Red Tiger Shrimp, High Grade (Caridina sp.)

Meet the high grade Red Tiger Shrimp

The high grade Red Tiger Shrimp is a dwarf freshwater shrimp from the tiger shrimp group of Caridina, bred for a deep red body crossed by darker wine-red bands. The shrimp in our photographs carries those bands from the back of the head right along the tail, with red and white banded legs and long, banded antennae. It is a natural next step for keepers who have already succeeded with cherry shrimp and want a striped shrimp, as long as they are willing to prepare soft, slightly acidic water.

The wild tiger shrimp was only given a scientific name in 2014. Seriously Fish reports that Werner Klotz and Thomas von Rintelen described it as Caridina mariae, after it had long been treated as a colour variant of Caridina cantonensis. Their peer-reviewed paper in Zootaxa was based on shrimp collected from hill streams in Guangdong Province and Hong Kong between 2004 and 2013, using both body shape and DNA. The same Seriously Fish report illustrates a red colour mutation that appeared in an aquarium population of C. mariae descended from shrimp collected near Conghua City, which shows how a red tiger can arise in captivity.

Read the names on the label

There is no published grading standard for tiger shrimp that we can point you to, so instead of relying on the word "high grade" we describe what the photographs show and let them set your expectations.

Check what one purchase brings

One purchase quantity supplies one live Red Tiger Shrimp. Shrimp are not sexed at sale size. Colour depth and the exact banding differ from shrimp to shrimp, and a newly moved shrimp is often paler for a while, so the photographs show the colour form rather than the individual you will receive.

Plan the starting group before you order

• Group size: OATA advises keeping shrimp in groups of at least five, because single shrimp and small groups often become stressed.
• Adult size: Wikipedia's account of Caridina mariae gives about 25–38 mm, and OATA puts bee-type shrimp at about 3 cm.
• Sexes: females grow larger than males and show a curved underside, which becomes easier to see as they mature.
• Timing: set the tank up and let it mature first, then read our delivery and live arrival information so the shrimp go straight into water that is ready for them.

Decide whether your water suits a Caridina

This is the single most important decision with a Red Tiger. Practical Fishkeeping's introduction to shrimp explains that the Caridina bee and tiger shrimp prefer slightly cooler, softer and more acidic water than cherry shrimp, and that most keepers use pure reverse osmosis (RO) water with a mineral product added back. It also says they are not really difficult once the water is right.

Compare the published water values

The sources do not agree exactly. The temperature is where Practical Fishkeeping and Wikipedia overlap; the pH runs from Wikipedia's preferred 6.5 to the 7.0 measured in the wild swamp; the hardness runs from Practical Fishkeeping's 5 GH to the 6–8 GH that its salt review gives for tiger shrimp. Aim for the middle and, above all, keep the values steady.

Work out what your tap water needs

Test your tap water's GH and KH before buying, or compare it with our water matcher. If it is far harder than the planning range, Practical Fishkeeping's advice is RO water remineralised with a GH booster; its salt review notes a typical dose of about 6 g per 20 litres of RO water and stresses that such salts are made for RO water, because they cannot soften tap water. If preparing water is not for you, a cherry shrimp such as our Super Red Sakura Shrimp or anything in our cherry shrimp range will thrive in medium-hard water with far less effort.

Size the tank and choose a substrate

OATA gives 10 litres as the minimum for a group of small shrimp and adds that bigger is generally more stable. We recommend 20 litres or more for Red Tigers, because soft, lightly buffered water changes more quickly in a small volume, and a breeding group keeps growing.

Set the tank up in five steps

1. Measure the real volume with our tank volume calculator, so you know how much prepared water each change needs.
2. Use a shrimp soil. Practical Fishkeeping recommends a specialist shrimp soil over sand for bee and tiger shrimp, because it helps stabilise the pH.
3. Cycle before stocking. The same article warns that some active soils release ammonia for weeks, so run the tank until ammonia and nitrite read zero.
4. Add cover. Moss, fine-leaved plants and wood give grazing surface and shelter after moulting, when a shrimp's new shell is still soft.
5. Fit a lid, as OATA recommends, and place the tank away from radiators, draughts and direct sun.

Avoid limestone and similar rocks in a soft-water tank. Practical Fishkeeping suggests a drop of vinegar as a quick test: if the rock fizzes, it contains lime and will harden the water.

Filter softly and keep the water clean

Practical Fishkeeping's author prefers air-driven sponge filters for shrimp, because the sponge becomes a grazing ground for young shrimp. Whatever filter you use, cover the intake: Wikipedia notes that young tiger shrimp can be pulled into filter intakes.

Run the same weekly routine every time

1. Test ammonia and nitrite weekly, as OATA advises, and check GH, KH and pH while the tank is new.
2. Change about 25% of the water each week, siphoning solid waste from the surface of the soil.
3. Prepare the new water in advance so its temperature, GH and pH already match the tank.
4. Top up evaporation with plain RO water, not tap water: only water evaporates, so the minerals stay behind and tap top-ups slowly raise the hardness.
5. Rinse sponges in removed tank water, never under the tap, to keep the filter bacteria alive.

Our shrimp-keeping guide covers filter choice and water changes for every kind of dwarf shrimp.

Feed a measured amount

A mature tank feeds Red Tigers around the clock with biofilm and soft algae. OATA describes shrimp as mainly herbivorous grazers and suggests algae wafers or shrimp pellets two or three times a week, left in for at least 30 minutes, with care not to overfeed. Practical Fishkeeping's author feeds every other day and also offers blanched stinging nettle, dandelion, spinach, courgette and cucumber.

