Gold Back Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)

Choose the Gold Back Shrimp for a striped yellow shrimp that is easy to keep

The Gold Back Shrimp is a yellow form of Neocaridina davidi, the freshwater dwarf shrimp best known as the cherry shrimp. Its body is a clear golden yellow with darker gold mottling on the flanks, and a fine stripe of pale cream-gold runs along the top of the back from the head shield to the tail. Against the yellow, the stripe gives the shrimp a neat, outlined look that plain yellow shrimp do not have. The legs are translucent yellow, the tail fan is yellow with clear edges, and the eyes are dark red-brown.

Care is the same as for any cherry shrimp, which makes the Gold Back Shrimp a sensible choice even for someone new to shrimp. It lives in the moderately hard, near-neutral water that most UK taps supply, it eats biofilm and algae that grow in any mature planted tank, and a healthy group produces young without special conditions. Keep the line on its own and the stripe carries through the generations.

Weigh up the fit

Compare the colours in our cherry shrimp collection, the Neocaridina shrimp range and every species in our freshwater shrimp section.

Know what one purchase supplies

One purchase quantity is one live Gold Back Shrimp, sold as the single “Standard” option. The line is not graded by size, so shrimp are sent at the size available on the day and are not sexed. Photographs show what the colour form looks like, not the shrimp you will receive. Expect variation in the width and brightness of the stripe and in how deep the yellow is; young shrimp and males usually look paler than grown females, and colour often strengthens once the shrimp settle.

Plan the starting group

• One: only as an addition to Gold Back Shrimp you already keep.
• Six or more: OATA recommends groups of at least five and Practical Fishkeeping at least six, because lone shrimp and tiny groups hide and stay stressed.
• Six to twelve adults: Neale Monks’s suggestion for founding a cherry shrimp colony, which then grows to the size the tank can sustain.

Before you order, read how we pack and send livestock on our delivery information page, and make sure the aquarium is cycled.

Learn where the gold back comes from

No wild cherry shrimp looks like this. Wikipedia describes the wild form, found in Taiwan, eastern China, the Korean Peninsula and Vietnam, as greenish-brown to mottled brown. The colours sold today were developed in aquariums by keeping and breeding the shrimp that showed a wanted colour. Yellow is produced by pigment cells called xanthophores, and white by leucophores; the overall look combines the shell colour with the flesh beneath it. The Shrimp Farm’s yellow shrimp sheet gives Taiwan as the origin of yellow lines and records “yellow cherry” and “neon yellow” as other trade names for them.

“Gold back” is a sellers’ name rather than a recognised standard. It is used for yellow shrimp with a distinct paler or golden stripe along the back; a related trade form is sold as “wide gold back”, where the gold band is broader. Because no breeders’ body defines the terms, different suppliers may use them a little differently, and the photographs on this page are the best guide to what we sell. You may also find the species under older names, including Neocaridina heteropoda and Neocaridina denticulata sinensis.

Choose between the yellow forms

All five are Neocaridina davidi and interbreed, so pick one per tank.

Prepare a mature, well-planted aquarium

Published minimums vary: OATA gives about 10 litres for a group of small shrimp, Practical Fishkeeping says 15 litres can work if heavily planted and well filtered, and The Shrimp Farm recommends at least 19 litres, with slightly more for beginners. We recommend 20 litres or more. In that volume Neale Monks reckons on about two dozen cherry shrimp with good filtration, and the bigger water volume resists the sudden temperature shifts that Practical Fishkeeping lists among the commonest causes of death.

Only add shrimp to a fully cycled tank. Practical Fishkeeping warns that even a trace of ammonia kills them and that young shrimp starve in tanks too new to have grown the microscopic food they rely on. Our guide to the nitrogen cycle explains how to mature a tank safely.

Arrange the layout for grazing and cover

Practical Fishkeeping’s author favours a dark sand that he says does not compact and enhances colour, keeps substrate shallow, and warns that builders’ sand can contain limestone. A dark floor makes a yellow shrimp glow.

Set the water and keep it consistent

The Gold Back Shrimp is tolerant, though the published ranges are not identical. OATA gives 17–27°C, pH 6.5–8.0, 4–18 dGH and 3–15 dKH for freshwater shrimp. The Shrimp Farm’s yellow shrimp sheet gives pH 6.2–8, 65–85°F (about 18–29°C), GH 4–8, KH 3–15 and TDS 150–250. Practical Fishkeeping puts Neocaridina at pH 6.5–8, 8–18 dGH, 5–15 dKH and 18–26°C, and Neale Monks at 5–15 dGH with middling values best for breeding. Choose a point inside the overlap and keep it there.

