Green shrimp taxonomy can be a little confusing: there are actually three types of green dwarf shrimp out there. This can lead to some mislabeling. Here, we will be discussing the easiest green dwarf shrimp to keep in the aquarium. This Neocaridina davidi variety features intense green coloration but is just as easy to care for as cherry shrimp, which are usually considered the ideal starter shrimp. Win-win!

Keep reading for everything you need to know about green shrimp care and keeping this dwarf shrimp in your home aquarium.

Scientific nameNeocaridina davidi var. "Green"
Common namesGreen shrimp, green jade shrimp
Difficult namesEasy
OriginTaiwan

Setting up a green shrimp aquarium

Requirements

Care for these is pretty much the same as with other Neocaridina davidi varieties. They're undemanding, easy to keep, fast breeders and perfect if you're just getting into the shrimp hobby.

To start your green shrimp colony, you'll need an aquarium of at least around 5 gallons. If you're an experienced aquarist you can also go a little smaller, but keep in mind that the smaller the tank, the more problematic any water quality issues will be. You'll need a filter to cycle the tank and keep it shrimp-safe. A heater is recommended if the ambient temperature tends to fluctuate. That's it!

All shrimp need plenty of hides and decorations to feel safe. This doesn't have to be anything fancy: some tubes can be enough to provide yours with a sense of security. It's also a good idea to add plenty of live plants for them to hide in and forage on. If that sounds challenging, don't worry. There are plenty of easy plants out there.

Water quality

Green shrimp aren't fussy about water quality and your tap water should usually be fine (as long as it's properly conditioned). Slightly acidic and soft water is preferred but the shrimp should be forgiving about somewhat harder water.

All this doesn't mean you don't have to keep a close eye on your water quality, though. Despite their hardiness, these shrimp are still very sensitive to ammonia, nitrites and, to a lesser degree, nitrates. This means your tank should always be fully cycled before you even consider adding any shrimp and you should do regular maintenance in the form of water changes.

You can monitor your water quality using a liquid test kit. If anything is off, do a water change immediately and keep testing daily until you're sure everything is fine.

pH: 6.8-7.5

Temperature: 75-83 °F

Hardness range: 8-20 dkh

Total Dissolved Solids: 100-300

Tankmates

When it comes to shrimp tankmates, it all depends on your own preferences. If you don't mind losing a fry or two occasionally you can keep your green shrimp with carefully chosen fish tankmates. Peaceful fish that can't fit an adult shrimp into their mouth, like small schooling species, should work.

If you're serious about breeding and possibly selling your shrimp, you won't want to risk losing any fry. That means all fish are out of the question. Stick to a single-species setup, or maybe include a few inverts like red racer snails, Thai micro crabs and other dwarf shrimp species like Caridina cf. cantonensis.

Green shrimp diet

Green shrimp diet isn't complicated. These shrimp eat anything! You'll see them foraging all day, looking for biofilm, algae and scraps on any surface they can find. In addition to these natural food sources, you should feed your shrimp daily. There are many special shrimp foods out there that should work fine and you can even make your own food by blanching fresh veggies or drying some nettle leaves.

Feed small amounts to prevent leftovers from fouling the water!

Breeding green shrimp

Green shrimp are a great option if you're just starting out with breeding shrimp. Unlike some other dwarf shrimp, they breed very quickly; in fact, healthy females can almost always be seen carrying eggs.

All you need to do to make sure these hatch successfully and the fry make it to adulthood is keep the water quality high and feed a variety of nutritious foods.

Buying green shrimp

Unfortunately, these shrimp aren't the most common Neocaridina davidi variety out there. You can try your local aquarium store, but it's likely you'll only find more popular colors like red, yellow and (if you're lucky) blue.

Luckily, though, it's not impossible to find these shrimp. You might be able to locate a fellow hobbyist selling them and you can also easily order them online from various sources. The Shrimp Farm sells green shrimp and ships them right to your home with live arrival guarantee! You can order your shrimp online here.

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