Skip to content
underwatergreen
Menu

Species profile

Red Galaxy Caridina Shrimp

Caridina spp.

Common names: Red Galaxy Caridina Shrimp, Red Galaxy Shrimp, Red Galaxy Fishbone Shrimp

Pattern varietyCaridina Shrimp
Red Galaxy Caridina Shrimp (Caridina spp.)

Adult size

Up to 3 cm

Typical adult length 2–3 cm.

Up to 3 cm

Good fit for your tank?

Good fit for

  • A selective-breeding project focused on red body coverage, galaxy spots on the head, and a clean fishbone or Pinto-style back pattern.
  • A stable soft-water aquarium with removable moss and hardscape that allows individual shrimp to be inspected and sorted.
  • An advanced keeper who enjoys genetic variety and does not need every shrimp in the colony to match.

Think carefully if

  • You are buying a small juvenile based only on a promised grade. Galaxy spots and red coverage can change as the shrimp matures.
  • You expect two attractive parents to produce only high-grade young. Pattern quality can spread widely in the next generation.
  • You will house them with unrelated red Caridina and still want to sell the offspring as a maintained Red Galaxy line.

A selectively bred red Galaxy Caridina line displaying dense white spotting and complex patterning.

Appearance and Identification

Red base colour with white galaxy-like spotting, head markings, and variable body pattern coverage.

Red Galaxy is an aquarium-trade pattern line rather than a recognized species. Stocks may combine Taiwan Bee, Pinto, and Tiger ancestry, so a single species assignment is not reliable.

Adult females are generally larger and deeper-bodied than males. Colour and pattern intensity are not reliable sex indicators.

Tank Requirements

Suggested filter
About 80–100 litres an hour
Suggested heater
About 25–50 W for this tank
Minimum tank volume
20 litres
Minimum tank length
30 cm
Minimum group size
6
Recommended group size
10
Activity level
Moderate
Flow preference
Low to moderate
Planting preference
Heavily planted
Hiding places
Yes
Lid recommended
Yes
Jumping risk
Low

Use a mature, cycled aquarium with active substrate or another stable soft-water setup, gentle filtration, abundant biofilm, mosses, leaf litter, and protected filter intakes.

Behaviour and Tankmates

Peaceful dwarf shrimp that graze biofilm, algae, detritus, leaf litter, and prepared foods.

Best maintained in a group with other compatible Caridina lines sharing the same water requirements.

Not normally territorial.

Peaceful community fish may still eat shrimplets. Keep breeding colonies in shrimp-focused aquariums. Different compatible Caridina lines may interbreed and alter colour or pattern outcomes.

Check tankmates for this species

Water Parameters

Temperature
20–23 °C
pH
5.5–6.5
GH
4–6
KH
0–1
TDS
90–140
Stability importance
Very important

Use remineralized reverse-osmosis water and an active substrate. Keep hardness and dissolved solids stable, and avoid abrupt water changes.

Parameter caveat
Stability matters more than chasing a single number. Avoid abrupt changes in temperature, pH, GH, KH, or total dissolved solids.

Feeding

Diet types
Aufwuchs Grazer, Detritivore, Omnivore
Feeding frequency
Daily
Preferred foods
  • Mature biofilmPrimary natural grazing resource.
  • Complete dwarf-shrimp foodFeed sparingly and remove uneaten food.
  • Leaf litterProvides grazing area and slowly decomposing natural food.

Omnivorous biofilm grazer. Provide mature natural grazing surfaces and small portions of complete shrimp food, leaf litter, algae-based food, and occasional protein-rich food.

Avoid overfeeding. A mature aquarium with continuous biofilm is more important than heavy supplemental feeding.

Breeding

Breeding type
Direct Developer
Breeding difficulty
Moderate
Breeding temperature
22 °C
Breeding pH
6.2
Brood or egg count
Approximately 15–30 eggs, varying with female size and line
Incubation
28 days
Parental care
Maternal care
Baby foods
  • Mature biofilm and fine powdered shrimp foodShrimplets need constant access to microscopic food on established surfaces.

Direct-developing freshwater shrimp. Females carry eggs beneath the abdomen and release miniature shrimplets. Line purity and pattern consistency depend on selecting breeders and preventing unwanted crosses.

Habitat and Origin

Geographic origin
Captive Bred
Natural habitat
Freshwater Stream
Aquarium contexts
Breeding Aquarium, Planted Tank, Shrimp Tank
Audience level
Advanced, Intermediate

Classification

Profile type
Pattern variety
Genus
Caridina
Family
Atyidae
Species group
Caridina Shrimp

Have you kept this species?

You can write a note about what worked for you, or send a photograph. We check everything before it appears here.

Share a note or photo

JPG, PNG, or WebP, up to 5 MB.

Red Pinto Caridina Shrimp

Caridina spp.

Care level
Intermediate
Adult size
2–3 cm
Minimum tank
20 litres
Temperature
20–23 °C

Santa Caridina Shrimp

Caridina spp.

Care level
Intermediate
Adult size
2–3 cm
Minimum tank
20 litres
Temperature
20–23 °C

Shadow Panda Shrimp

Caridina logemanni

Care level
Intermediate
Adult size
2–3 cm
Minimum tank
20 litres
Temperature
19–24 °C

Plan it with our tools