Blue Velvets

Hello Everyone!!

Just wanted to give a quick update on what's been going on with me and my shrimps.  Since I might be moving soon, I decided that it might be a bad idea to set up new 15 gallon tanks.  The Blue Velvets I bought  2 months ago have been doing extremely well.  As a member of the Neocaridina family, these guys are extremely prolific.  I would still recommend starting a colony with at least 10 shrimps for those who are new but thinking about jumping into the hobby of dwarf shrimp keeping.  Starting a colony with 10 will give a good ratio of males and females.  My 10 gallon is currently scattered with juveniles Blue Velvets swimming around.  Pretty exciting stuff!

I noticed juvenile Blue Velvets demonstrating darker blue coloration when compared to the fully grown adults. Some are transparent blue, while others are blackish blue.  Regardless, consistency in color is amazing!  Blue Velvets seems to be a very stable strain of neocaridina mutation.  The original breeder did a great job selectively breeding and stabilizing the color within this morph.  Since I currently do not have the proper camera equipment to properly display the true beauty of these guys, I am using a picture taken by my supplier.  Speedie, Nick, is relatively new to the shrimping hobby, but he is quickly ascending the ranks among shrimping experts!  His amazing skills with a camera have provided this hobby with some of the most strikingly beautiful shrimp pictures available anywhere!  This is as close as I can ever attempt to show how amazing Blue Velvets can really be.  Notice the coloration of the shrimp's exterior shell.  The blueish striping pattern on its back, the semi transparent blueish color, and its greenish inner head! This is a pattern distinctly unique to Blue Velvets. Also, notice this female's beautiful greenish eggs.  

Blue Velvets are slowly becoming one of my favorite Neocaridina species, along with Taiwan Fire Reds, and and Snowballs.  Caring for Blue Velvets isn't any more difficult than keeping any other Neocaridinas.  They prefer harder water, but will do fine in softer acidic water.  Like any living creature, stability is key!  Young shrimplets are more sturdy than adults.  They are more tolerant of water parameter changes and so they will be more forgiving for novice shrimp keepers.

Ideal Parameters:
pH: 6.4-7.4
kH: 0-10
gH: 4-14
TDS: 100-300
Temp: 68-82