Sulawesi White Orchid Shrimp (Caridina poso Klotz)

The White Orchid Sulawesi Shrimp is somewhat rare in the aquarium trade and are relatively new to the hobby. These shrimp are small and peaceful and get along with most aquarium species, making them popular in the hobby and great additions to the community tank. Like other Sulawesi Shrimp, they display unique patterning.

These shrimp are active every hour of the day, and you can often see them scavenging around the substrate, plants and rocks for food, displaying interesting social behaviours.

The White Orchid Sulawesi Shrimp are non-aggressive and seem to enjoy the presence of other species in the aquarium. These shrimp are remarkably shy until they are content with their new environment. Once they have settled into the aquarium and are not apprehensive of predators, they will come out more, and their colours will show this is why it is recommended to keep them in groups of 15 or more.

White orchid Sulawesi Shrimp have a clear to white body colouration and display various degrees of white striping. They are also covered with brown and black specks across its body. They have slender segmented bodies, long antennas, and tiny legs that match the body pattern.

Habitat

The White Orchid Sulawesi Shrimp originates from Lake Poso in central Sulawesi in Indonesia in Southeast Asia. They inhabit calm, highly oxygenated waters where they hide between large rocks in deeper waters and small rocks in shallow water.

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Diet & Feeding

It is recommended that you keep your White Orchid Sulawesi Shrimp on a varied diet to ensure optimal well-being. They are consistent grazers of algae, but you should also provide them with substitutes such as shrimp pellets, algae wafers or a crushed flake if this is lacking in the tank. Giving them an occasional meaty treat is also beneficial.

These shrimp are comparatively small so remember this when choosing what food to give them. It would be better to feed these shrimp when it is dark and try not to overfeed them, supplying only what they can eat within two or three hours.

Sexual Dimorphism

It is nearly impossible to differentiate males from females, unlike other dwarf shrimp where the females are more curved and more extensive than the males the Sulawesi shrimp look identical.

The females have a saddle under the carapace that shows the eggs. However, the only way to view this saddle is through infrared light. With the shrimp's outside shell being so dark, you cannot possibly see the saddle without specialised equipment.

Breeding

White Orchid Sulawesi Shrimp will readily breed in captivity, providing they have ideal water conditions and a suitable diet. White Orchid Shrimp females seem to carry fewer eggs than other Dwarf Shrimp, but other than that, everything is the same.

There is no larval stage for the White Orchid Sulawesi shrimp. The female will carry her eggs which are a reddish colour between her swimmerets for around 20 to 28 days.

If there are no vital issues, they will give birth to shrimplets, miniature versions of the adults. The offspring immediately shows the same colouration as the fully grown shrimp just not as intense initially.

At first, the shrimplets may be a little diffident, but once they come to be familiar with their surroundings, they are quite comfortable and swim and forage all day long.

The baby shrimps will eat the same food as the adults, and their growth rates are quite fast providing the tank is well maintained and in good shape.

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