Quick care card
Use this card as a starting point. Always check whether your aquarium is stable enough for sensitive species.
Difficulty
Easy
Behavior
Grazes surfaces; shelter remains necessary.
Feeding
Check added food and food on grazing surfaces.
Breeding
Freshwater development; colour consistency is not guaranteed.
Best match
Keepers able to follow the selected strain and colony
Important
Colour is not a health test. During sudden behavioural change or losses, first check water quality, oxygen provision and recent additions.
Care in practice
The colour form has no separately established water recipe. Use supported Neocaridina husbandry guidance and compare conditions with the offered stock. A trade name or colour grade does not establish extra tolerance.
Background and identification
Comparing a dark appearance
The existing dark-brown to deep-black description remains useful. A brown, red or blue impression under different light does not automatically indicate another species. Compare mature animals under the same light and ask about colour variation among young.
Chocolate and Black Rose can overlap in appearance. Sellers may use the names differently; record what is actually offered. Dark coverage does not establish health, and a lighter offspring is not a disposable animal. Colour selection requires suitable housing for animals outside the chosen appearance too.
For full care, use the Neocaridina davidi profile. Check water, filtration, food access and space for the colony before buying.
Sources and review
Sources for accepted names, classification and synonyms.
- UF/IFAS: Cherry shrimp, Neocaridina davidi
Identity, direct freshwater development, grazing and colour forms; laboratory timing is not promised for every aquarium.
Sources for water values, temperature and stable care.
- Aquarium Co-Op: Cherry shrimp care
Own husbandry guidance and tankmate experience. Its 22-24 C, pH 6.5-8.5, GH at least 6 and KH at least 2 are attributed practice guidance, not experimentally proven universal safe limits. No guaranteed sex ratio, mandatory mineral addition or fish safety adopted.
Practical sources for setup, feeding, behavior and breeding.
- Philipp Well: Chocolate Sakura
Brown to nearly black appearance, possible dorsal stripe and red tones. Reported colour-line relationships are hobby accounts, not genetic proof or guaranteed crosses.
- Garnelenhaus: Neocaridina colour lines and reported crosses
Named hobby breeding observations, including variable offspring. No universal Mendelian ratios, guaranteed line purity or certainty of mixed-species ancestry adopted.