What’s in a name? When it comes to Bee Shrimp there seems to be a lot these days! They have accumulated many names over the years. Here are a few:

• Bee Shrimp
• Bumble Bee Shrimp
• Crystal Black Shrimp (CBS)
• … and more!

So what? What’s the big deal? It is not really a big deal, but it is a sign of the times when it comes to Dwarf Shrimp. The common, and some times even scientific names are in constant flux. This makes it hard for an aquarist new to the Dwarf Shrimp hobby to know what kind of shrimp they have or what they even want!

Currently there is no solution. As more people get into the hobby more and more common names will be made up and given to shrimp. Eventually, as it has for the common aquarium fish, a common name will start to stick and all others will just fade away!

The Red Cherry Shrimp is a good example of this. It is the most popular Dwarf Shrimp in the hobby today (other than the generic “ghost shrimp” that is sold primarily as a feeder). It was originally know as the Cherry Red Shrimp. Not a big change I know, but a significant one.

A highly priced shrimp known as the Crystal Red Shrimp gained prominence early this century and people started to short hand the name to CRS. Well, our good friend the Cherry Red Shrimp had the same initials and in order to help reduce confusion hobbyist changed the name ever so slightly and it has stuck!

Lets hope the same happens to the Bee Shrimp and multitude of shrimp that have no permanent common name soon!