Crystal red shrimp (Caridina logemanni) care guide

Group

Shrimp

Other names

CRS, Bee shrimp, Crystal black shrimp (black form), Caridina cantonensis (trade name), Caridina sp. 'Crystal Red', Red bee shrimp

Family

Atyidae

Origin

Wild bee shrimp come from hill streams in Hong Kong and southern China; the crystal red colour form was bred in Japan

Water

freshwater

Maximum size

3.2 cm

Temperature

21–26°C

pH

6–7

Hardness

4–6 dGH, 0–3 dKH (soft water preferred)

Minimum tank

38 litres

Care level

intermediate

Temperament

peaceful

Lifespan

1.5–2 years

Care

The crystal red shrimp is a small dwarf shrimp from the Atyidae family, with a red and white banded body. It is a colour form bred in Japan from the wild bee shrimp, which lives in hill streams in Hong Kong and southern China. The wild bee shrimp was described as Caridina logemanni in 2014, and much of the trade still labels crystal reds as Caridina cantonensis, so both names are used for the same animals. Crystal black shrimp are the black and white form of the same species. Shrimp are graded by how much solid white they show and how clean the pattern is, with higher grades (often sold as A, S, SS and SSS, or patterns such as Hinomaru and Mosura) costing more. Adults reach about 3 cm. Set-up: a mature, planted tank of at least 38 litres suits a colony, though LiveAquaria lists 19 litres as a bare minimum. Most keepers use an active (buffering) aquarium soil, which holds pH below 7, plus moss, leaf litter and wood for grazing and shelter. A sponge filter or a filter intake fitted with a sponge stops shrimplets being drawn in. Keep them in a group of ten or more; they are more confident and more visible in numbers. Water: LiveAquaria gives 21–26 °C, pH 6.0–7.0 and dKH 3–10. In practice crystal reds do best in soft, slightly acidic water at the cooler end, around 21–23 °C, with low carbonate hardness. Warm water shortens their life and stops breeding. Change water little and often with remineralised RO or soft water of the same temperature and hardness, because sudden changes cause failed moults and deaths. Keep ammonia and nitrite at zero and nitrate low. Add new shrimp only to a tank that has been running for several months. Behaviour and role: peaceful and busy grazers that spend the day picking biofilm, soft algae and detritus off every surface. They help keep a planted tank clean, but they are kept mainly for their colour rather than as an algae crew. Copper: copper-based medicines and some plant fertilisers are toxic to shrimp, snails and most other invertebrates. Never treat a tank holding them with copper, check the label of any fertiliser or medicine, and keep nets and buckets used for copper-treated tanks separate. Sources: LiveAquaria (liveaquaria.com/products/red-crystal-shrimp); SeaLifeBase (sealifebase.se/summary/Caridina-logemanni.html). Checked October 2026.

Diet

Grazes all day on biofilm, soft algae, decaying leaves and leftovers. Add a good shrimp pellet or granule a few times a week, plus blanched vegetables (courgette, spinach, nettle), dried Indian almond or oak leaves and occasional protein. Feed only what is eaten in a few hours and remove leftovers, as uneaten food fouls the soft water these shrimp need. Mineral supplements for soft-water shrimp help moulting.

Breeding

Females are larger, with a deeper, rounded underside and a curved saddle of eggs visible behind the head when mature; males are slimmer with longer antennae. Crystal reds breed in fresh water with direct development: the female carries 20–30 eggs under her tail for about four weeks, and they hatch as tiny copies of the adults with no larval stage. Breeding is reliable in stable, soft, cool water with a mature soil substrate and plenty of moss for the young to hide in. Shrimplets graze biofilm and powdered foods. In a community tank most young will be eaten, so breed them in a species tank. Selective breeding, keeping only the best-patterned shrimp, keeps the grade high; mixed colonies tend to slip back towards lower grades.

Compatibility and tank mates

Best kept in a species tank or with very small, peaceful fish that will not eat shrimplets, such as otocinclus or small rasboras; even small fish will take young shrimp. Snails such as nerites and ramshorns are fine. They do not cross with Neocaridina such as cherry shrimp, but they do cross with other Caridina bee and tiger types (for example Taiwan bee and tiger shrimp), which spoils pure lines. Never keep them with crayfish, larger shrimp such as Macrobrachium, assassin snails (which may eat moulting shrimp) or most cichlids and barbs.

Last updated 8 October 2026. Community-edited care guide on Aquatic-Auctions.