Family: Atyidae
Chocolate Shrimp — the deep opaque brown morph of Neocaridina davidi from early-2000s Taiwan lines, and the ancestor stock of blue dream and black rose. Reaches 2-2.5 cm, easy care at 18-26 °C, breeds freely in freshwater.
Chocolate Shrimp is the rich brown morph of Neocaridina davidi that Taiwan breeders stabilized in the early 2000s from darker wild-type individuals — the same foundation stock that later produced blue dream, black rose and other dark lines, which is why chocolate tanks occasionally surprise their owner with blue or black offspring. The best chocolates are a deep, warm, fully opaque brown, darker toward the back and tail, reading almost like tiny chestnuts moving over the substrate. As always with this species the care is simple: 2-2.5 cm of shrimp at 18-26 °C, pH anywhere from 6.5 to 8.0, moderate hardness, and a tank matured enough to grow the biofilm it grazes all day. It is an excellent choice for aquarists who find the bright cherry colors gaudy — the chocolate tone suits natural, wood-heavy biotope scapes. Breeding is the standard N. davidi routine: a three-week egg carry in freshwater, miniature hatchlings, no special feeding beyond fine powder in a mature system. Keep it away from other colors and it stays true.
Beginner-friendly. Extremely peaceful; groups of 10 or more.
Set the heater to 18–26 °C and avoid swings. pH 6.5–8, GH 6–15 dGH suit it.
Full size is 2–2.5 cm. Minimum tank: 20 L, with open swimming space along its bottom — grazing plants and hardscape habits.
Algae and biofilm grazer; color foods keep hues intense. Feed two small meals a day rather than one large one.
Extremely peaceful; groups of 10 or more. Good company: Other dark Neocaridina lines — Blues and blacks descend from chocolate — expect sport offspring, Small peaceful community fish — Adults safe; moss for babies, Otocinclus catfish — Calm tankmate with identical needs. Keep away from Bright N. davidi colors — Crosses muddy both lines, Copper-based medications — Lethal to all invertebrates, Large-mouthed fish — Active shrimp hunters.
Native to Selective-bred form of the East Asian Neocaridina, where it lives in any stable freshwater community aquarium. Gentle current; Moderate oxygen.
Standard N. davidi freshwater breeding — the female molts, mates, then fans 20-30 eggs for about three weeks. Because chocolate is a foundation dark line, some offspring emerge blue or black; breeders either cull or separate them.. Females are deeper-bodied with a darker saddle; males smaller, slimmer and lighter brown..