🐟 AquaticCare difficulty: BeginnerLegal complexity: Low

Blue velvet shrimp

Neocaridina davidi · also called Blue dream shrimp, Cherry shrimp (blue form), Neocaridina, Blue Neocaridina

The blue velvet shrimp is a deep-blue selectively bred color form of Neocaridina davidi, the same hardy species as the popular red cherry shrimp. Forgiving, prolific, and a tireless algae grazer, it is one of the best beginner invertebrates and a colorful cleanup crew for planted nano tanks.

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Quick facts

Size	About 2-3 cm (0.8-1.2 in); females larger, rounder, and more intensely colored than males.
Lifespan	1–2 years
Social needs	group
Native region	Wild Neocaridina davidi is native to Taiwan and eastern China; the blue velvet is a man-made color line.
Origin	Old World
Climate	⛅ Subtropical
Water type	💧 Freshwater
Family	Atyidae
Genus	Neocaridina

Part of the Freshwater shrimp

Small atyid and palaemonid shrimp kept in planted aquariums as peaceful algae-grazers and colorful colony animals. Care ranges from beginner-friendly Neocaridina to demanding species like the Sulawesi shrimp that need precise, stable water chemistry.

Babaulti Shrimp Bamboo shrimp Bee shrimp Crystal red shrimp Ghost shrimp Malawa Shrimp Red Nose Shrimp Sulawesi cardinal shrimp Tiger shrimp Vampire shrimp

Habitat & space requirements

From the minimum an animal needs to be kept humanely, up to the ideal setup. Bigger is almost always better — minimums are floors, not targets.

Photo coming soon

Minimum

Planted nano tank

5 gal (≈ 19 L), cycled, planted

Neocaridina davidi 'blue velvet' tolerates a wide range (pH 6.8–7.8, GH 6–10, 18–27 °C). Start with 10+ shrimp in a cycled planted nano with sponge filter; species-only for best colour and population growth.

Photo coming soon

Recommended

Planted 10–20 gallon colony

10–20 gal, dense plant cover

A larger planted tank for a self-sustaining colony with moss, almond leaves, and a sponge filter. Selective culling preserves deep blue colouration.

Photo coming soon

Ideal

Aquascape colony tank

20+ gal, planted aquascape

A larger aquascape with diverse plant species and stable parameters lets the colony self-thin and show its best colour. Species-only — do not mix with other Neocaridina colours or they will interbreed.

Life & growth stages

How this animal changes through its life — each stage often has its own care, diet and space needs.

Photo coming soon

Larva

Most marine invertebrates hatch into microscopic planktonic larvae (such as the zoea of crustaceans or the bipinnaria/veliger of echinoderms and mollusks) that drift and feed in the water column. The larva looks nothing like the adult and undergoes major reorganization.

Photo coming soon

Juvenile

After settling out of the plankton, the juvenile takes on a recognizable miniature of the adult body plan — a tiny shell, a small star, or a translucent shrimp. Crustaceans grow by molting, shedding the exoskeleton to enlarge.

Adult

Adults reach full size and reproductive maturity with the species' mature shell, shape, or coloration. Many continue to molt or grow throughout life, and some show sex differences in size or claw/appendage shape.

Color & pattern variants

Natural variants occur in the wild; selectively bred (man-made) variants were developed in captivity.

Selectively bred (man-made)

representative

Red cherry shrimp →

CommonBeginner

The original selectively-bred color form of *Neocaridina davidi*, ranging from translucent 'sakura' to solid opaque 'fire red'. Decades of line-breeding from the wild brown/green form produced the stable red coloration.

Tip: Cull weak-colored or clear individuals each generation to keep the line strongly red, and never co-house with other *Neocaridina* colors or offspring revert toward muddy wild-type brown.

representative

Blue dream / blue velvet →

CommonBeginner

A deep cobalt-blue line bred from the blue chocolate strain; 'Blue Dream' is the darkest, most opaque grade. Both are the same species as cherries, just a different selectively-fixed pigment line.

Tip: Keep over dark substrate and feed a varied diet with occasional blanched spinach — pale lighting and bright sand wash out the blue and make culling for color harder.

representative

Yellow (Golden Back / Neon) shrimp →

CommonBeginner

A bright lemon-yellow line; 'Golden Back' carries a fluorescent stripe down the dorsal and 'Neon Yellow' glows under actinic light. Selectively bred from wild *N. davidi*.

