Neocaridina Shrimp
Painted Fire Red Shrimp
The highest expression of full-body red coverage in the Neocaridina red cherry line. Red pigmentation extends across the carapace, abdomen, legs, and underbelly with no translucent gaps or pale patches.
Painted Fire Red Shrimp represent the pinnacle grade of the red cherry Neocaridina line, defined by complete, uniform red pigmentation that covers not just the carapace and abdomen but extends fully across the legs, underbelly, and all appendages. Where lower grades of red cherry shrimp show pale, translucent, or unpigmented areas on the legs and underside, the Painted Fire Red shows solid red across every visible surface of the body. The effect at tank-viewing distance is a shrimp that appears entirely and uniformly red from all angles, with no breaks in colour regardless of viewing position. This complete coverage is the result of intensive selective breeding over many generations and is significantly harder to achieve and maintain than the partial coverage of lower-grade red cherry stock. Hardy and beginner-friendly on standard Neocaridina parameters despite their high-grade status.
6.8–7.8pH
6–14GH (dGH)
2–8KH (dKH)
65–78°FTemperature
Colour & Grade
What Sets Painted Fire Red Apart
Full-body red coverage including legs, underbelly, and all appendages. This is the defining characteristic that separates Painted Fire Red from every lower grade in the red cherry line. Sakura and lower grades show red only on the carapace with translucent legs and underside. Fire Red Cherry achieves solid opaque coverage on the main body but may still show some translucency in the legs and appendages. The Painted Fire Red grade extends that opacity fully across every part of the shrimp, producing a completely red animal from every viewing angle. A group of Painted Fire Reds in a tank reads as an intense, uniform block of colour with no visual interruption.
Solid opaque red across the carapace with internal organs fully obscured. In addition to full appendage coverage, the carapace and abdomen of a Painted Fire Red shows maximum opacity -- internal organs are not visible through the body wall, and the red reads as dense and saturated rather than translucent or pigment-washed. This full opacity is the result of the same selective pressure that drives the complete appendage coverage and represents the furthest point in the red cherry grading continuum.
Distinct from Bloody Mary despite similar overall red intensity. The Bloody Mary morph achieves a deep red appearance through a different mechanism -- a translucent carapace over red body tissue, producing a glowing, flesh-red quality. The Painted Fire Red achieves its colour through surface pigmentation of the shell itself, producing a warmer, more classic opaque red. The two morphs look different at close range and represent different genetic approaches to red colouration in Neocaridina.
Breeds true in a dedicated colony. Painted Fire Red maintained as a single-morph colony produce offspring at grade reliably. As with all Neocaridina, housing with other colour morphs will produce offspring reverting toward wild-type colouration over successive generations. Keep as a dedicated colony to preserve grade quality across generations.
Tank Setup
Care & Display
Dark substrate is essential for showing full-body coverage at its best. The complete red colouration of the Painted Fire Red reads most vividly against dark substrate where there is no pale background competing with the red of the legs and underbelly. On pale or white substrate the full-body coverage is still present but the visual impact is reduced. Fine black sand or dark gravel produces the most dramatic presentation.
Standard Neocaridina parameters -- no special requirements despite high-grade status. pH 6.8 to 7.8, GH 6 to 14, KH 2 to 8, temperature 65 to 78°F. Dechlorinated tap water is suitable in most regions. High-grade selective breeding does not compromise hardiness in this line.
Dense planting and biofilm surfaces encourage active foraging and visible behaviour. Java Moss, Subwassertang, and Cholla Wood provide foraging surfaces and shrimplet cover. The full-body red coverage of Painted Fire Reds is most apparent when the shrimp are moving actively across open hardscape surfaces where all angles of the body are visible simultaneously.
Grade ComparisonThe red cherry grading hierarchy from lowest to highest grade runs: Wild type, Low Grade Cherry, Sakura, Painted Fire Red, Fire Red Cherry. Each step represents an increase in red coverage, opacity, and the extension of pigmentation into the legs and appendages. The Painted Fire Red sits just below the Fire Red Cherry in the conventional grading scale, with the primary distinction being that Fire Red Cherry prioritises maximum carapace opacity while Painted Fire Red is defined specifically by full appendage and underbelly coverage. Both are high-grade morphs and the difference between them is subtle at normal tank-viewing distance.
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