There has been a recent flood of wild caught shrimp to the American market as of late and many of these shrimp are difficult to identify. There are many wild shrimp that have not been scientifically described yet and many described shrimp that are new to the Dwarf Shrimp hobby. Many exporters, importers, retailers and even some hobbyist have no clue what they are looking at so they slap the generic “Rainbow Shrimp” name on them.

So what is a true “Rainbow Shrimp”?

There is no true “Rainbow Shrimp”. The name has been incorrectly put on many shrimp species including Neocaridina Heteropoda (pictured to the right), Caridina sp. “Indian Dwarf”, Caridina sp. “Indian Whiteband” and many, many more.

Why does it matter?

The Dwarf Shrimp hobby is rapidly growing in the United States and it is important for hobbyist to know what they have. Generic names like “Rainbow Shrimp” and “Ghost Shrimp” make it difficult to know what shrimp a hobbyist owns and therefore makes it difficult to care for the shrimp properly.

Helpful Resources