Tip: These are heavy on biofilm-style yellowing foods — a spirulina/bee-pollen supplement deepens the yellow, but avoid overfeeding as uneaten food fouls the soft water they prefer.

representative

Green jade, chocolate, black rose →

Additional selectively bred color morphs of the same hardy species.

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Green jade →

UncommonIntermediate

A jade-to-emerald green line that is harder to fix than red or blue because green pigment expression is unstable and temperature-sensitive. One of the more recent designer lines.

Tip: Hold the tank in the low-to-mid 70s F (22-24 C); warmer temps fade green individuals toward olive, so this line rewards a stable, slightly cool setup and aggressive culling.

representative

Chocolate →

UncommonBeginner

A rich solid brown ('chocolate' to near-black) line and the genetic base from which the blue lines were developed. Closer in tone to wild-type but far more opaque and uniform.

Tip: Because chocolate sits genetically near wild-type, ruthlessly remove any pale or banded individuals — this line backslides toward muddy wild coloration faster than the brighter morphs.

representative

Black rose →

UncommonIntermediate

A jet-black, highly opaque line (also sold as 'Black Rose' or 'Bluebolt'-adjacent Neocaridina) prized for solid coverage from head to tail. Selectively intensified from the chocolate line.

Tip: Display over light substrate for contrast but breed over dark substrate — black individuals 'morph' lighter on pale sand, which can mislead your color selection when culling.

Habitat & enclosure

A cycled tank of 20 L (5 gal) or more comfortably holds a starter colony, with bigger tanks supporting larger, more stable populations. Neocaridina are adaptable: temperature 18-26 C (64-79 F), pH 6.5-8.0, GH 4-8, KH 2-6, TDS roughly 150-250 ppm. They like gentle flow and tolerate a wide range of light; heavy planting with mosses and floating plants gives cover and grazing surfaces. Their hardiness across moderate hard water makes them far easier than Caridina bee shrimp.

Substrate

Inert gravel or sand works well since they do not need acidic buffering substrate; dark substrate intensifies their blue appearance. Add mosses, driftwood, cholla, and leaf litter for biofilm and shrimplet refuge.

Equipment & setup

A sponge filter (or any filter with a sponge intake guard) is ideal to protect babies and grow biofilm. A small heater stabilizes temperature in cool rooms, and modest LED lighting supports plants; no CO2 is required, but if dosed it must be modest and stable. A simple TDS/GH meter helps when using RO or soft tap water.

Diet

Omnivorous scavengers that graze algae, biofilm, and detritus all day. Offer shrimp pellets, blanched vegetables (zucchini, spinach, carrot), leaf litter, and occasional protein; feed lightly to keep nitrates low. A mature, lightly stocked planted tank can largely feed a colony on its own.

Behavior & temperament

Peaceful, social, and constantly active; keep 10+ for natural behavior and color. Completely plant-safe and reef-of-the-freshwater-world cleaners, but shrimplets are eaten by most fish, so pair only with tiny peaceful nano fish, snails, or keep species-only. Different Neocaridina color morphs interbreed and revert to wild brown over generations, so keep one color line per tank for stable color.

Health

Hardy but still vulnerable to ammonia/nitrite spikes, copper, and pesticide-treated plants. Molting problems from mineral imbalance (too-low GH) or rapid parameter changes can cause the fatal 'white ring of death'; keep GH and TDS stable. Bacterial infections and Scutariella (a harmless-looking but treatable parasite) occasionally appear on imported stock.

Tips, DIY & hacks

Drip-acclimate over 30-60 minutes when introducing them to new water. They breed readily with no intervention once conditions are stable — a saddle on the female means she is carrying eggs to come, and a 'berried' female holds eggs under her tail. Avoid keeping incompatible Neocaridina colors together if you want to preserve a pure blue line.

Sources

Neocaridina davidi — Wikipedia (wikipedia)
Blue Velvet Shrimp Care — Aquarium Co-Op (care guide)
Wikipedia: Blue velvet shrimp (wiki)