Keeping tiger shrimp: which Tiger and which water?

Start with the identity of the offered animals. The described tiger shrimp Caridina mariae comes from Guangdong in southern China. Not every shrimp sold with “Tiger” in its name is automatically established as C. mariae. A colour strain, a hybrid and a species name mean different things.

Why origin matters

The original C. mariae description records localities in Guangdong. The description of the bee shrimp C. logemanni records Hong Kong. Some hobby accounts confuse these origins. We follow the original species descriptions here without converting their habitat measurements into mandatory aquarium readings.

Ask further about Blue Tiger, OEBT and Red Tiger

• Which scientific identification does the supplier use, and on what basis?
• Is this a separately maintained colour strain, or have other Caridina lines been crossed into it?
• What GH, KH, pH and temperature are measured, and how is replacement water prepared?
• Does the breeder use active or inert substrate, and are juveniles raised in the same system?

If that information is missing, an expensive name does not make the choice more reliable. Prefer a clearly described group whose conditions you can responsibly prepare. Keep unknown groups separate during selection to avoid immediately losing ancestry information.

Do not apply an automatic bee recipe

Garnelenhaus describes tiger husbandry across softer and more mineralised conditions than one narrow bee recipe. This does not prove that every strain tolerates all listed extremes. Compare the actual group, appropriate husbandry advice and your own water. The genus Caridina alone does not require RO, zero KH or active substrate.

Use the water-choice guide to distinguish hardness, buffering and conductivity. Match source water and substrate before purchase. Established filtration, grazing space and accessible food remain necessary whatever Tiger name appears on the label.

Sources and scope

• Klotz and von Rintelen (2014): Caridina mariae
• Garnelenhaus: Tigergarnele
• Klotz and von Rintelen (2014): Caridina logemanni
• SRAC 464: Interactions of pH, Carbon Dioxide, Alkalinity and Hardness

Original descriptions distinguish C. mariae and C. logemanni. Garnelenhaus supplies practical husbandry context. Commercial identification remains uncertain without reliable information about the offered animals; habitat readings are not aquarium limits.