Line up the targets

Practical Fishkeeping says tap water that is low in nitrate and phosphate can be used for Neocaridina after dechlorination. UK tap water ranges from soft to very hard depending on where you live, so test it and compare the results with these targets in our water matching tool. If your water is very soft, a calcium supplement helps moulting; never use hot tap water, which can carry copper. Our water chemistry care guide explains each test.

The Shrimp Farm notes that a heater is not necessary if the room temperature stays stable. Neale Monks adds that unheated shrimp eat less over winter and pause breeding until spring.

Use shrimp-safe filtration and steady upkeep

Practical Fishkeeping prefers air-driven sponge filters because they are gentle and give young shrimp a grazing surface, and recommends covering any powered intake with fine foam or a stocking so 1 mm young are not drawn in. OATA asks for weekly testing and at least a 25% water change every week using conditioned water, with filter media rinsed in old tank water so the bacteria colony survives.

Keep to a weekly checklist

1. Test water before touching anything.
2. Condition new water and match it to the tank’s temperature.
3. Siphon the open sand lightly and look for shrimp in the bucket.
4. Add the new water slowly.
5. Clean sponges in removed tank water, and only when needed.
6. Log the results to see trends early.

Feed sparingly to protect the water

Gold Back Shrimp are grazers. Wikipedia describes the species as omnivorous, eating biofilm, algae and detritus, and notes that it does not eat vascular plants. Prepared food tops up what the tank provides. OATA recommends feeding two or three times a week and leaving food for at least 30 minutes; The Shrimp Farm suggests a quality shrimp food as the staple, with algae tablets, frozen foods such as bloodworm, blanched vegetables and sinking fish foods for variety, and removing uneaten food after a few hours. Practical Fishkeeping adds that shrimp in a species-only tank must be fed directly.

Portion a shrimp meal

• Food: a few Caridina nano sticks, or a fragment of algae wafer for a vegetable meal.
• Place: the same clear spot each feed.
• Check: after 30 minutes, most shrimp should be eating.
• Clear: after a few hours, lift out the rest.
• Minerals: foods with seaweed or added calcium and iodine support moulting, says Practical Fishkeeping.

Wikipedia notes that pigments are thought to come from carotenoids in food, so rotate in spirulina mini granules or similar algae-based foods.

Settle new shrimp in slowly

A gradual introduction protects shrimp from shock. OATA’s method: turn off the lights, float the sealed bag for 10 minutes, then add small amounts of tank water over at least 30 minutes and release the shrimp with as little bag water as possible. Practical Fishkeeping recommends a slower drip, with tank water fed through airline at one to two drops a second for about an hour until the volume has tripled or quadrupled, before the shrimp are netted into the tank.

1. Lights off, room dim.
2. Float the bag for 10 minutes.
3. Empty shrimp and water into a clean container; start the drip.
4. After about an hour, net the shrimp into the tank.
5. Throw the container water away.

Check the first week

Recognise healthy moults and trouble

OATA reminds keepers that shrimp moult often and that the empty shell can look just like a dead shrimp. Practical Fishkeeping’s rule of thumb is that a dead shrimp is never transparent and a moult is never coloured. Wrong hardness and too little calcium or iodine can cause failed moults; other causes of sudden deaths it lists include copper, high CO₂ or low oxygen, an ammonia spike after filter cleaning, bullying by fish, and old age.

Respond to what you see

Practical Fishkeeping gives a lifespan of 12–18 months; Wikipedia says one to two years and OATA a couple of years in a well-matured tank.

Breed Gold Back Shrimp true to type

Breeding starts on its own in a stable tank. Females spawn shortly after moulting, releasing pheromones that set the males searching, and carry the fertilised eggs under the tail. Wikipedia gives 20–30 eggs and two to three weeks to hatching; The Shrimp Farm says young hatch after about 30 days, Practical Fishkeeping three weeks to a month. The young are about 1 mm long and look like miniature adults. In see-through or yellow lines the developing eggs show as a yellow or green saddle on the female’s back, so do not mistake that patch for the stripe.

