This interesting and exotic looking shrimp can be found wild in many freshwater bodies of water in southern china. There are many variations of the Tiger Species, both wild and bred strains. So many in fact that it comes in many beautiful colors, and variations – just like how Cherry shrimp can come in many different colors. The most common wild variation is a clear body with black stripes, sometimes with a hint of orange on the head and the tail. The bred color variations are quickly gaining in popularity as well. Some examples of these variations are; Blue Tigers, Orange Eye Blue Tigers, Orange Eye Black Tigers, Tangerine Tigers, Red Tigers, White Tigers, Super Tigers and Royal Blue Tigers.
Juveniles will be around 1-2mm big while adults will be around 3cm more or less. Juveniles are also born plain without stripes and develop them quickly while they grow larger. Females and males look very similar except for the fact that females will have a rounder appearance in their ‘bellies’. This is their undercarriage where they will carry their eggs. They can produce around 20-25 babies every 3-4 weeks if the water parameters are ideal.
They can breed with other Caridinas such as bumblebees and crystals. If this is not your intention and you want to keep your strains separate its best to keep them in separate tanks. They will not breed with Neocaridinas so keeping them with cherries and others of these species is ok. It also gives a great variety of color in a tank. However, as a guideline if you are keeping any type of shrimp for breeding purposes its best to isolate the species in order to not overcrowd a tank.
These are a bit more complicated to keep compared to Cherry Shrimp (which are the ideal beginner shrimp) because they are a little bit more sensitive to water parameters especially when it comes to breeding. You will need a minimum of a 5 Gallon tank if you are a starter to the Caridina Cantonesis species. It’s critical to watch your water parameters and keep them as close to ideal as possible in order to keep your tigers healthy and happy. With a smaller tank it will be harder to keep the parameters at a constant because with such a small amount of water all the toxins and waste released by the shrimp will be more concentrated compared to a 10+ Gallon tank. For pH a 6.5-7.5 is ideal and 20-25 Degree Celsius temperature.
This is an Algae eating shrimp so they will feast on any excess algae in your tank. They will also eat anything like algae wafers, spinach, and zucchini. We feed ours a variety of these as well as ‘Borneowild Color’ to ensure they get a wide variety of nutrients, which helps with keeping them healthy and their coloration rich.
Feed them no more than once a day and leave the food in the tank for a maximum of 2 hours. Uneaten food can rot and affect the ammonia levels and other water parameters.
It is not uncommon for a shrimp hobbyist to fall in love with the beauty of more than one color variation of this peaceful and unaggressive species. Many who have one coloration of Tiger will (sooner than later) acquire 2 or three more different colorations because they are so beautifully different and unique. Keeping them in one or two beautifully landscaped nature aquariums will definitely bring your tank to another level.