Descripción

The cardinal shrimp is one of the most spectacular there is: deep red flecked with white dots, with white front legs it waves constantly while feeding. It is also the one that breaks every rule of the genus: where bee shrimp want soft, acidic water, this one needs the exact opposite, warm and alkaline at low conductivity. Housing it with Crystal Red condemns one of the two. It only makes sense in a dedicated Sulawesi biotope tank, and even then it is a shrimp for experienced keepers.
Scientific name
Caridina dennerli
Difficulty
Hard

Hábitat

It is endemic to Lake Matano in Sulawesi, an ancient lake of warm, strongly alkaline yet mineral-poor water, an unusual combination that is hard to reproduce. It needs high sustained temperature, rocks to graze biofilm from and near-absolute stability: it is the species in the genus that copes worst with any fluctuation.

🌊 Water parameters

pH
7.5 - 8.5
GH
4 - 8
Temperature
27 - 30 °C
Current
Low or moderate