The Shrimp Farm notes that females are larger and more intensely coloured, while males are smaller and more translucent, which helps when choosing breeders.

Hold on to the stripe

• One line only: crosses with other colours give off-colour young that revert towards brown within a few generations, Practical Fishkeeping warns.
• Select the breeders: remove young with a faint or broken stripe and keep the best-marked adults together.
• Feed the young: biofilm in a mature tank plus finely powdered spirulina, as Practical Fishkeeping suggests.
• Keep cover dense: moss protects young from any fish and from the filter.

Keep only shrimp-safe company

OATA’s rule is to avoid fish large enough to fit a shrimp in the mouth and any predatory species. Practical Fishkeeping describes otocinclus as 100% shrimp-safe, even with newborns, and smaller Corydoras species and small plecs as generally safe. Dwarf gouramis, small tetras and rasboras, cherry barbs and kuhli loaches can share only a densely planted tank, and will take young. Snails and other dwarf shrimp suit best. Neale Monks notes that Neocaridina and Caridina shrimp should not hybridise, so Amano shrimp are a good addition.

Screen every companion

Run any planned combination through our tank mates compatibility tool first. For more on the whole group, read our cherry shrimp care guide and the cherry shrimp UK buying guide.

Never release shrimp, plants or tank water

Wikipedia records cherry shrimp living wild in thermally polluted waterways in Japan, the United States, Poland and Germany. OATA states that releasing aquarium animals or plants into the wild is illegal, usually fatal to the animals and a threat to native species. Pass on surplus shrimp to another keeper or a shop, and empty old water, substrate and plants into the drain or household waste.

Answer Gold Back Shrimp buying questions

What does a Gold Back Shrimp look like?

A yellow Neocaridina davidi with golden mottling on the sides and a neat, pale cream-gold stripe running along the top of the back from the head to the tail. The stripe is a selectively bred trait; its width and brightness vary between shrimp.

Is it a different species from the yellow cherry shrimp?

No. It is a colour form of the same species, Neocaridina davidi, and will interbreed with yellow, red, blue and every other cherry shrimp colour.

How many shrimp come in one purchase?

One live shrimp of the Standard option, sex not selected. A group of six or more settles and breeds best; OATA asks for at least five and Practical Fishkeeping for six.

Do I need special water?

Usually not. Most dechlorinated tap water of medium hardness suits it. Aim for 21–26°C and pH 6.5–8.0, keep ammonia and nitrite at zero and avoid sudden changes. Very soft water may need a calcium supplement for moulting.

Will the stripe show in every shrimp?

Most adults show it, but young shrimp and males are often paler, and selection within the line is never perfect. Practical Fishkeeping notes that off-colour young appear even within one variety.

How often should I feed Gold Back Shrimp?

Two or three small feeds a week, as OATA suggests, on top of the biofilm and algae of a mature tank. Remove anything not eaten after a few hours.

Do they need a heater?

Not in a warm room, but temperature swings are dangerous to shrimp and Neale Monks notes that unheated colonies stop breeding in winter. A small heater set to 21–26°C keeps things steady.

Can I keep them with fish?

Only with fish that cannot eat them. Otocinclus are the safest choice. Small tetras and rasboras need a densely planted tank, and even then some young shrimp will be lost.

Consult the care references

• OATA: How to look after freshwater shrimp and snails — UK trade body care sheet: water values, tank and group size, feeding, acclimatisation, maintenance, copper, health signs and release.
• Practical Fishkeeping: Frequently asked questions on Neocaridina shrimps — temperatures for life and breeding, tank and group size, tank mates, filter intakes and causes of unexplained deaths.
• Practical Fishkeeping: An introduction to shrimp — Neocaridina water values, interbreeding of colour forms, substrate, filtration, drip acclimatisation, moulting and breeding.
• Practical Fishkeeping: Will my shrimp hybridise? (Neale Monks) — Neocaridina and Caridina do not hybridise; hardness for breeding, stocking a 20-litre tank and winter breeding.
• Wikipedia: Neocaridina davidi — names and synonyms, native range, size, lifespan, diet, how colour is produced, sexing, breeding figures and wild populations.
• The Shrimp Farm: Yellow shrimp care sheet — yellow Neocaridina names, Taiwan origin, water values, diet, breeding and differences between the sexes.
• Tropical Fish Co cherry shrimp care guide and delivery terms — our own set-up and live arrival guidance.