[somewhatshocked]

Recently I've entertained the idea of adding shrimp to my planted tank to help make it a bit more colourful and lively, and maybe tank care of any detritus or mulm that accumulates in the tank that I cannot see. The tank has a pretty even mixture of plants with red, orange, and bright green in my opinion.

I'm hoping to get a shrimp in a colour that contrasts the best with my tank. So far I'm thinking red rili, black rili, orange pumpkin, bloody mary, fire red cherry, yellow, any colour besides green, blue or all black/white. I'd love to get blue, but some of my current tank inhabitants already have that colour, so I don't want to overdue it.

Right now I think the best colours would be red or black rili. I feel orange might get lost in my Rotala 'Orange Juice' as it takes up a good portion of the background, but I'm still considering it. Yellow isn't my favourite colour, but I think it could pop nicely among the greens, reds and oranges.

What do you think would be the best colour?

Like @evil8 suggests, this is really a matter of preference. I'm partial to standard red Neocaridina.

Could you post a photo or photos of your tank? That may help others make recommendations and help determine whether or not your tank is suitable for shrimp.

What kind of inhabitants do you currently have in the tank? How heavily is it planted? Do you have a lot of moss and cover? Any hiding spaces for shrimp? What are your water parameters? Temperature? kH? gH? Do you use CO2?

Keep in mind that any fish - any - can eat, maim, harass, harm, injure, kill shrimp of any size. If it can fit in their mouth? It can become a snack.

Update: Okay, I changed my mind a bit after thinking about it.

While standard red Neocaridina are still my pick... I think you should also consider wild-type Neos. Their coloration will develop a bunch of different ways over time and could look quite striking in a tank with plants of varying colors. You could even start with a few different color varieties and just let them do their thing. They'll begin to throw all sorts of colors and eventually morph into something more wild-type and darker. Could be one of the rare occasions where it makes sense to start with multiple colors - with the goal of them changing over time.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Unfortunately I cannot post a pic of the tank for a while, but I can tell you parameters and such.

GH: 7 (aim for 6, straight out the tap is 3)
KH: 5 (aim for 6, straight out the tap is 2)
pH: 7.6 without CO2, 6.8-6.6 with CO2 (pH is 7.2 in the mornings. I have the cylinder turn on and off throughout the day to prevent it from being gassed. Can't seem to get the bps to stay consistent, it always speeds up. What I have setup now works though)
Temp: 18-20C (64-68F)
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm (Only due to ferts. Biomass is not high enough to affect it with plants)
TDS: ?
Inhabitants: Ramshorn snails, Alpine newts (apparently the breeder keeps some shrimp with his, and I've heard others do it with other newts species, so it seems possible)

The tank is very heavily planted. There still is much to be desired in vertical growth (a little less than halfway up), but looking down into the tank you can't see much of the substrate. There is also a rock outcrop with driftwood amongst it that the shrimp could hang out and hide in. I also have weeping moss attached to the driftwood that is filling out quite nicely right now.

I looked at various photos today to see if I could make up my mind. I think rili is the way to go, just which rili is what I'm having difficulty with. When I was first looking this up, I really wanted to get crystal black or red shrimp, but their KH requirements put me off. I figured I couldn't keep them, but the white & black or white & red really stands out and I love it!

Those params are fine for Neocaridina.

Though, you're definitely going to be buying some expensive snacks for your newts. They'll absolutely consume juvenile shrimp and, depending upon their temperament, could potentially be problematic with adult shrimp. So you'll need to make sure your tank is a good environment for shrimp overall - lots of hiding places, ground cover, moss, etc.

 

[somewhatshocked]

which one tends to breed the most true?

None of them. Though, depending upon genetics and if the seller you're buying from is honest, they'll usually be the same color as the parents.

You'll always have to cull/remove Neocaridina shrimp if you don't like their coloration or pattern. Even with the highest grade shrimp you can buy.

I've heard bloody marys will throw way more colours and culls (excuse my ignorance, still learning shrimp lingo) than painted reds for example.

That all depends upon genetics and lineage and isn't set in stone.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Thought I'd close this thread off by saying I opted for blue, as eventually I'll add fish that will most likely have reds and yellows. Having shrimp in that colour too might be a bit too much

You'll enjoy them.

Do you know if you opted for Neocaridina davidi or Neocaridina palmata? There's a lot of confusion among some retailers and even some keepers about what's what when it comes to blue Neos.

 

[somewhatshocked]

Really? I thought blue dreams and velvets were davidii, and blue jellies were palmata as palmata make up the snowball shrimp right?

Anyway, the supplier has them labeled as Davidii

You didn't specify N. davidi, so that's why I asked.

But some retailers do get them confused and many don't know the difference between blue variants. You'll know once you receive them. Regardless, they're still going to be great.

 

[somewhatshocked]

How do you tell the difference? Is it the size? Shape? I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. Heck, if you placed a Caridina and Neocaridina of the exact same colour next to one another I'd assume they were the same species! I can only tell them apart because of their different colour schemes

It's mostly (I'd say 99%) in coloration. You'll definitely be able to tell by doing a google image search for Neocaridina davidi vs palmata. N palms will always be kinda clear and colors will never be bold like with others.

But Neocaridina vs Caridina is waaaay easier. Neos are usually larger, more opaque, their shape is a bit different - especially with males. Caridina have actual whites and solid coloration, way less opaque. Doing an image search comparing those two will make it really clear to you.

And if you have any sort of confusion? You can always post photos here.