Product Details

Emerald Green Shrimp – Neocaridina spp.

The Emerald Green Shrimp is a peaceful dwarf freshwater shrimp selected for attractive green colour, ranging from clear jade to richer emerald or moss-green tones. As a Neocaridina shrimp, it is generally hardy compared with specialist soft-water shrimp, but it still needs a mature, stable aquarium with clean water, grazing surfaces and shrimp-safe tank mates. It is ideal for planted nano aquariums, shrimp colonies and calm community tanks where its colour can stand out against dark substrate and green planting.

Key Identification:

Common Name: Emerald Green Shrimp
Other Names: Green Jade Shrimp, Jade Green Shrimp, Emerald Jade Shrimp, Green Neocaridina
Scientific Name: Neocaridina spp., usually Neocaridina davidi colour strain
Invertebrate Type: Dwarf Freshwater Shrimp
Water Type: Freshwater

Natural Range & Habitat:

Emerald Green Shrimp are captive-bred aquarium strains and do not occur as a natural wild population. The domestic shrimp behind most colour morphs is usually Neocaridina davidi, a small freshwater shrimp native to parts of East Asia, including China, Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam. It has been moved worldwide through the aquarium trade, so unwanted shrimp must never be released outdoors.

In the aquarium, they thrive in mature planted setups with mosses, fine plants, leaf litter, wood, biofilm and gentle filtration. These surfaces provide grazing, shelter and cover for moulting shrimp and shrimplets.

Appearance & Adult Size:

Emerald Green Shrimp have the typical small, curved dwarf-shrimp body shape with long antennae and delicate walking legs. Colour can vary between individuals, from translucent green to deeper jade, moss or emerald tones. Females are usually larger, deeper-bodied and more strongly coloured than males, while males may appear slimmer and paler.

Adults usually reach around 2–3 cm, with large females sometimes slightly bigger. Green Jade-type Neocaridina davidi are commonly described at around 2–3 cm, with colour and transparency varying by grade, age, sex, background and stress level.

Aquarium Suitability:

This shrimp is well suited to planted nano aquariums, shrimp-only colonies and peaceful community tanks with gentle fish. A mature aquarium is important because shrimp graze constantly on biofilm, algae films and fine organic growth. Sponge filters or protected filter intakes are strongly recommended, as tiny shrimplets can be drawn into unprotected filtration.

They are not suitable for immature tanks, copper-treated aquariums, aggressive fish communities, or tanks with loaches, puffers, crayfish, large cichlids or other shrimp-eating animals.

Recommended Aquarium Size:

A practical minimum is 20–30 litres for a small colony, with 40 litres or more preferred for greater stability. Although the shrimp are small, stable water is much easier to maintain in a larger aquarium, and a larger tank provides more grazing surface for a growing colony.

Water Conditions:

Temperature: 18–25°C
pH: 6.5–8.0
Hardness: Moderately soft to hard; GH and KH should be present for healthy moulting
Additional Notes: Stability is more important than chasing exact numbers. General Neocaridina care guidance commonly recommends a cycled aquarium with mineral content present, with one shrimp-care reference giving ideal targets around GH 9–11, KH 4–6 and pH 7.0–7.6. Avoid ammonia, nitrite, sudden TDS swings, copper, aerosol contamination and large rushed water changes.

Temperament & Tank Mates:

Aquarium Category: Community Invertebrate

Emerald Green Shrimp are peaceful and safe with plants, snails and other gentle invertebrates. Suitable tank mates include nerite snails, ramshorn snails, small peaceful rasboras, tiny tetras, Otocinclus and other calm micro fish, though breeding success is best in a shrimp-only aquarium.

Avoid pufferfish, loaches, angelfish, large tetras, cichlids, bettas that hunt shrimp, crayfish, crabs and any fish large enough to pick off adults or shrimplets. Adult shrimp may survive with small fish, but baby shrimp are likely to be eaten in many community aquariums. Keep in groups, ideally 10 or more, so they settle, graze and breed naturally.

Feeding:

Emerald Green Shrimp are omnivorous grazers. They feed throughout the day on biofilm, soft algae, aufwuchs, detritus and fine organic matter. Supplement with quality shrimp pellets, algae wafers, spirulina foods, blanched courgette, spinach, nettle, mulberry leaves, Indian almond leaves and powdered baby shrimp foods.

Feed lightly. Overfeeding is a common cause of poor water quality, moulting problems and colony losses. Remove uneaten vegetable foods before they spoil.

Behaviour in the Aquarium:

This is an active grazing shrimp that spends much of its time picking over moss, plants, substrate, wood, glass and filter sponges. Healthy shrimp moult as they grow and may hide briefly while the new shell hardens. Females carry eggs beneath the body until fully formed shrimplets hatch, with no brackish larval stage needed in normal freshwater aquarium care. Neocaridina davidi is widely kept and selectively bred into many colours, including green, blue, red, yellow and other strains.

Care Notes:

Add only to a mature, fully cycled aquarium. Drip acclimation is strongly recommended, especially when moving shrimp between water with different TDS or hardness. Avoid copper medications, non-shrimp-safe plant treatments, pest snail killers and sudden large water changes. Provide mineral content for healthy moulting and plenty of hiding places after moults. Do not mix different Neocaridina colour strains if you want to preserve the Emerald Green line, as interbreeding can produce mixed or wild-type offspring; green strain sources also note that mixed colour breeding can reduce colour quality.

Recommended For:

Beginner to intermediate

Availability:

Common to occasional / Captive-bred colour strain

Image Disclaimer:

All images are a visual representation of the shrimp you will receive, made to be as accurate as possible. Natural variation in size, green shade, colour depth, transparency, grade and markings can occur between individual shrimp.