Sunkist Orange Shrimp
Scientific Name: Neocaridina Davidi “Orange”
Genus: Neocaridina
Wild Origin: Asia
Adult Size: 1.25in
The Orange Sunshine Shrimp is a color variant of the Cherry Red Shrimp. Orange Sunshine were created by selecting the fun orange coloration, and have become a very stable line. Orange Sunshine Shrimp are consistently bright orange, with slight variations in tone from yellow-orange to red-orange.
Orange Sunshine Shrimp are tolerant to a fairly wide range of water parameters, making them excellent for pairing with other species. As long as the shrimp are acclimated properly to your chosen parameters and are not subjected to extreme changes in temperature or acidity, they are adaptable and resilient. They are tolerant to both soft or hard water. The ideal water parameters are 70°-85° F with 7 to 7.5 pH. However, you may keep them outside of these parameters as long as the shrimp are protected from extreme or frequent fluctuations.
- These are tank-raised specimen
- Bright, bold color and pattern
- Shrimp are excellent scavengers and will happily feed on biofilm, decaying plant matter, and algae
- Diet
Algae, biofilm, diatoms, decaying plant matter, spirulina powder, bee pollen, plant-based shrimp pellets/wafers, blanched vegetables
Sexing Sunkist Orange Shrimp can be somewhat difficult until the shrimp begin to mature. Females have slightly larger tails and display a “saddle” formation on the upper body, behind the head, where eggs are stored before fertilization. When female shrimp are “berried”, or have eggs ready for fertilization, the saddle shape will appear more prominent. Once the shrimp are fully-grown the males will be smaller than the females.
Sunkist Orange Shrimp are eager breeders given comfortable water parameters and a sufficient food source. Once the shrimp reach maturity, and if there are males and females present, they should breed naturally and frequently. It is recommended to purchase 8-10 shrimp to ensure that there are enough male-female pairs for successful breeding.
When female shrimp have eggs available for fertilization, they will molt and release pheromones that the male shrimp respond to with frenzy. Once the shrimp breed, the eggs will gestate for about 2 weeks. The shrimp fry will feed from the same food sources as adult shrimp and will molt frequently during their early life stages. Leave molted shells in the tank, as the shrimp fry will consume them for extra minerals like calcium that will help their growth.
Keep in mind that if you are keeping shrimp with other species of fish, or possibly aggressive shrimp species, this may affect reproduction. If the shrimp feel threatened or don’t have places in your tank to hide they may not breed. Be careful with Sunkist Orange Shrimp!