10, preferably 20 individuals; a female-heavy start speeds up the colony's growth. To raise the quality of the line, only the best-patterned individuals are allowed to breed, and lower grades are moved to a separate aquarium. Red and black crystals can be kept together; they are the same species and interbreed.

There is no larval stage: the female carries 20–30 eggs under her abdomen for about 30 days, and tiny but fully formed shrimp hatch. When the water is stable, the colony grows slowly but steadily.

• Sudden mass deaths: Usually parameter swings (temperature, GH, pH), ammonia or copper.
• Failed molts: Sudden water changes or the wrong GH.
• Planaria and hydra: They multiply with overfeeding; treat with shrimp-safe products.

Females are larger, with a wider, sagging abdomen; when mature, a saddle of developing eggs may be visible on the back. Males are smaller and slimmer, with a narrower tail section.