Can I keep crystal or blue bolt shrimp in tap water?

Usually not. Crystals and blue bolts are bee Caridina. They need water with almost no carbonate hardness (KH). Most Australian tap water is far too hard, though Melbourne and parts of Sydney can be soft enough, so test your tap first. You make soft water with a reverse osmosis (RO) filter, which takes everything out of tap water, and then add shrimp minerals (sold as a remineraliser) back in. Neocaridina, which means cherries and every other easy colour, are fine in tap water once the chlorine is removed.

How long should a tank run before adding shrimp?

At least eight weeks, and your test kit must show zero ammonia and zero nitrite. Ammonia hurts shrimp far more easily than it hurts fish. A tank that looks ready at three weeks usually is not.

Will Neocaridina and Caridina crossbreed?

No. They are different groups of shrimp (different genera) and cannot breed with each other. So cherries and crystals are safe in one tank, if the water suits both. But every Neocaridina colour will breed with every other Neocaridina colour, and the babies go back to plain wild brown.

What kills aquarium shrimp fastest?

Copper. It is in most fish medicines, many plant fertilisers and some snail treatments. A dose that is harmless to fish will kill shrimp. Check every bottle before it goes near the tank.

Water & care

What these shrimp really need, before you spend anything. If your tank is not ready yet, we would rather tell you here than replace a box of dead shrimp.

The short version Cherries and all the other Neocaridina colours: tap water is fine nearly everywhere. Crystals, blue bolts, dragons and fancy tigers need very soft water (water with almost no minerals in it). For most of Australia that means an RO filter (it takes everything out of tap water). Melbourne and parts of Sydney may be soft enough already, so test your tap first. Nothing you add to hard water (water with lots of minerals) will make it soft. In the tables below: pH is how acid or alkaline the water is. GH is how much of those minerals the water has. KH is the part that holds pH steady. TDS is everything in the water added up.

Four rules that matter more than the numbers

1. The tank is cycled and eight weeks old

Cycled means the good bacteria have grown in, and your test kit shows zero ammonia and zero nitrite (the two waste chemicals a test kit measures). The tank should have been running at least two months. Ammonia hurts shrimp far more easily than fish. A three-week-old tank is the most common reason a first order dies.

2. No copper, in anything

Copper kills shrimp at doses fish don't even notice. It hides in fish medicines, plant fertilisers and snail treatments. Read every bottle before it goes near the tank.

3. No fish that eat shrimp

Bettas, angelfish, gouramis, most cichlids, bigger barbs, and anything with a mouth wider than a shrimp will eat them. Small rasboras, otocinclus (small algae-eating catfish) and nerite snails are fine.

4. Steady beats perfect

pH is how acid or alkaline the water is. A steady pH keeps shrimp alive. A pH that swings up and down kills them, even if both numbers are inside the range. Pick the range for your shrimp below, then hold it still. Change things slowly, then leave them alone.

What each group needs

Neocaridina (cherries and every other easy colour)

Tap water is fine

pH	6.5 – 7.8
GH (hardness)	6 – 12 dGH
KH (carbonate)	2 – 8 dKH
TDS (total minerals)	150 – 250 ppm
Temperature	18 – 26 °C

Tap water with a conditioner (it takes out the chlorine) suits these across most of Australia. They breed on their own. One thing to know: Melbourne and some Sydney supplies are very soft, which means very few minerals in the water. GH is the general hardness reading on a test kit (not the KH reading). Below about 4 dGH, a shrimp has trouble hardening its new shell after a moult (when it sheds its shell to grow). If that is your water, add shrimp minerals (sold as a remineraliser, a powder that puts minerals back in) or leave a piece of cuttlebone in the tank. Both are cheap. It is the difference between a group that grows and one that quietly does not. Steady water matters far more than perfect water.

Our shrimp in this group: Cherry Red, Yellow Cherry, Skittles Mix, Blue Dream, Bloody Mary, Snowball, Black Cherry, Sunkist, Orange Cherry, Green Jade, Green Diamond, Snow White.

Hardy Caridina (tangerine tiger and ninja shrimp)

Tap water is fine

pH	6.5 – 7.5
GH (hardness)	4 – 8 dGH
KH (carbonate)	1 – 4 dKH
TDS (total minerals)	120 – 200 ppm
Temperature	20 – 25 °C

These are Caridina (the group that includes crystals, tigers and ninja shrimp) that do not need special water. They are happier in water a bit softer than straight tap water, but tap water will not kill them.

Our shrimp in this group: Tangerine Tiger, Ninja Shrimp.

Tiger Caridina (the two OEBTs, the orange-eyed tigers)

Soft water, but less fussy than bee shrimp

pH	6.2 – 7.2
GH (hardness)	4 – 8 dGH
KH (carbonate)	0 – 4 dKH
TDS (total minerals)	150 – 250 ppm
Temperature	20 – 25 °C

Tigers sit in the middle, fussier than Neocaridina (the cherry shrimp family) but easier than bee shrimp (crystals and bolts). They want soft water that is a little on the acid side. They can take a wider range of minerals than crystals or bolts. And they do not need the near-zero KH (the part of hardness that holds pH steady) a bee does. Soft tap water suits them. So does RO water (tap water with everything filtered out) mixed with some tap water.

Our shrimp in this group: OEBT Blue Tiger, OEBT Blonde Tiger.

Bee Caridina (crystals, bolts, dragons, fancy tigers)

Soft water only.

pH	5.8 – 6.8
GH (hardness)	4 – 6 dGH
KH (carbonate)	0 – 2 dKH
TDS (total minerals)	100 – 150 ppm
Temperature	20 – 24 °C

These need water with almost no KH (carbonate hardness, the part that stops the pH swinging). They also need a pH (how acid or alkaline the water is) a little on the acid side. And it has to stay put. Most Australian tap water is far too hard, and no conditioner takes hardness out. So unless you already know your tap water is soft, plan on four things. RO water (tap water with everything filtered out by a reverse-osmosis filter). Shrimp minerals (sold as a remineraliser; it puts the right minerals back in). An active soil (a tank soil that keeps the water soft and slightly acid). And a tank that has been running for at least eight weeks. Melbourne and parts of Sydney can be soft enough to be worth testing first. Measure your KH and TDS (the total of everything dissolved in the water) before you buy anything. Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane and most regional supplies are not close.

Our shrimp in this group: Blue Bolt, Red Calico Dragon, Super Crystal Red, Fancy Red Tiger, Crystal Red (CRS), Crystal Black (CBS).

How do I put them in my tank?

Do this slowly. Most shrimp that die on day one die from being moved too fast, not from the trip.

Float the sealed bag in your tank for 15 minutes so the water in the bag warms or cools to match. Don't skip this and don't rush it.
Drip your tank water into the bag over 45–60 minutes. Use a piece of airline tube (the thin clear tube that runs from an air pump). Tie a loose knot in it so it drips a drop or two a second. Stop when there is about three times as much water as you started with.
Scoop them out with a net and put them in the tank. Never pour the bag water in. After a day or two in the post that water is full of ammonia (shrimp waste). It is the one thing in the box you don't want.
Lights off and no food for 24 hours. They will graze on the film of tiny life on your glass and plants. Expect them to hide. Expect a moult in the first few days too. That is when they shed their shell to grow. An empty shell on the floor is normal, not a dead shrimp.

If something is wrong Take a photo of them in the unopened bag. Email it to [email protected] within 12 hours of getting the parcel. That is the whole claim process. See the guarantee.