Sold out!

Crystal Black

R69.95

The Crystal Black Shrimp (scientifically known as Caridina cantonensis or Caridina cf. cantonensis) is a highly popular, selectively bred variety of dwarf freshwater bee shrimp. Prized by advanced hobbyists for their striking monochrome black and white patterns, they serve as eye-catching additions to nano and planted aquariums. Because they have been heavily inbred for specific coloration, they are sensitive to fluctuating conditions and require a meticulous approach to water chemistry, making them best suited for intermediate to experienced aquarists.

Out of stock

Brand: Saturn Shrimp

The Crystal Black Shrimp (scientifically known as Caridina cantonensis or Caridina cf. cantonensis) is a highly popular, selectively bred variety of dwarf freshwater bee shrimp. Prized by advanced hobbyists for their striking monochrome black and white patterns, they serve as eye-catching additions to nano and planted aquariums. Because they have been heavily inbred for specific coloration, they are sensitive to fluctuating conditions and require a meticulous approach to water chemistry, making them best suited for intermediate to experienced aquarists.

Water Parameter Requirements:

Water Source: Use pure Reverse Osmosis (RO) water remineralised with specialized GH+ minerals.
pH Range: 5.5 to 6.5 (requires an active buffering soil to keep pH acidic).
General Hardness (gH): 4 to 6.
Carbonate Hardness (kH): 0 to 1 (essential for preventing pH spikes).
Total Dissolved Solids (TDS): 120 to 140 ppm.
Temperature: 20°C to 24°C (requires a cooler to avoid heat stress in summer).

Tank Setup & Diet:

Substrate: Active buffering soil (like Shrimp King or Nature Soil) is mandatory to stabilize the acidic pH.
Aquascaping: Pack the tank with Java moss, driftwoods, and Cholla wood to promote the growth of natural biofilm, which is their primary food source.
Diet: Feed them high-quality powdered or pellet shrimp foods.

What water should we use?

We use reverse osmosis (RO) water in all our caridina species tanks. We add GH+ shrimp salts to each aquarium to create the perfect environment for each shrimp tank.
Some breeders in South Africa use borehole water that is free of heavy metals and copper. We have never tried this, but know for a fact Nature Boys, one of our affiliates, breeds caridina shrimp with great success by using borehole water.
Caridina shrimp do not survive well on tap water. We do not truly know what is in our tap water. Tap water also has KH in is to keep the pH stable which contradicts what we want to achieve with a caridina tank, which is to lower the pH

What should be included in a shrimp tank:

A sponge filter/a filter where the intake cannot suck up shrimplets.
Aqua soil/buffering substrate (Akadama, ADA Amazonia, Prodibio, Langa).
Driftwood/Cholla wood/lotus pods – These items all grow biofilm for the shrimp to eat and they release tannins which are beneficial to shrimp health.
Moss/plants
Botanicals – leaves, cones, cinnamon are the most popular. There are many more and prove to be essentials in shrimp tanks for the anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties

Tank maintenance:

Shrimp tanks require weekly/bi-weekly water changes of 10 – 15%.
The water must be prepared before being added back to the aquarium. Many shrimp keepers prepare water 24 hours in advance.
We believe that a shrimp tank does not need to be gravel vacuumed.
Check filter to make sure flow is optimal and when cleaning filters ALWAYS clean the filter media in the water you remove from the tank.

Caridina water parameters:

pH: 5,2 – 6,8
Temperature: 18 – 26°C
GH: 4 – 6
KH: 0 – 1 (max)
TDS: 100 – 180 (Keep an eye on GH measurements in tank more than TDS)

What are our parameters for Caridina shrimp?

pH: 5,8 – 6,5
Temperature: 18 – 22°C
GH: 5 – 6
KH: 0
TDS: 120 – 170

Acclimation of your shrimp:

We use the rule of three (3)

One part is their water that we send them in and 2 parts is your tank water.

Drip Acclimation Tools:

Small tupperware bowl or something similar
Plastic cup or aquarium airline hose
Scissors
Shrimp or fish net
Airline tubing

Removing Shrimp from the Bag:

If you received your shrimp in a breather bag you’ll want to place the bag directly inside the tupperware. Make sure to not pour the shrimp out because they may get stuck inside the bag.

With your scissors, cut the side of the bag, starting from the top. This will let the water pour out the bag and the bag will remain inside the bowl with the shrimp.
Carefully remove the shrimp that remained behind in the bag. You can also dip the bag in the water to achieve this.
Your shrimp should now be inside the tupperware.

Using airline tubing to acclimate:

Allow water to drip into the tupperware with shrimp at 2 – 3 drops per second. Apply the rule of 3 here, One part existing water from shrimp bag and 2 parts your existing tank water. Dripping should take 1 hour to complete. We believe that dripping shrimp for hours on end creates more stress and can harm your newly purchased critters.
Once the water in the tupperware is mainly tank water you can safely introduce your shrimp to your tank.
We have had a 100% success rate with the above method.

We ship directly to your door via The Courier Guy*
Livestock will only be shipped Monday – Wednesday.
- All livestock are shipped overnight
We cover DOA (Death on Arrival) for all livestock with an appropriate reason and evidence
- For more information, please contact us at sales@saturnshrimp.co.za for more information.
The Courier Guy have been instructed to not to leave any parcels at your gate or in front of your house, if they do, please report this immediately.
Courier costs are approximate until finalized with the courier.