Wild Coloring vs. Cultivars

[Bradimus]

Just trying to keep straight which varieties occur in the wild and which are selectively bred. Is the following correct? Anyone care to add species?

Neocaridina denticulata sinensis
Pale/Transparent: Wild coloring -- 'Taiwan Blue' is a misnomer
Red: Cultivar 'Red Cherry'

Caridina sp. "Bee" ( cf. serrata ?)
Black & White: Wild coloring
Red & White: Cultivar 'Crystal Red'

Caridina sp. "Tiger" ( cf. serrata ?)
Clear w/ Black stripes: Wild coloring
Blue w/ Black stripes: Cultivar
Black: Cultivar

Caridina sp. "Bumblebee" ( cf. serrata ?)
Black & White: Wild coloring ?

Caridina gracilirostris
Transparent w/ Red: Wild coloring 'Red-Nosed'

Caridina cf. babaulti
Green (variable): Wild coloring

Caridina sp. "Rainbow" ( cf. babaulti ? )
Variable: Wild coloring 'Rainbow' -- Multiple species including Caridina/Neocaridina sp. "zeylanica" ?

Caridina serratirostris
Red/Black & White (variable): Wild coloring? 'Ninja'

[amber2461]

~sits back leisurely, a cup of hot chocolate in hand and waits for incoming replies~

[Mustafa]

Hi Brad,

The sad thing is that it's not even that easy with most east asian shrimp to figure out what the real wild colors are. Hence, we do not even know what the wild coloration for Bee, Tiger and Bumblebee Shrimp are. We can take educated guesses, but these shrimp have been selectively bred and even crossbred that it's tough to call. Plus, there are never any collection locations mentioned for these species. Except for the bumblebee shrimp, all others mentioned above belong to the Caridina serrata species group.

The Indian shrimp are easier to figure out since nobody really selectively breeds these guys in India.

I'll give some more answers below...

Just trying to keep straight which varieties occur in the wild and which are selectively bred. Is the following correct? Anyone care to add species?

Neocaridina denticulata sinensis
Pale/Transparent: Wild coloring -- 'Taiwan Blue' is a misnomer
Red: Cultivar 'Red Cherry'

--Correct. There are other color varities of this shrimp, too, such as bluish/blackish and brown. However, the species shows a lot of varition even among individuals of the same populations, so there could be more variations out there...

Caridina sp. "Bee" ( cf. serrata ?)
Black & White: Wild coloring
Red & White: Cultivar 'Crystal Red'

--As I said above...not sure if even the black and white shrimp are "wild." The red and white one is not wild for sure.

Caridina sp. "Tiger" ( cf. serrata ?)
Clear w/ Black stripes: Wild coloring
Blue w/ Black stripes: Cultivar
Black: Cultivar

--Same as bee shrimp above...not certainty that this species occurs in the wild with this conspicuous coloration. There is also a form of Tiger Shrimp in the trade that has a red/orange head and tail.

Caridina sp. "Bumblebee" ( cf. serrata ?)
Black & White: Wild coloring ?

--This species is definitely *NOT* in the C. serrata species group. It's probably closer to Caridina typus. And yes, the shrimp picture on my website is probably the "wild" coloring, but again...same problem as with tiger and bee shrimp....

Caridina gracilirostris
Transparent w/ Red: Wild coloring 'Red-Nosed'

Caridina cf. babaulti
Green (variable): Wild coloring

Caridina sp. "Rainbow" ( cf. babaulti ? )
Variable: Wild coloring 'Rainbow' -- Multiple species including Caridina/Neocaridina sp. "zeylanica" ?

Caridina serratirostris
Red/Black & White (variable): Wild coloring? 'Ninja'

[/quote]

--The info above is more or less ok. What is sold as "Rainbow Shrimp" definitely does not have any Neocaridina in it. And the Caridina babaulti group of shrimp are peculiar in that many shrimp in that group look similar, but cannot even crossbreed since they have different larval development cycles (i.e. brackish vs. fully freswater depending on species).

Mustafa