Caridina sp. purple zebra - Aquarium Shrimp for Sale UK

Purple is rare currency among freshwater invertebrates, and the purple zebra Caridina spends it boldly — purple-and-white zebra banding on a 1 cm Sulawesi shrimp built for the dedicated specialist aquarium. Its record is direct about the audience: experienced keepers running a stable, purpose-built setup, and nothing less. For that audience, few invertebrates offer a colour scheme this unusual in a freshwater system.

The water explains why. This shrimp asks for real warmth at 26–30 °C and conspicuously alkaline conditions between pH 7.8 and 8.8, with hardness of 6–12 dGH — a profile almost no community tank already runs, which is exactly why a species-focused aquarium of at least 30 litres is the right vehicle. Inside those parameters it is a peaceful, bottom-dwelling omnivore with a typical two-year lifespan, going about its grazing with the unhurried confidence of an animal whose needs are being met precisely. Warmth at this level rules out unheated systems entirely, and the alkalinity rules out the soft-water setups most shrimp keepers already own — be honest about both before falling for the colour.

Where companions are used at all, choose conservatively: peaceful nano fish, snails, or other peaceful shrimp species kept in very stable, species-appropriate systems. Loaches, barbs inclined to harass shrimp, cichlids, crayfish and any fish large or predatory enough to take a 1 cm shrimp are all recorded exclusions, and there is no version of this animal that belongs in a rough-and-tumble community. A species-focused tank also makes observation easier, which matters when your livestock is a 1 cm grazer working at substrate level.

Purple zebra shrimp — specialist requirements

• Adult size: ~1 cm
• Lifespan: ~2 years
• Tank: 30 litres+, species-focused
• Temperature: 26–30 °C
• pH: 7.8–8.8; dGH: 6–12
• Care: expert only

Before committing

Have the aquarium already running warm and alkaline before any shrimp arrive — stability is the requirement the expert rating points to. With a typical lifespan of two years, colonies rather than individuals are the sensible way to think about the purchase. Once you are ready, we deliver throughout the UK by licensed live-animal courier with a live arrival guarantee.