Caridina cf. babaulti Rainbow Shrimp (6 Freshwater Shrimp)
Survive in aquariums: Yes
Survive in warm ponds: Yes
Survive in cold ponds: No
Plant eating capacity: Low
Algae eating capacity: Moderate
Rainbow shrimp are similar to ghost shrimp except that they live a lot longer. They are about an inch long but can grow to three inches (they later changed that to two inches). Mine never grew larger than an inch but the store claims that they grow to three inches. Whereas ghost shrimp typically do not live more than a few months in an aquarium, rainbow shrimp may live for years. They do not touch the live plants. They prefer to eat leftover fish food followed by algae. Rainbow shrimp are supposed to eat brush algae. They are great little shrimp. Similar in appearance to ghost shrimp, they have a darker gut and sell for about $2 each instead of $1 per 10 that ghost shrimp cost.
I am currently trying to uncover their scientific name. The store does not know. Although some aquarists believe the rainbow shrimp to be the wood shrimp, I know this is not true, at least for the shrimp that I have. My local aquarium store, where I worked for a few months, also carries wood shrimp. Wood shrimp are big with "fans" on their fronts. Rainbow shrimp are almost identical to ghost shrimp but for their increased longevity and ability to darken in color. They do have a tan stripe down their back like wood shrimp. They also can change color and are often dark like wood shrimp. However, they are much smaller and do not have fans. Rainbow shrimp may be a relative of wood shrimp. Mine can be clear, brown, or dark red depending on the background. The tan back stripe is evident when they are in the brown or red phase but almost vanishes when in the clear phase. They go clear usually when among plants. When on the large driftwood in their tank, they are completely camouflaged to match the wood. If you do not know what you are looking for, you do not see them!
A German aquarist suggested that my rainbow shrimp may be Caridina/Neocaridina sp. "zeylanica". After seeing the photo of this species at this German site, I think that this may indeed be the species that I have. So, they would be a relative of Amano shrimp but definitely not the same thing. I hope someone can eventually clear this up!
I have never seen any of my rainbow shrimp carrying eggs (unlike the ghost shrimp) nor have I ever found baby rainbow shrimp. So, it is most likely that they do require brackish water to breed or at least conditions that my tanks do not have.
Information used with permission from Robyn.
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