Blue Velvet Shrimp Care Guide - Setup, Feeding & Breeding

Blue Velvet Shrimp are small freshwater crustaceans prized for their rich blue coloration, which can range from translucent sky blue to deep navy depending on their genetic line, age and background. Their bodies are covered by a hard exoskeleton and equipped with delicate walking legs, swimming appendages and constantly moving mouthparts.

These shrimp spend much of their time grazing across plants, wood, rocks and the aquarium glass. They use fine appendages to collect algae, biofilm and tiny food particles, while their quick, jerky movements make them fascinating to watch in a planted aquarium.

In nature, Neocaridina davidi inhabit shallow freshwater streams, ponds and slow-moving waterways. They are commonly found among leaf litter, stones, aquatic plants and submerged roots, where their small size helps them avoid larger predators.

Blue Velvet Shrimp are peaceful scavengers rather than active schooling animals. They are a selectively developed colour morph, so offspring may show variation in shade and pattern, especially when mixed with other Neocaridina colour varieties.

Blue Velvet Shrimp are a selectively bred colour variety of Neocaridina davidi, a freshwater shrimp native to Taiwan and parts of southern China in East Asia. The blue colour does not represent a separate wild species.

A colony of Blue Velvet Shrimp should be kept in an established aquarium of at least 20 litres, with a footprint of roughly 30 by 30 cm or larger; a longer tank provides more grazing area. Use a fully cycled, stable setup with gentle filtration and a pre-filter sponge to protect shrimplets. Fine gravel or shrimp soil, live plants, moss, driftwood, rocks and leaf litter create grazing surfaces and shelter, while a covered aquarium helps prevent escapes.

Females reach up to about 3 cm (1.2 inches), while males are usually smaller at around 2–2.5 cm (0.8–1 inch).

Blue Velvet Shrimp graze naturally on algae, biofilm, microorganisms and decaying plant matter. Supplement this with a quality shrimp food containing minerals, occasional blanched vegetables such as courgette or spinach, and small amounts of sinking pellets or wafers. Feed sparingly, remove uneaten food promptly and provide a varied diet to support growth and moulting.

Blue Velvet Shrimp are suitable companions for peaceful, small species such as ember tetras, green neon tetras, celestial pearl danios, chili rasboras, pygmy corydoras, otocinclus and small snails. Most fish will eat newly hatched shrimplets if given the opportunity, and larger, boisterous or predatory species should be avoided. Do not house them with crayfish, freshwater crabs, aggressive loaches, bettas with a strong hunting instinct or other animals large enough to swallow them.

Blue Velvet Shrimp readily breed in a mature, stable aquarium when well fed and free from predators. Females develop a yellowish or greenish saddle behind the head before mating, then carry fertilised eggs beneath the abdomen for around three to four weeks. The eggs hatch as fully formed miniature shrimp, requiring no larval saltwater stage. Fine-leaved plants, moss and other surfaces provide valuable grazing and shelter for the young.

Females are generally larger and more robust, with a broader, curved abdomen for carrying eggs. They may also display a saddle-shaped ovary behind the head and usually have stronger colouration, although colour intensity is variable. Males are smaller, slimmer and often more translucent.