Description
Caridina gracilirostris - also known as the Pinocchio Shrimp, Red-Nosed Shrimp, and Rocket Shrimp, the Rhinoceros Shrimp has a large, rhinoceros-shaped nose. Other names for the shrimp are Rocket, Mosquito, and Needlenose (which make sense when you see how this shrimp moves).
Natural Habitat
Caridina gracilirostris is found throughout Madagascar, Japan, Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Lesser Sunda Is., Papua, Sulawesi, Sumatera), Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak), Palau, Philippines, Singapore, Province of China (Provinces of China (main island)), Taiwan and Thailand.
Characteristics and Behaviour
Red Nose shrimp have a transparent body usually with the exception of males, who feature vivid red noses. But if their nose snaps off, these creatures are actually able to regenerate it. Please do not mutilate them on purpose!
Pinocchio shrimp don't behave much differently from other caridinas. They are good-natured and will spend most of their time scavenging for food, but they're especially skilled at cleaning up your aquarium from algae and plant matter. Watching them is entertaining because Pinocchio shrimps are fast swimmers!
Ideal Water Conditions and Environment
The red nose shrimp, a type of freshwater crustacean that originates from brackish water, is difficult to keep in a freshwater tank. They require some level of salinity and keeping an eye on your water parameters will be necessary if you decide to keep these shrimp in your tank. It is recommended that you fill the aquarium with vegetation like bumblebee gobies and anubias because they will provide nutrition for the shrimps as well as hiding spots- things that shouldn't be taken for granted.
RECOMMENDED TANK PARAMETERS:
- Minimum tank size: 2 gallons, recommended 10-gallon minimum for a colony
- Temperature: 75° - 80° F (23.8° - 26.6° C)
- pH: 7.0 - 8.0
- dGH: 4 - 15
- dKH: 1 - 10
- TDS: 100 - 200
Breeding
Breeding Red Nose Shrimp in freshwater is a near-impossible task, so we recommend moving your Red Nose Shrimp to brackish water tanks for the purpose of mating. It's especially important that red nose shrimplets have access to biofilms and microscopic food particles as they are very tiny and will need it.
Diet
Red Nose Shrimp are fun algae eaters for the aquarium. They enjoy picking at biofilm and algae, but you should offer them a healthy mix of shrimp pellets and some frozen foods along with some blanched veggies to keep them healthy.
Tank Mates
Tankmates are limited for Pinocchio shrimp due to their saltwater habitat requirements and small size. They can fall prey to hungry fish, so you may want to go with brackish-water invertebrates as tankmates. Try Nerite snails from the Clithon genus, Hawaiian volcano shrimp (Halocaridina rubra) and certain brackish-proof ghost shrimp varieties. The tiny bumblebee goby might work; although it's carnivorous in nature, it is probably too small to eat adult shrimp.
These shrimps are originally located in Darwin.
Photo credit by Indir Tupkovic. Used with Permission. All rights reserved.
Ref
https://aquariumbreeder.com/red-nose-shrimp-detailed-guide-care-diet-and-breeding/
