Neon Yellow Shrimp - Care Guide

Electrify your aquarium with Neon Yellow Shrimp! These shrimp look great, clean your tank, and are a blast to watch! Their brilliant yellow coloration draws the eye directly to these dynamic little creatures and adds charm and cheer to any aquarium set-up.

Overview

Bred from the same wild type as Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp, the Neon Yellow Shrimp is a unique color variant of the Neocaridina heteropoda species. They have only recently begun to be widely bred, making appearances in the aquarium hobby in the early 2000's. They have become very popular among aquarium and dwarf shrimp hobbyists due to their bright coloration, hardiness, and ease of breeding. Their behavior and care requirements are about the same as Red Cherry shrimp, and they are suitable for beginning hobbyists.

These are freshwater shrimp and can live in almost any freshwater aquarium due to their extremely adaptable nature. They are very popular for planted tanks and community tanks, and many people use them in large aquariums for waste management and algae control. They breed very quickly, forming a colony that works as a very effective cleaning crew and enhances any aquarium with their beautiful, sunny color.

Species

Neocaridina davidi (formerly Neocaridina heteropoda)

Size

These shrimp grow to a maximum size of 2 inches in length, although this will only be attained by the largest females. The most common maximum length is about 1.5 inches for females, and 1.25 inches for males.

Recommended Tank Parameters

pH level range: 6.4 to 8.0, ideal range: 6.8 to 7.5
Temperature range: 65° to 80° F
Water type: kH 0-10; gH 4-14; TDS 80-200
Notes from the owner:
- All dwarf shrimp prefer to live in tanks with live aquatic plants (such as willow moss, baby tears, green cabomba, etc). There are a few reasons for this:
  - 1. Dwarf shrimp love the cover that plants provide them
  - 2. They love to graze on the plants for algae
  - 3. Plants help keep the water clean for the shrimp
- We have kept Neon Yellow Shrimp in a wide array of water parameters with great success. Though they are extremely adaptable and will thrive in a PH of 6.4 to 8, we have found that the optimum pH is between 6.8 and 7.5. Water temperature can be anywhere from 68° to 80° (Fahrenheit), but the fastest breeding occurs at about 76° F. If you plan to breed the shrimp, you will NEED to have a sponge prefilter on your filter intake to prevent the shrimp from being sucked in.
- Also, nearly every species of fish will eat dwarf shrimp fry, so breeding is best accomplished in species-only tanks. They are very tolerant of hard water. We have housed them in water as hard as 20gH/400 TDS and still saw them breed incredibly fast.

Compatibility

Safe: Small, peaceful fish and invertebrates. Good choices are:

Other dwarf shrimp
Small, peaceful fish
- Asian Stone Catfish
- Bushynose Plecos
- Corydora Catfish
- Danios
- Guppies
- Hillstream Loaches
- Otocinclus (safe to keep with breeding shrimp as well)
- Ram Cichlids
- Tetras (small tetras only)
Filter Shrimp
- Vampire Shrimp
- Singapore Flower Shrimp
Snails (all types)
- Ramshorn Snails
- Mystery Snails
- Nerite Snails
- Sulawesi Snails (aka Rabbit Snails)

Unsafe: Any fish or invertebrate large and/or aggressive enough to eat a dwarf shrimp. Examples:

Angelfish
Barbs (the aggressive kinds)
Bettas
Glo Tetras
Catfish (large)
Cichlids
Crayfish (most types)
Discus
Pacu
Plecos (large)
Goldfish
Gourami

Feeding

Neon Yellow Shrimp require very little food. When I say very little, I mean that one fish flake the size of a dime every day is enough for 10 or more shrimp. Overfeeding is a common cause of death, so do not feed them more than they can eat in two hours. In established tanks where there is plenty of algae and biofilm, dwarf shrimp may not need extra food at all.

In addition to fish or shrimp flake foods and pellets, dwarf shrimp will also eat blanched vegetables (such as zucchini, carrots, and spinach), as well as algae wafers or pellets.

Warning! Avoid any food product, medication, or plant fertilizer that contains Copper of any form. Copper is toxic to invertebrates. Many commercial fish foods, medications, and plant fertilizers contain copper or more commonly copper sulfate. Always look at the ingredient list for any product going into the aquarium to ensure they are copper free.

Breeding

Neon Yellow Shrimp are quite easy to breed. In fact, you shouldn't have to do anything but provide the shrimp with good conditions, cover your filter intake with a pre-filter (such as a sponge), and keep them in a tank without any fish (with the exception of Otocinclus catfish - they are fine to keep with breeding shrimp). Females will carry between 30 and 50 eggs at a time in a cluster beneath their tails, and the newborn shrimp hatch as miniature versions of the adults that are immediately able to fend for themselves. However, there must be adequate algae and/or biofilm in the tank for them to feed on. In tanks lacking algae or biofilm (usually newer tanks), shrimp can be fed by crushing algae flakes before dropping them in. Within 3 months, the newborn shrimp will be sexually mature and able to breed. When properly kept, 10 shrimp can turn into 1,000 within 6-8 months.

What to Expect from Us

We generally ship young adult shrimp that are already of breeding age.

Some of the younger shrimp have not reached their full potential yet and will grow into a bright yellow color as long as they are comfortable in their new environment. Lower intensity lighting and dark substrate also helps them achieve the most intense yellows.

All Aquatic Arts brand plants and animals come with a 100% live arrival guarantee, plus free email support directly from the owners! All that we require is that you send us a clear, digital picture of the unopened bag of DOAs, and we will replace them free of charge.