# blue velvet shrimp



## shrimpzoo (Sep 27, 2011)

They'll have about the same hardiness because they are both "Neocaridina Heteropoda".


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## Rainer (Jan 30, 2011)

Yellows are too but don't seem as hardy as the others.


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## Fdsh5 (Jan 3, 2012)

The key I have found with shrimp hardiness is to get them as small as possible. My yellows are now extremely prolific but that took a while. It took three attempts at crystal reds before I finally got 12 babies and they all made it and are starting to berry up for me. The smaller they are they easier they adjust. Just my two cents.


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## aznrice247 (Feb 1, 2012)

Its in more demand because its still relatively newer than cherries which have been around longer. An LFS here charges 12.99 but 8.33 each for 3 but its more for quality/convenience/the store is expensive already.


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## inthepacific (Oct 21, 2012)

thats insane i've found some for $4 per. but again they were in poor conditions they weren't even in a tank just one of those little carrying containers. i might take a look and see if they have them again for cheap to get a colony going.


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## paybackranch (Jan 5, 2010)

I got a small colony of them started in September from online sources: TheShrimpFarm and SpeedieAquatics. I believe I paid $8 each for them plus shipping. I live in the middle of nowhere, so online sellers & TPT really are my only reasonable options. The shrimp from both sellers were in wonderful condition and are currently in a small aquarium that does not have a heater, but with the submersible filter generating some heat, the tank stays around 75 degrees. I have been hesitant about heaters in small tanks since I cooked a whole tank overnight while I slept. :icon_sad: There is an LED light over the top of the tank which is full of plants. The tank has a dense carpet of HC with Crypt parva, Flame Moss, Cardamine lyrata & driftwood. Water changes 50% weekly. PH 7.8. They are absolutely thriving. Females dropped their first batch of babies about a month ago and a second new batch is hanging out in the moss. I think that they are as hardy as my RCS. Much prettier, IMO, than Blue Pearl Shrimp, which I also have in another tank. Berries on these Blue Velvet Shrimp are yellow. Below are the grow out tanks for my small colonies. The photos were taken before the HC had established itself. The tank on the left has Yellow Shrimp in it. Finnex RayII light over both. The Blue Velvet Shrimp will move into a 20 Long after the first of the year.


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## inthepacific (Oct 21, 2012)

wow sweet tanks. what is the difference between the blue pearl and the blue velvet? are they still considered cherries or "Neocaridina Heteropoda"? would they be able to interbreed? also what is the plant in your right tank in the top left corner?


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

blue pearl are diff from velvets. not sure how to describe it though. ummmm kinda like same family but cousins? any who color is way diff though blue pearl tend to be almost a white where as velvets are pretty blue i belive they will cross though so i would keep in diff tanks. and 99% of my shrimp come from speedy here on tpt


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## paybackranch (Jan 5, 2010)

inthepacific said:


> wow sweet tanks. what is the difference between the blue pearl and the blue velvet? are they still considered cherries or "Neocaridina Heteropoda"? would they be able to interbreed? also what is the plant in your right tank in the top left corner?


The Blue Pearls do not breed true. You get a mix of amber and Blue Pearl babies. Their berries are brown, also. The Blue Velvet Shrimp Do breed true. I think that the Blue Velvets are a more vibrant clear blue than the Blue Pearls, but they are both lovely shrimp. The plant in the corner is a Hydrocotyl tripartita. It has to be pruned regularly. It is planted in the substrate, where it spreads, but it also produces a canopy for the shrimp to hang out in. Also, not shown in these photos are some Amazon Frogbit pieces which have to be thinned weekly. I just want one or two of the smaller ones in each tank (2.5 gallons each). The shrimp love to graze on the roots of them also.


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## inthepacific (Oct 21, 2012)

paybackranch said:


> The Blue Pearls do not breed true. You get a mix of amber and Blue Pearl babies. Their berries are brown, also.


ahh so funny how genetics work. im trying to start a shrimp tank i had a few but my tetras basically jumped them right after they molted so my numbers have been dwindling. im down to 3 and have no other tank to put them in yet as im cycling a 5 gal just for shrimp. im thinking of dwarf water lettuce for shrimp since their roots are good hiding places for them to hangout in.


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## paybackranch (Jan 5, 2010)

If you have high light, Red Root Floaters are pretty also. Short roots, green/red leaves. Much smaller plants than Frogbit or dwarf water lettuce. Those two 2.5 gallon Petsmart tanks have a 24 inch Finnex RayII over the top of them. WAY too much light, so I use the floaters to cut it back a bit. I wanted to get the HC going, which it is now. I can probably cut back the light to where I don't affect the HC's existence. It has rooted well into the substrate, which was the reason that I bombarded the little tanks with light. The HC is probably 2 inches thick at this point.


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## rrastro (Jun 14, 2012)

paybackranch said:


> The Blue Velvet Shrimp Do breed true.


This depends on your opinion of what constitutes breeding true. Speedie himself has posts here that say some of the blue velvets may end up with red headgear. I've seen them myself. The more shrimp I keep the less I care about keeping their colors pristine. Not everyone feels the same way.


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## HiepSTA (Aug 23, 2011)

my blue velvets get patches of red on them every now and then but as they get bigger it looks like it starts to disappear


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## paybackranch (Jan 5, 2010)

HiepSTA said:


> my blue velvets get patches of red on them every now and then but as they get bigger it looks like it starts to disappear


I haven't had Blue Velvets long enough to see this, but my Blue Pearls would occasionally have 'white eyes' or white patches on their heads. This is one of them.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

That seems to be the major difference in blue rilis and blue velvets. In blue velvets the red seems to fade away while the blue rilis retain it.

In a few very minor instances blue velvets may retain some red and this is called BVR (blue velvet reds.)


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## speedie408 (Jan 15, 2009)

Here's a thread I started not long ago on these shrimp: *CHECK IT OUT!*


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## brenzies (Aug 5, 2014)

*WANTED blue velvet shrimp*

Anybody with extra blue velvet shrimp, i would like to buy some for my tank
Tahkrgrl @ yahoo.com


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