Caridina sp. rainbow - Aquarium Shrimp for Sale UK

Smallest does not mean plainest. At a recorded 0.6 cm, the rainbow Caridina is the tiniest shrimp in this part of our range — a delicate Sulawesi species whose varied colouring earned it the rainbow name. It also carries the most modest space requirement of our Sulawesi listings, with a 10-litre recorded minimum, though the expertise its water demands is anything but modest, and the expert care rating should be taken at face value. This is a species for keepers who enjoy precision for its own sake: the animal is minute, the parameters are particular, and the satisfaction lies in running a system exact enough for both.

Like its Sulawesi relatives, it wants genuine warmth and alkalinity: 26–30 °C, pH 7.5–8.5 and hardness from 5 to 15 dGH. The expert rating reflects how little margin a 0.6 cm animal has when parameters drift — there are simply no reserves at that size, which is why keepers who succeed with this species talk about routine and consistency more than equipment. Held stable, it is a peaceful omnivore that works the tank floor through a typical two-year life. The 10-litre minimum does make it one of the few Sulawesi species a desktop-scale tank can technically house, provided heating and chemistry hold absolutely steady at that volume.

Suitable company includes other peaceful dwarf shrimp, snails, peaceful invertebrates and small nano fish with no interest in shrimp as food. Anything aggressive or predatory is recorded as unsuitable — crayfish, large cichlids, shrimp-hunting loaches, or simply any fish whose mouth is big enough to end a shrimp this small. In practice many keepers settle on shrimp-and-snail arrangements, which keep every recorded risk off the stocking list at once.

Rainbow shrimp care record

• Size: ~0.6 cm — exceptionally small
• Lifespan: ~2 years
• Tank: 10 litres minimum
• Temperature: 26–30 °C
• Chemistry: pH 7.5–8.5, 5–15 dGH
• Rating: expert

Purchase advice

Treat the 10-litre figure as a floor rather than a target, and prioritise stability above all else — that single habit decides most outcomes with this species. Confident Sulawesi keepers can order for UK delivery under our live arrival guarantee, with transport by licensed live-animal courier.