Crystal Red Shrimp

Crystal Red Shrimp - Quick Facts:

Scientific name: Caridina cantonensis sp. 'Red'

Common names: Red Bee shrimp, Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS)

Water Parameters:

pH: 6-7

gH: 4-6

kH: 1-2

Temperature range: 18-25°C (64-77°F)

An Introduction To Crystal Red Shrimp.

The Crystal Shrimp or CRS as it is commonly abbreviated, is a species of dwarf freshwater shrimp originating in Japan. In the early 90's Mr. Hisayasu Suzuki, a japanese shrimp breeder noticed that one of his black bee shrimp had developed the red stripe mutation from this he selectively bred these shrimp to achieve the Crystal Red Shrimp we are familiar with today.

As CRS originate from a single shrimp rather than a wild source, years of inbreeding has caused the species to be quite frail and more susceptible to changes in conditions. Because of this, crystal shrimp are not recommended for beginner shrimp keepers. Breeders will often breed crystal black shrimp in with their red to strengthen their gene pool and make the shrimp a bit more hardy.

The CRS is of the Caridina genus and specifically the Cantonensis species which also includes other aquarium shrimp species such as the Orange eyed blue tiger shrimp and other colour variations of the crystal shrimp from China and South East Asia.

What Water Parameters Do Crystal Shrimp Need?

The commonly accepted parameters for crystal shrimp is to have pH in the range of 6-7 with gH around 5 and low kH (below 2). Total dissolved solids (TDS) is a popular measurement  when reading the quality of your shrimp tank water. TDS pens which are available on ebay for a few dollars give an instant read out rather than completing the time consuming hardness tests. People generally aim in the 150-180 ppm range.

It is common to use an aquarium plant soil such as ADA Amazonia or specialised shrimp substrates to help keep the water parameters within these limits. Stability in your water parameters is the main requirement I find to successfully keeping shrimp, as shrimp have an exoskeleton which they frequently replace by moulting as they grow and changes in the water will cause more frequent moulting which is taxing on the shrimp due to all the energy and minerals required to strengthen their shell.

CRS can survive in a wide range of temperatures from 18-27 while 23-25 is around optimal for breeding below 18°C the start to go dormant and above 27 there becomes issues with dissolved oxygen in the water. This isn't to say all hell will break loose, just that if it's the middle of summer and your tank is heating up then adding an airstone or other aeration source is always a good idea.
A study has been done on the affect of temperature on the sex of cherry shrimp to determine the ideal temperature.

As always, a well cycled tank is essential as it is for any shrimp species and they are highly susceptible to copper so care should be taken to avoid using any fertilisers or chemicals high in copper.

CRS diet

It is important to give the shrimp a varied diet so you can ensure that they are getting the right balance of nutrients. There are a wide variety of specialised shrimp foods and mineral available which can be supplemented with fresh vegetables such as carrot and zucchini are also loved by shrimp and you will often see the piece swarming with shrimp.

One thing to be careful is to not overfeed. I feed my shrimp every couple of days and find that if they don’t come swarming to the food within a few minutes then the next time I would wait an extra day or feed that tank slightly less. Don't be scared that the shrimp will starve as in an established tank there is usually plenty of decomposing plant matter and algaes for the shrimp to eat.

Leaves such as Indian almond, mulberry and spinach are popular choices for feeding shrimp as they provide a sustained food source whilst not adversely affecting the water. Fresh leaves should be washed first and I usually blanch them in a container of boiling water for a couple of minutes to help the leaf break down a bit faster. For dried Indian almond leaves (IAL), I usually let them sit in the boiling water for around 10 minutes before adding them to the tank.

As the leaves break down the shrimp will eat everything until the skeleton of the leaf remains at which point, it can be removed and replaced. Fresh spinach and mulberry leaves can be cleaned up in less than a week whilst  IAL will often last a month or longer.

Crystal Red Shrimp Breeding

CRS will happily breed in a aquarium if the water parameters are stable within the desired range. 

I suggest having a more densely planted tank as this provides a lot more surface area for biofilm to grow which the babies love to feed on. It also provides lots of hiding space so that after the shrimp have moulted they are able to hide away whilst there shall hardens up. If breeding is the main goal then it is best to keep the shrimp without fish otherwise the babies will become snacks.

Like like a lot of freshwater fish shrimp would normally breed into the wet season when there is an abundance of food and the rise in water level increases their territory. Shrimp also moult when there is a change in the water conditions and coincidentally female shrimp release pheromones when they moult to have their eggs fertilised just after shedding their shell. This can be simulated in the aquarium by conducting a water change, quite often this will encourage the females to moult and release the mating pheromone. This however shouldn't be done too often as each time the shrimp moults it uses up energy and minerals which stress is the shrimp and frequent molting could lead to an early death.

Keeping Crystal Shrimp In Australia

The price of Crystal shrimp has dropped and is now in a similar range to different cherry shrimp colour variations in Australia and are available at many pet shops or directly from breeders through various channels such as gumtree and facebook.

In many areas of Australia the water coming out of the tap is high pH and hardness which is not so good for shrimp. A buffering substrate will help this however the ability for the soil to buffer will be diminished much faster than if the water is added with the correct parameters in the first place. A valuable investment is a portable reverse osmosis filter if you are planning on using a buffering substrate and have very hard water. The reverse osmosis filter will remove everything from the water and take the TDS to zero. This will then need to be remineralised using one of the many shrimp specific additives on the market such as salty shrimp minerals gH+.

If you are performing frequent water changes with tap water it can strip the buffering capacity of your substrate very quickly, in my experience of running a planted tank, I removed the buffering ability of the soil within three months due to the extreme hardness of my water supply.

How often should the water be changed in a shrimp tank?

There are various things which affect the need for water changes and it will depend on your feeding schedule, stocking capacity and plant density. If your tank is well planted and you're not overfeeding your shrimp the nitrates will almost be kept in order by the plants. Water changes then become about rebalancing the minerals in the water more than removing nitrates. 

What is Pure Red Line?

You will often hear or see references to pure lines, PRL for red bee and PBL for black bee shrimp, this comes from years of generational selective breeding. Pure line shrimp will have only been bred with their own colour variant and will be void of any snow white and golden bee genes.

They are more sensitive than regular crystal shrimp due to the amount of inbreeding which has to occur to achieve the desired results. A true pure line shrimp will have bright reds and crisp solid whites and also thick colouration along the legs.