Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

could anyone idntify this shrimp :

We get similar looking shrimp to our store under the name "Rainbow Shrimp". However, we still have no idea what they really are, as they come in batches and have different colours. The only thing they have in common is the lighter stripe on their backs.

This shrimp actually looks like a Neocaridina sp. to me. "Wild type" Neocaridina can become very dark. Body shape and rostrum length/shape looks like Neocaridina. Compare the following picture of one of my Red Cherries with a line down its back:



The shrimp looks exactly like the above shrimp except for the color.

I am aware of the "rainbow shrimp" too, Jackie, but they usually have a different body shape and rostrum, although they can also have a line down their backs.

Mustafa wrote:I am aware of the "rainbow shrimp" too, Jackie, but they usually have a different body shape and rostrum, although they can also have a line down their backs.

One more curiosity - they seem to be matte, they don't "shine", unlike the stripe-backed Cherries we have. Interesting

One of them is an extremely beautiful specimen, very dark red (brick-red) with an apricot stripe.

Jackie wrote:One more curiosity - they seem to be matte, they don't "shine", unlike the stripe-backed Cherries we have. Interesting

One of them is an extremely beautiful specimen, very dark red (brick-red) with an apricot stripe.

Yes, they are very nice shrimp. I'll have to see if I still have a few photos that I shot of them. The problem is that there seem to be several species imported as a mix of species called the "rainbow" shrimp.

Did you ever see any offspring? Mine actually reproduced *once* and I got some really nice looking offspring. Others report that their "rainbow shrimp" produce saltwater larvae.

it actually was in the bag with chrries , so i think what mostafa said is more likely a form of Red cherry

cobalt wrote:it actually was in the bag with chrries , so i think what mostafa said is more likely a form of Red cherry

cobalt - it may be a Neocaridina, but NOT a form of Red Cherry

Mustafa, the offspring was various coloured. We had brick-coloured, olive and very dark-blue, almost black parents. The colour forms cross-breeded, no new colours were produced, however- babies looked the same as the parents.

The Rainbow we had seemed to be one species, but of different colours.

Jackie wrote:cobalt - it may be a Neocaridina, but NOT a form of Red Cherry

Actually, it could be a Neocaridina denticulata sinensis, just like the Red Cherry shrimp. That species can be quite variable.

Mustafa, the offspring was various coloured. We had brick-coloured, olive and very dark-blue, almost black parents. The colour forms cross-breeded, no new colours were produced, however- babies looked the same as the parents.

Thanks for the info. I had similar experiences. There is another species sold as "rainbow" or "malayan" shrimp that produces saltwater larvae.

The Rainbow we had seemed to be one species, but of different colours.

Yes, the ones you bred were one species, but rainbow shrimp species often contain several other species mixed in, some of which also have variable coloration.

I have similar colored cherries in my tank.

Urkevitz wrote:I have similar colored cherries in my tank.

I know you got the dark shrimp from me at some point. I don't have them anymore and was wondering if all the non-red "cherries" are as dark or similarly solid dark as the one in the picture above. Are any females just more or less colorless?