Build one feed the group can finish

Feed nothing on the first day after arrival, and skip a feed whenever you see food left over from the last one.

Acclimatise slowly with a drip

Practical Fishkeeping's acclimatisation guide describes Caridina shrimp as very sensitive to changes in water chemistry and recommends the drip method for them. Float the closed bag first so the temperatures equalise, then pour the shrimp and their water into a small dark container and siphon tank water in through airline tubing at one to two drops a second.

Use a first-week checkpoint plan

The introduction to shrimp gives a similar method, dripping for about an hour until the volume has tripled or quadrupled. The two articles differ on time, so let the water readings, not the clock, decide when to stop.

Read moults and health signs

Shrimp grow by shedding their shell, and an empty shell can look like a dead shrimp. Practical Fishkeeping gives an easy rule: a moult is never coloured and a dead shrimp is never transparent. It also names failed moults as a common cause of death and links them to GH, KH and minerals that are out of balance, which is one more reason to keep the hardness steady.

Pair each sign with a first action

Treat copper as a hard limit: OATA says shrimp are very sensitive to it and even low levels can kill them. Practical Fishkeeping adds insecticides on new plants, nicotine, scented candles and flea sprays to the list of household dangers.

Keep Red Tigers apart from bee shrimp

Practical Fishkeeping explains that Caridina crosses do not revert to a brown wild form the way cherry shrimp do; instead, mixing produces new patterns. Its list of hobby forms includes the "Tibee", a tiger x bee cross, so tigers and bee shrimp can clearly breed together. If you want pure Red Tigers, give them their own tank.

Plan which shrimp share the tank

Browse every species in our Caridina shrimp category or the wider freshwater shrimp category to plan one line per tank.

Choose tank mates that leave shrimp alone

OATA's rule is to avoid any fish that can fit a shrimp in its mouth, and any predatory species. Practical Fishkeeping's Neocaridina FAQ, written for cherry shrimp but resting on the same size logic, calls Otocinclus the safest companions, even with newborn shrimp, and names smaller Corydoras and small plecs as possibly safe.

Screen companions with this table

See every invertebrate we keep in shrimps and crustaceans.

Breed Red Tigers in a mature tank

Tiger shrimp skip the free-swimming, feeding larval stage that Amano shrimp need. Wikipedia describes direct development, with a single non-feeding larval stage that already resembles the adult: after a gestation of about 30 days, the young are born at no more than 3 mm, already looking like small adults, and grow on through successive moults. Practical Fishkeeping notes that a moulting female releases scent that sets the males searching, and that young shrimp need nothing more than biofilm, or a little powdered spirulina as extra food.

Know the breeding timeline

To keep the colony a strong red, choose the reddest, most evenly banded adults as your breeders and move paler young to another tank. Never release shrimp or their young into ponds, streams or drains. Our freshwater shrimp buying guide compares the main shrimp groups if you are still choosing.

Answer Red Tiger Shrimp buying questions

Is the Red Tiger Shrimp a cherry shrimp?

No. Cherry shrimp are Neocaridina davidi. The Red Tiger is a Caridina, from the tiger shrimp group, so it prefers softer, more acidic water than cherry shrimp and will not interbreed with them.

What does "high grade" mean here?

It means these shrimp were selected for a deeper red and cleaner, darker banding than ordinary stock. There is no published grading standard for tiger shrimp, so judge by the photographs, which show the form.

Can I keep Red Tigers in hard tap water?

Not well. Practical Fishkeeping gives tiger and bee shrimp GH about 5 and KH 0–2. If your tap water is far harder, use RO water remineralised for shrimp, or choose cherry shrimp instead.

How many should I buy?

At least five, as OATA recommends for shrimp. A group settles better than one or two shrimp and is far more likely to contain both sexes for breeding.

Will they breed with my Crystal Red Bee Shrimp?

They can. Practical Fishkeeping lists tiger x bee hybrids among the Caridina forms in the hobby. Keep them in separate tanks if you want pure Red Tigers.

Do Red Tiger Shrimp need a heater?

Usually not in a heated room. The sources give 18–23°C or 18–24°C, so a small heater only helps if the room falls below about 18°C in winter.

How long does acclimatisation take?

Allow one to two hours. Drip tank water into the shipping water at one to two drops a second until the two waters match, as Practical Fishkeeping describes.

Do the babies need special food?

No. Wikipedia describes direct development: the young hatch looking like small adults after about 30 days of gestation and graze biofilm in a mature tank.

Consult the care references

• Seriously Fish: New shrimp from Hong Kong and southern China — the 2014 naming of the tiger shrimp, its wild habitat and the red mutation in an aquarium population.
• Klotz, W. & von Rintelen, T. (2014). To "bee" or not to be. Zootaxa 3889(2): 151–184 — the peer-reviewed description of Caridina mariae.
• Wikipedia: Caridina mariae — range, size, water values, direct development and gestation.
• Practical Fishkeeping: An introduction to shrimp — Caridina water values, shrimp soil, filtration, feeding, moulting, crossbreeding and breeding.
• Practical Fishkeeping: How to acclimatise your new fish or shrimp — the drip method for sensitive Caridina.
• Practical Fishkeeping: Review of Shrimp King salts — remineralising RO water and the values given for tiger shrimp.
• Practical Fishkeeping: Will my shrimp hybridise? — why Neocaridina and Caridina do not cross.
• Practical Fishkeeping: Frequently asked questions on Neocaridina shrimps — shrimp-safe tank mates.
• OATA: How to look after freshwater shrimp and snails — group size, tank size, feeding, maintenance, copper and health signs.