Quick care card
Use this card as a starting point. Always check whether your aquarium is stable enough for sensitive species.
Difficulty
Expert
Behavior
Grazes on and between hard surfaces and uses shelter.
Feeding
Accessible grazing surfaces plus suitable added food; check uptake.
Breeding
Freshwater offspring are reported; eggs alone do not establish successful rearing.
Best match
Keepers able to maintain a warm-water system and food access consistently
Important
Do not apply an automatic bee recipe. During sudden losses, water quality and oxygen provision take priority over sticking to a fixed small water change.
Care in practice
Choose a suitable warm, alkaline husbandry system and record source water, minerals, temperature, GH, KH, pH and conductivity. A Sulawesi product label does not guarantee fixed composition or pH. Mix replacement water outside the aquarium following instructions; remove any added CO2 before use. Do not set a TDS target without knowing meter units and conversion factor.
Provide secure rocks with accessible grazing surfaces, crevices and room to inspect debris. Choose volume and filtration for the adult group and maintenance. Active acid buffering may conflict with the selected alkaline system. Check that filtration processes the load and that surfaces supply food; one zero reading or an elapsed number of weeks is insufficient.
Check whether suitable fine food reaches occupied grazing locations. Existing biofilm does not prove complete nutrition. Adjust additions to uptake, leftovers and readings; both inadequate feeding and accumulating food deserve attention. Avoid stripping every surface at once, while removing obvious decay and troublesome waste accumulation.
Observe at quiet times and record changes in numbers and behaviour. The species description records animals on and beneath rocks. Hiding alone is not a diagnosis; sudden change also calls for checks of water, temperature and recent additions. We give no experimentally established minimum group size.
A species tank simplifies observation and feeding management. Add other animals only when water, space and nutrition genuinely fit. Fish may eat young; a Sulawesi label on a snail or shrimp does not establish compatibility.
Hobby sources describe freshwater rearing. This is not the Amano route of separately raising larvae in saline water. Follow whether juveniles reach food and continue growing; protect intakes and check collected material during maintenance. Avoid unnecessarily moving egg-carrying animals or blindly changing food quantity.
Buying before the water system is ready; relying solely on a trade name; equating one meter reading with full water quality; adding minerals to every evaporation top-up; underfeeding out of fear of waste; waiting during sudden losses.
Background and identification
The original description places C. dennerli exclusively in Lake Matano, on and among rocks. In 2024 Sulawesi Keepers reported surviving localities and pressure from invasive fish. This is a dated field report, not a new ShrimpCent survey. Ask for documented captive breeding and stock origin when purchasing.
The dark red to purple body carries white spots; the front feeding appendages stand out in white. This pattern fits Cardinal rather than the yellow or orange accents of C. spinata. Colour change alone does not establish disease or a new strain.
C. dennerli comes from Matano; C. spinata and C. woltereckae were described from Towuti. White Glove or White Sock may refer to Cardinal in trade. Use species name, pattern and reliable origin information together. All three belong to Caridina without automatically sharing care limits.
A husbandry example is not a safe limit
In Practical Fishkeeping, Gabor Horvath describes his own Sulawesi setup at 27-28 °C, GH 7 and pH 8.4. He also reports losses. These figures are an accountable example, not a proven optimum or lower and upper limits for every animal. Compare the entire system and the offered group before buying.
Use the Cardinal preparation route and the mineral-product comparison. Our “specialist” judgement refers to additional care tasks, not a measured difficulty score.
Sources and review
Sources for accepted names, classification and synonyms.
- von Rintelen & Cai (2009): Caridina dennerli, habitat and colour
Original taxonomic treatment, continuation on pp. 355-359: Lake Matano endemic, rock substrate, dark red/purple body, white spots and chelipeds. Field habitat is not an aquarium tolerance experiment.
Sources for water values, temperature and stable care.
- Gabor Horvath: The jewels of Sulawesi
First-person account of a mixed Sulawesi setup, including failures. The recorded 27-28 C, GH 7 and pH 8.4 are one setup, not safe limits or proof of an optimal recipe. Loss predictions, cosmetics-grade additions, live-fish snail control and fixed acclimation/feeding rules are not adopted.
- SaltyShrimp: Sulawesi Mineral 7.5 instructions
Own product: easier dissolution, stated pH around 7.5 and KH/GH ratio 0.42. Preparation outside aquarium. Product statements are not independent proof of breeding success or disease prevention.
- SaltyShrimp: Sulawesi Mineral 8.5 instructions
Own product: stated pH around 8.5, KH/GH ratio 0.78, extra dissolution and subsequent CO2 removal outside aquarium. No antimicrobial claim, universal dosing, or guaranteed lake-water equivalence adopted.
Practical sources for setup, feeding, behavior and breeding.
- Garnelenhaus: Sulawesi-Kardinalsgarnele
Field observations and husbandry for Caridina dennerli; does not describe all shrimp from Sulawesi.
- Markéta Rejlková, Sulawesi Keepers: Caridina dennerli in 2024
First-person expedition report: surviving locations and threats in Lake Matano. The dated report is not a claim of current extinction status or a new site visit by ShrimpCent.
- UF/IFAS: Ammonia in Aquatic Systems
Nitrogen chemistry and biological filtration; fish thresholds are not used as shrimp thresholds.
- UF/IFAS: Dissolved Oxygen for Fish Production
Gas exchange, respiration, organic oxygen demand and aeration. Fish concentration thresholds and outdoor-pond operating schedules are not transferred to shrimp aquaria.