Family: Atyidae
Orange Shrimp (Sunkist) — a saturated tangerine morph of Neocaridina davidi. Reaches 2-2.5 cm, thrives at 18-26 °C in stable freshwater, and breeds freely; keep colors separated because all Neocaridina morphs interbreed.
Orange Shrimp, known in Asia as the Sunkist morph, is a bright tangerine selection of Neocaridina davidi bred from the same Taiwanese and Japanese lines that produced the red cherry. The orange grade is surprisingly recent — dedicated orange lines only stabilized in the early 2000s — and good specimens show a saturated, opaque orange over the entire body with no wild-type banding. It reaches 2-2.5 cm, grazes biofilm continuously, and shares the species' famous tolerance: 18-26 °C, pH 6.5-8.0 and moderate hardness all suit it. In the aquarium it is an active daytime cleaner that works moss, wood and leaf litter, and it breeds as readily as the red form — females carry 20-30 eggs and the young hatch as miniature adults. A group of ten or more will establish quickly; just keep colors separated, because all N. davidi morphs interbreed and mixed colonies drift back toward the wild brown form within a few generations.
Rated easy — extremely peaceful.
Set the heater to 18–26 °C and avoid swings. pH 6.5–8, GH 6–15 dGH suit it.
Expect 2–2.5 cm as an adult, living bottom — grazing plants and hardscape. A 20 L tank or larger gives it room.
Algae and biofilm grazer; color foods keep hues intense. It forages naturally over fine inert gravel or shrimp-safe sand, so let some food reach the bottom.
Yes, with care. Extremely peaceful — pair it with Other Neocaridina davidi morphs — Interbreed — keep one color per tank for pure lines, Small peaceful community fish — Adults survive; provide moss for shrimplets, Otocinclus and small plecos — Peaceful algae crew with identical water needs and skip Copper-based medications — Lethal to all invertebrates, Large-mouthed fish — Angelfish, gouramis and cichlids will eat shrimp, Different N. davidi colors — Cross-breeding produces drab wild-type offspring.
Native to Selective-bred form of the East Asian Neocaridina, where it lives in any stable freshwater community aquarium. Gentle current; Moderate oxygen.
In the aquarium: breeds continuously in freshwater. The female molts, releases pheromones to attract males, then carries 20-30 orange-green eggs under her abdomen for roughly three weeks. Free-swimming larval stage absent — hatchlings are miniature adults feeding on biofilm and fine powder.. Females grow larger and deeper with a bright orange saddle visible before spawning; males are slimmer, smaller and noticeably paler..