"Blue" shrimp, "blue" neocaridina etc.

[Mustafa]

Hi folks,

As I had promised quite a while ago I have put up a species description for what is commonly sold as "blue" shrimp or "blue" neocaridina by importers and stores.

http://www.petshrimp.com/neocaridinaspblue.html

The pictures show F1 and F2 offspring of originally imported "blue" shrimp. As one can see there is not a trace of blue in the offspring which gives more credence to my theory that the blue color of these shrimp comes from food additives or natural food sources. It's definitely NOT hereditary.

So, be aware if someone is trying to sell you "blue" shrimp and tells you that the offspring are also blue. That person is most likely lying. (about 99.9999% probability ) I have yet to see a "real" blue dwarf shrimp that produces blue offspring anywhere in the world of shrimp keeping. That does not mean that there isn't a species of shrimp out there that is really blue regardless of food, but such a species has not been introduced into the hobby yet (or might not even have been described by scientists). So, feel free to go out and educate people about these "blue" shrimp, especially the ones that still insist that they have "blue" shrimp breeding colonies but refuse to provide any pictures.

Having said that...it turns out that the offspring are actually quite attractively marked, despite the lack of blue coloration. I have a problem calling the offspring "blue shrimp" as they are not blue, but I have also not come up with a good name yet, so until then I will just have to call them Neocaridina sp. "blue" due to the fact that their ancestors were "blue" shrimp. Not the best solution but good enough for now I guess....

[YuccaPatrol]

I wonder if this is similar to the dyed parrot fish in the fishkeeping hobby?

Good to know that these blue shrimp are not naturally colored.

[Mustafa]

I wonder if this is similar to the dyed parrot fish in the fishkeeping hobby?

Dyed fish are usually injected with color and that color fades away after a while. There is no way to inject a shrimp without killing it as far as I know. But it is known that crustaceans can accumulate color in their bodies from the food that they eat. This color can be more or less permanent, too (i.e. does not go away). That's the most likely explanation.

[YuccaPatrol]

I know that some are injected like the painted glass fish, but others are dipped in dyes such as the parrot cichlids.

Regardless of how it is done, I am not interested in artificially colored pets. Nature and odd mutations provide enough pleasant colors for me.

[TKD]

Hi Mustafa,

I was wondering though... how is it that there are blue color morphs of crayfish, lobsters crabs and even Aegla platensis?

But no none shrimp.

TKD

[Newjohn]

Hello Mustafa

Are the eggs in the first picture Black ?

Would these be considered wild type ?

These Shrimp are still nice looking without the Blue.

Have a Great Day
John

[Mustafa]

Are the eggs in the first picture Black ?

Would these be considered wild type ?

Hi John,

The eggs are not black but very dark. Hard to tell what the exact color is. Other females had lighter eggs, so egg color seems to be variable. And yes, these guys are "wild-type" as they are not a color mutation or specifically bred for any trait.

[Newjohn]

Mustafa

Thanks for the information.

Looking forward to seeing these guys in person.

Have a Great Day
John

[Shrimp&Snails]

I've seen these shrimp for sale in the U.K now.