Description
Caridina sp NTnilotica - also called ""Darwin Algae Shrimp" or "algae eater shrimp"- is a freshwater species of doube periophthalmate shrimps belonging to the Atyidae family. It was named after P. Roux's research in 1833 and it has its natural habitat over Africa - between the Nile River in Egypt to Lake Sibaya in South Africa and only can be found in Lake Victoria, the source of the Nile River; on other hand according to some sources, this shrimp's homeland is northern Australia, as a significant part of resources on this species belongs there too.
There is no doubt the Darwin Algae Shrimp are often confused with Caridina Longistiris. But they differ from each other in many ways. One of their most distinctive features is that it has a white stripe extending from its head to its tail, depending on what time of day or whether it's eating something
The males are smaller and less colourful, while the females are larger and more colourful. These shrimps can reach 4-5 cm in length.
Water Parameters:
pH: 6.5-8
Hardness: soft to hard
Temperature: 18-28C
Type: Freshwater
Darwin algae shrimps prefer to live in aquariums that have high-quality clear water. Unlike snails, they can't tolerate pH levels much either and should be kept in soft or medium hardness environments. However, sudden changes to the temperature of the water will harm them too so it's best to use a heater and thermostat for stability.
Darwin algae shrimps are peaceful and will do well with tank mates that are close to its size. It is not able to live in harmony with fish that show territorial protection or large sizes. This can be a problem, as Darwin algae shrimps have been observed being eaten due to their small size from time-to-time. Aggressive and larger fish can always pose a threat, so it may get along better living tanks mates who also have calm behaviour like itself
The Caridina sp. Ntnilotica is a shrimp that's generally active in its behavior. This brave shrimp can compete with smaller fish over food and it also has the potential to be hardy if you set up the aquarium properly. If this shrimps movement slows down for just a brief moment, do not worry, as they are cautious around their tankmates so there is no need to panic when this happens! However, if this slowness continues for longer periods of time then it may be due to various diseases that have occured in your shrimp or its habitat…
The Darwin Algae Shrimp do not harm aquatic plants, and they mostly live in harmony with them. They are typically preferred to be kept in planted aquariums.
Feeding
Darwin Algae Shrimp species is a good algae eater. However, their natural feeding areas are the rocky areas densely covered in moss and algae populations. To keep them healthy, it's best to provide an adequate amount of algae or establish one in your tank by exposing rocks or other decorations to high light and moving them into your shrimp tank. If you don't have any on hand - they can be fed dry food occasionally. In addition, if there are microorganisms present that are substantial enough - they will eat those too! But first choice will always be the algae available for consumption.
Breeding
Little information is available about the reproduction of Darwin Algae Shrimp. There are some observations in Australia for mating time. For instance, before mating, female molts and is surrounded by males during this molting period. After mating the female carries gray eggs that she incubates until they hatch into juvenile shrimp who resemble their parents and then move to a freshwater environment when they grow up in natural conditions (in captivity juveniles must be manually taken from half-strength saltwater over to freshwater). But it's important to provide proper food sources like plankton or otherwise juvenile shrimps will not survive as well
Do we have the real deal?
A lot of sellers online normally sell Glass Shrimps (Paratya australiensis) and it is very easy to make this mistake as well. In order to resolve the species that we have in stock we have unknowingly done the following:
We accidentally sent invertebrates to a customer in Western Australia and it had been ceased by WA Quarantine as Inverts are not allowed in WA. Due to this the package was ceased and awaiting euthanisation. However while waiting for euthanisation the Quarantine Officer decided to put this up for testing. The initial test discovered that this was classified as Paratya australiensis. However later in the day it was pointed that it was a human error where the pheonotype that was used was Paratya australiensis in the WA Quarantine Database. This has been subsequently resolved and the correct name has been established for this species which is Caridina longisrostris.
Due to this knowledge and by direct confirmation from Quarantine WA (July 2020). NTA is confident that we sell Caridina longisrostris and not Paratya australiensis.
When you purchase from NTA be assured that you will be getting the real shrimps that has been sustainably harvested by a licensed collector from Far North Queensland.
What is it good for?
Caridina longisrostris is useless on algae that is stuck on the glass or on rocks that has a smooth texture. They will not touch these kinds of algae and it is better that you use Otocinclus for this.
What Caridina longisrostris is good for is Black Beard Algae BBA or Green Algae. They will also eat dead or decaying leaves.
If there are none of the above they will eat the biofilm in the tank.
ONLY if there is nothing left they will eat live plants. However this is very unlikely to occur.
Also, another component that we have observed is that these shrimps will eat left over fish food and also will cannibalise if one of the shrimps is weak or there is a failed molt. They will also attack dead fish.
Is it right for you?
If you enjoy efficient algae cleaning machine this shrimp is for you. When you buy 6 or more it is safe to put it in a Betta tank as well.
Photo credit by Indir Tupkovic. Used with Permission. All rights reserved.
