Petshrimp.com -- All about shrimp

Common Name:	Bee Shrimp, "Crystal Black" Shrimp, Diamond Shrimp (in Singapore)
Scientific Name:	Caridina sp. "Bee" (belongs to the Caridina serrata species complex)
Size:	2.5-3.5cm
Temperature:	70°F-78°F, will not tolerate temperatures that are too high
Food:	Algae, fish food (flake, pellets etc)
Origin:	Southern China, Hong Kong
Larval Development Type:	Completely Suppressed: Larvae assume a benthic lifestyle after hatching, i.e. they are miniature versions of the adults. There is no planktonic larval stage.

The bee Shrimp supposedly occurs naturally in streams in southern China and Hong Kong and has been one of the first algae eating shrimp to enter the a aquarium hobby. It breeds readily in most aquaria and the young have a very nice "candy cane" type of black and white striped coloration, which later turns into the adult coloration as seen in the pictures above. Just as with the crystal red shrimp, there are variations in coloration and shape of the black and white pattern. This shrimp thrives in soft, acidic to neutral water and reproduction can decrease significantly in harder and more basic water.

The bee shrimp will readily cross with the crystal red shrimp, chinese zebra shrimp and the tiger shrimp. The bumblebee shrimp might also cross with this shrimp, but it is less likely to do so since it is a completely different species.

Although this shrimp is very common in Asia and Europe, it is *extremely* rare here in North America, even rarer than the crystal red shrimp..