After the first species of Sulawesi invertebrates moved into the tanks behind the scenes of Ostrava Zoo in early March 2022, we could observe the usual scenario: shrimps often hide under the rocks. Caridina dennerli is easily recognizable by her "dancing white socks". Caridina caerulea (also known by the trade name "Blue Leg Poso") is far less shy and quickly began using the entire tank for foraging.
We have noticed frequent molting in both shrimp tanks and two casualities among Caridina caerulea, apparently related to molting. Not a single Caridina dennerli has died, or at least none we found – this is a shy species but seems quite comfortable in its tank.
After about a month we noticed the first berried female of Caridina caerulea, another one came later. These shrimps carry their eggs for almost three weeks, and it's difficult to spot the tiny shrimplets once they've been released. We have many hiding places in the aquarium, so it took several weeks before we could actually confirm successful breeding. Suddenly there are baby shrimps everywhere :-). In the meantime, the first berried Caridina dennerli has been sighted.
Our tanks are kept at 28-29ºC with a pH of 8.5. We fed sparingly in the beginning due to the abundant biofilm and low numbers of shrimps, later we added more snails and started feeding more consistently. But more about the snails (and feeding) later!
Markéta Rejlková
