If you love colors, you'll adore Caridina babaulti (also known as the babaulti shrimp). This relatively uncommon dwarf shrimp comes in red, brown, green, yellow and even zebra stripes! Their hardiness makes these a great beginner option, although they can be a little more shy than many other species.

Keep reading for everything you need to know about Caridina babaulti and keeping this dwarf shrimp in your own aquarium!

Scientific nameCaridina cf. babaulti
Common namesBabaulti shrimp, green Babaulti shrimp, zebra Babaulti shrimp, etc.
Difficulty levelEasy
OriginMainly India, possibly other regions in Asia
caridina babaulti dwarf shrimp
Caridina babaulti "Zebra stripes" bred & photographed by Nico Piszczek

Caridina babaulti appearance

As mentioned in the intro, Caridina babaulti is one colorful dwarf shrimp species. The most common variety is green, which makes this a great alternative to green Neocaridina shrimp.

You can tell this species apart from other dwarf shrimp by its slightly longer rostrum and the strongly visible back stripe on most specimens.

Setting up a Caridina babaulti shrimp aquarium

Requirements

Caridina babaulti shrimp aren't demanding when it comes to their aquarium. A tank of 5 gallons or up should work fine for your colony, although you might want to go a little larger if you're a beginner.

Once you've got your tank, all you need is a filter and a heater. The filter allows your aquarium to cycle. Do make sure you get a shrimp-safe type: anything without a sponge intake might suck up and shred small shrimp. A sponge filter should work well. The heater helps keep the water at the right temperature and, more importantly, stable.

Caridina babaulti can be a little more reclusive than many of its 'cousins' and will appreciate plenty of hiding places in the aquarium. They're not picky about hides and anything that provides cover will work well. Try live plants with plenty of texture like Java moss, shrimp tubes, rocks and driftwood.

caridina babaulti
Caridina babaulti "Zebra stripes" bred & photographed by Nico Piszczek

Water quality

When it comes to water quality, this species is pretty versatile, although as always your aquarium should be fully cycled before you can introduce any shrimp. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly to all aquatic creatures and should be at 0. Nitrates are less damaging but should preferably still be under 10. Do regular aquarium maintenance and water changes to keep your water quality high and your Caridina babaulti shrimp happy.

Keep in mind that Caridina babaulti is not the most common shrimp. Hobbyists don't always seem to agree on the preferred water values yet, so the numbers listed below are not set in stone. It's recommended to stay in this general range, but other than that, you can feel free to experiment a little to find the optimal breeding conditions.

pH: 6.5-7.8

Temperature: 64.5-82.5 °F

Hardness: Sources disagree and list values between 2-20 dGH

Total Dissolved Solids: 100-200

How to care for Babaulti shrimp in your aquarium #pets #aquatic

Tankmates

Because these are dwarf shrimp, it's not a good idea to keep them with large or aggressive fish species. If you don't mind losing the occasional fry you can try keeping your Caridina babaulti shrimp with peaceful, small fish. Do keep in mind that this species breeds slowly.

If you want to be 100% safe, stick to an invert only setup. You can consider anything from Neocaridinas like cherry shrimp to all sorts of snails and even peaceful dwarf crayfish.

Caridina babaulti shrimp diet

Like most dwarf shrimp, Caridina babaulti are omnivores with a preference for detritus. Their natural diet consists of things like decaying plant matter, biofilm and algae. In fact, some aquarists report these shrimp are more interested in dead plant bits than actual shrimp foods!

That being said, you should still supplement their diet with high-quality food. You can also add variety by offering all sorts of "snacks" like leaf litter, fresh blanched veggies or frozen foods.

Babaulti shrimp
Caridina babaulti "Zebra Stripes" bred & photographed by Andrej Resetniak

Breeding Caridina babaulti shrimp

Although breeding this species is same as breeding most other popular dwarf shrimp, they are reported to be a little slower to multiply sometimes. Females don't always seem to get pregnant as often as expected. This means no overcrowding, but also less fry!

Buying Caridina babaulti shrimp

This shrimp is not new to the hobby, they're just a little less common than some other species. Still, you might be able to find them in some aquarium stores. If yours doesn't carry Caridina babaulti, you can always try asking them if they can order a few in for you or turn to the internet. There are plenty of hobbyists selling shrimp out there, as well as various reputable online stores.

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