Yellow Shrimp

Yellow Shrimp

Neocaridina heteropoda var "yellow"

Overview

The Yellow Shrimp is one of the only yellowed colored shrimp in the hobby. It is a selectively bred from the same wild type as the Red Cherry Shrimp to obtain its yellow coloration. It is favored by many hobbyists due to its unique color, hardiness and breeding rate.

Background

The origin of the Yellow Shrimp lies in Japan and is a color morph of the wild Neocaridina Heteropoda species. The date of their creation seems to be around 2006 or a few years earlier. To my knowledge the Yellow Shrimp were first introduced to other countries in 2006. The exact breeder who created this color morph is unknown. The Yellow Shrimp is now widespread throughout the hobby as it is extremely prolific. For more information on the wild type that the Yellow Shrimp was bred from please visit the species information page for the Neocaridina Heteropoda.

Water Parameters

The Yellow Shrimp can be housed in many different water parameters. I have kept them in a pH range from 6.0 to 8.0, soft and hard water, temperatures from 72F to 84F and in many different soils like ADA Aquasoil and normal gravel. It is common knowledge that, like its cousin the Red Cherry Shrimp, the Yellow Shrimp can live in almost any freshwater aquarium given that the tank is habitable and does not contain predators of course. The Yellow Shrimp is an extremely versitile and reproduction shrimp given that the water is clean and maintained properly.

Breeding

The Yellow Shrimp is extremely prolific, meaning that they breed readily and virtually around the clock. A healthy colony will quickly multiply and females will be constantly pregnant. It is typically 30-45 days from pregnancy to hatching. The female carries over 25 eggs at adulthood. It is said that sometimes it seems that the Yellow Shrimp carries so many eggs it appears as if some will fall out. The best way to tell if a female is close to hatching her eggs is by the appearance of a set of eyes inside each egg. This is easy to spot and will let you know that hatching is literally days away. In the photo below you can see the Yellow Shrimp eggs with eye appearing.

Another great way to tell is by the emergence of a new saddle when the female still has eggs. The emergence of the saddle is the indication that the female is prepared to have a new set of eggs and that the current eggs are close to hatching. Please look at the photo below to see a pregnant Yellow Shrimp female with eggs as well as with a saddle.

Sexing

Sexing the Yellow Shrimp is very easy. Females are easy to identify as they are larger than the males, have a much darker yellow coloration, and also have a curved underbelly. In the photo below you can see how the male is smaller, has less yellow coloration and the "under belly" is a straight line with no curved shape.

You can also distinguish a female from a male because a female Yellow Shrimp will frequently have a saddle, if not eggs as well. Females may also have a stripe along their back which males will not have. Below is a photo of a Yellow Shrimp saddle. Notice the tiny undeveloped yellow eggs in the ovaries.

Feeding

Feeding the Yellow Shrimp is also easy as they accept virtually any kind of shrimp/fish food. They eat anything from blanched spinach, zucchini, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, fish flakes, bloodworms, and more. Feeding is best done once a day. Only feed an amount of food that the shrimp can finish within 2-3 hours maximum. It is not good to feed in excess and have food sitting for too long. Overfeeding is a known cause of death and can also cause water quality issues. Remember that shrimp are scavengers in the wild. They will eat whatever they find and are not used to a constant food source 24/7. Not feeding for one or two days is fine and will not harm this species at all. Sometimes I will not feed for a couple of days in order to let the shrimp cleanse their systems and keep the water clean at the same time. In the photo below you can see a Yellow Shrimp claw which it uses for feeding.

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