Neocardina shrimp: description, content, reproduction and reviews

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Many people like to admire the large leisurely fish swimming in the home aquarium. However, even very small underwater creatures, such as snails and shrimp, will make interesting breeding targets.

There are dozens of species of shrimp adapted for life in home aquaria. The most popular are the small Neocardina shrimp, for keeping a couple of which a container of a couple of liters is enough.

Shrimp Homeland

In nature, this species of arthropod is found in shallow freshwater bodies of China and Taiwan. The bottom of such reservoirs consists of silty sediments and fine sand, and the flow of water is almost imperceptible.

Despite this, shrimp prefer to live in clean water with a high oxygen content. The bodies of wild shrimp do not differ in bright colors, they are almosttransparent to blend in with the environment as much as possible.

Usually females are slightly larger than males and more brightly colored. In nature, it is difficult to distinguish the sex of a small shrimp, in addition to size, the shape of the tail is also different. The male has a straight underbelly, while the female has a wide and convex underbelly designed to carry eggs.

Wild Neocardina shrimp live in small flocks, quickly scattering in case of danger.

Shrimp types

From a single wild ancestor over the years of selection, about a dozen ornamental species of Neocardina shrimp were bred. It's hard to see the signs of an inconspicuous transparent great-great-grandmother in these multi-colored bright creatures.

Classification of Neocaridina freshwater shrimp is based on color. The following species are most common in home aquariums:

• Red Cherry or Cherry. The most unpretentious and popular type. He loves plants and mosses very much, in which offspring will hide.
• Yellow pearl or Canary. It has a rich yellow color that turns orange with age.
• White Pearl or Snowflake. An almost transparent, whitish creature seems to be a guest from another world. But it is easy to distinguish a male from a female, in which snow-white eggs are visible through a transparent body.
• Blue or Blue dream. Deep blue shrimp will decorate any aquarium. However, the blue gene is not yet fixed enough and the offspring of such shrimp may be greenish or even transparent.
• ChocolateNeocardina (Neocaridina Heteropoda). It appeared relatively recently in our country. It has a rich brown hue with a reddish tint.

The maximum size of these shrimp does not exceed 3 cm. According to reviews of the content of Neocardina shrimp in an aquarium, with good care, pets can live up to two years.

Suitable aquarium

Nano aquariums are gaining more and more popularity, the volume of which varies from 2 to 30 liters. Often these small acrylic tanks already have a thermal mat installed to maintain the required temperature. And special lamps are mounted in the lid to illuminate the water and enhance plant growth.

Although such a small ecosystem may well maintain water balance through living plants, it is better not to risk it and install a special small filter. Its size is slightly larger than a box of matches and it will not be very difficult to disguise such a filter.

Shrimp are schooling creatures, it is better to keep 8-10 individuals of the same species. Plus, they breed fast, so you need to choose a bigger tank right away.

Bright shades of Neocardina shrimp look beautiful on the ground of dark shades. In general, they react sharply to the color of the environment. Bright shrimp living on light sand gradually begin to lose color and blend into the surroundings.

Plants in the aquarium

In the wild, flocks of shrimp hide from enemies among swaying algae. Even after many generations of aquarium breeding for the successful maintenance of shrimps of the genusNeocardina needs thickets of plants and mosses.

Plants are better to choose with delicate soft leaves, then the little inhabitants will be able to eat them. And among the moss, only hatched tiny shrimp will hide. Moreover, due to the large amount of light and well-heated water, many plants that do not take root in large aquariums feel great in nano-reservoirs.

Plants do a good job with possible excess levels of nitrates and ammonia, which are very dangerous for shrimp. If the plants have taken root and dense thickets have appeared, you can not use a filter, but limit yourself to a sprayer.

Reproduction

To breed Neocardina shrimp in an aquarium, you need to create only three conditions:

• constant water parameters;
• abundance of food;
• presence of both sexes.

When the female reaches maturity, a bright yellow area begins to appear under her shell, in which caviar is formed. Breeders call it a "saddle" because of the similarity in shape. The marriage ritual is always the same. Calling for a partner, the female throws odorous substances, pheromones into the water. Males hear the call and begin to rush around the aquarium in search of a female. Fertilization itself takes a few seconds, and the female will carry eggs for almost a month.

As the eggs grow in the saddle, you can see how they change from white to a greenish tint. Before the fry appear, tiny eye dots become visible in the eggs.

If they live in an aquarium with shrimpsfish, even small and harmless, it is better to transplant the female before the appearance of offspring. Caviar and tiny shrimp are too attractive for fish and there will be almost no chance for babies to survive.

Population control

With food and partners, shrimp will breed very quickly. Babies, just born, look like transparent copies of their parents. But they are growing fast and in ten months they will also start looking for a mating partner.

Surprisingly, the shrimp population itself regulates the number: when the aquarium is very densely populated, the males protect their part of the territory from the young and there is no time for mating. Young shrimp almost cease to appear. Gradually, the number decreases, the shrimp begin to actively breed again and the circle closes. You can regulate this by periodically looking for a new home for young shrimp.

Unwanted crossbreeding

Bright beautiful types of Neocardina shrimp are bred through long selection. Sometimes it seems to an inexperienced breeder that by placing several types of shrimp in an aquarium, he will get a new unique look.

But with shrimp everything is more complicated, when crossing different species, the offspring does not inherit the best features of the parents. On the contrary, with interspecific crossing, the offspring is gray and inconspicuous. For example, if you bring White Snowflake and Cherry together, you get not a delicate pink shrimp, but a hybrid of a gray, unattractive color.

Shelter during molt

During growthshrimp its hard outer shell does not grow with it. Therefore, as they grow, shrimp molt, shedding the old cover and growing a new shell. During this period, they are very vulnerable, so you need to put several shells or hollow ceramic tubes in the shrimp, in which they will sit out during molting.

Fry molt much more often than adults, in the first months every 5-6 days, adults about once a month. When the water parameters deteriorate, the shrimp begin to shed their shells more often.

To create a new defense, shrimp vitally need calcium, the reserves of which they accumulate in the body throughout their lives and then spend on molting. If there is not enough calcium to create a new shell, the animal will die. Therefore, special tablets for crustaceans, such as Calcium Active, should be included in the diet, or a piece of white chalk should be placed on the bottom of the aquarium.