Red Onyx
Neocaridina davidi
The matt, dark red coloring makes the Red Onyx shrimp something very special.
- black and rusty red in color
- easy to maintain
- prolific
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Important data
Product description & details
The Red Onyx shrimp is a highly bred form from the shrimp breeder “Skyfish” from Taiwan. It belongs to the species Neocaridina davidi, which originally comes from Asia and occurs in Taiwan, China and Korea. In order to keep this shrimp pure dark red, a lot of selection work is still required. In low light it appears almost black, so the light should be a little stronger to see the matt dark red.
Care in the aquarium
The Red Onyx shrimp is a robust and undemanding species that can be kept in an aquarium of 10 liters or more. It prefers clean and well-filtered water. Due to its ability to adapt to a wide range of water parameters, it is ideal for keeping in soft to hard tap water as well as in remineralized osmosis water. What is particularly important is that the temperature of the water does not exceed 26°C for long periods of time, even in summer. In order for this sociable dwarf shrimp to feel safe, it should be kept in a group of at least 10 animals and in a well-planted aquarium. The plants, but also roots, stone structures or shrimp tubes offer it protection and places of retreat. The nature of the substrate is of secondary importance for the shrimp, but it performs best on dark substrate. The Red Onyx can be socialized well with snails, but also with peaceful, small fish.
Feeding
As a classic leftover recycler, the Red Onyx shrimp feeds on biofilm and algae growth as well as detritus (dead plant material, carrion, leftover food). In the aquarium it can be fed with special types of shrimp food, leaves, algae powder and occasionally frozen food. Feed containing astaxanthin, but also nettle leaves, additionally support the color of the Red Onyx. Ideally, there are always brown autumn leaves in the aquarium, which represent ideal permanent food for the animals.
Sexual characteristics and breeding
Sex determination is usually not possible in young animals, but only in sexually mature animals. Juveniles and males have a narrower underside of the abdomen, while sexually mature females have a wider underside that covers the swimming legs like a “skirt”. This widening of the abdomen serves to protect the eggs, which the female carries and cares between her swimming legs until they hatch. As with most dwarf shrimp, female Red Onyx adults are slightly larger than males and are usually more opaque in color. All Neocaridina shrimp reproduce in fresh water and breeding in the aquarium is usually easy. After being berried for around 3 to 4 weeks, the female releases around 20-30 fully developed, transparent shrimplets, which initially feed on microorganisms present in the aquarium and can be fed with dust food.