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Cardinal Shrimp | Caridina sp. "Cardinal"

 

 

Information and photos by wood:

The Cardinal Shrimp is larger than the Harlequin Shrimp but not as large as some of the other Sulawesi Shrimp. It is from Sulawesi, Indonesia and is magnificent in person. It has either a dark rose red coloration or a lighter red coloration with white dots running along the side of the shrimp. Photos do not do justice, you must see this species in person. It appears that the darkness of the red coloration is variable and is not an indicator of health, sex, or anything else. It is just a part of nature. One of the coolest features of the Cardinal Shrimp is its front white legs. The photos below show a more zoomed in look at their white legs.

As with all Sulawesi Shrimp it is highly recommended that you keep the Cardinal Shrimp in a temperature of at least 78F. It is also recommended that you keep this species in a tank with hard water and a ph of no less than 7.0. I am currently keeping the Cardinal Shrimp in the same tank with a few other species from Sulawesi consisting of ADA Amazonia at 84F and ph of 7.0. Some have stated that the low ph of 7.0 due to the ADA Amazonia is not good for this species. Right now I disagree. All of the Sulawesi Shrimp that I currently house are doing very well in this setup and so far even the babies are doing very well. The babies are constantly picking away for food which is of course a good sign.

The Cardinal Shrimp is not a shy species at all. It will constantly forage on the bottom and seems to prefer scraping the glass a lot. The majority of the Cardinal Shrimp that I have spend almost all of their time on the algae covered sides of the glass picking away. I feed all of the Sulawesi Shrimp, including the Cardinal Shrimp, the same as I feed all of the other shrimp I keep. The occasional algae water and other invert food. This species eats at all times of the day.

The thing that really sets this species apart is the front white legs. It uses these legs to feed so when it is feeding you constantly see the white moving about. Watch a bunch of them feeding at the same time and the constant movement of white is really cool to watch.

Sexing of the Cardinal Shrimp is difficult. The females have a saddle showing eggs underneath the carapace. The only way to actually see the saddle is with an infrared light and it can still be difficult to tell. The outside shell of the Cardinal Shrimp is so dark that you cannot possibly see the saddle without special equipment.

Breeding is done in complete freshwater, not salt or brackish water is required whatsoever. There is also no larval stage. The adult females carry the eggs until they hatch, producing miniature shrimp. Some breeders in Germany have had success breeding the Sulawesi Shrimp and it is apparently not as difficult as some may think. There have also been hobbyists in Spain and the USA who have had pregnant Cardinal Shrimp in captivity and some have had the eggs hatch successfully.

I was lucky to receive some pregnant Cardinal Shrimp from overseas. The pregnant ones from the wild hatched their eggs and now I have baby Cardinals all over the place. They are doing very well and I hope to have them grow to adulthood and reproduce in pure captivity.

 

 

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Photos of baby Cardinal Shrimp below