# tangerine tiger shrimp and blue bee shrimp (will they cross-breed?)



## abc (May 18, 2004)

Just wondering if it is safe to put the following two shrimp in the same tank: 

tangerine tiger shrimp (caridina serrata) and blue bee shrimp (paracaridina sp. blue bee)

the chart I have says "yes" they interbreed, but I thought caridina and paracaridina are different genuses. Are they same? Then why call it paracaridina and not just caridina. 

I'm a bit confused by this. Help?


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Well I can not particularly answer the question at hand, but I will say even tiger/neo babies have been spotted before. 

They have a different scientific name because they are unsimilar enough to be cardinia. That doesn't mean they can not breed necessarily.


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## abc (May 18, 2004)

hmmm... I am wondering if anyone has them together and has experienced some cross-breeding. I'm hoping they don't but I know TT are aggressive breeders and it's probably more likely than not


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## Puddles (Jan 5, 2013)

pictures or it didn't happen


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## abc (May 18, 2004)

so no one has heard of them cross-breeding? well that's good news as far as I am concerned. hope this is the case :smile:


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I'm almost certain they CAN breed, but just because they're in the same aquarium doesn't mean that they WILL.


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## abc (May 18, 2004)

shucks... so I'm just taking a chance and rolling the dice. Somehow I don't think the hybrid will look good. blue + orange = brown, I think. Oh well, I'll have to think about this some more


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## pinoyghost2 (Feb 13, 2012)

Yes you can....blue bees are not the same as the TTs and I personally have never had a problem with TTs breeding anything other than another Tiger species...I have a few TTs right now in with my Taiwans and CRS and nothing is happening.

I think your safe :smile:


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## abc (May 18, 2004)

pinoyghost2 said:


> Yes you can....blue bees are not the same as the TTs and I personally have never had a problem with TTs breeding anything other than another Tiger species...I have a few TTs right now in with my Taiwans and CRS and nothing is happening.
> 
> I think your safe :smile:


Thanks! :bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:


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## Lexinverts (Jan 17, 2012)

abc said:


> Just wondering if it is safe to put the following two shrimp in the same tank:
> 
> tangerine tiger shrimp (caridina serrata) and blue bee shrimp (paracaridina sp. blue bee)
> 
> ...


I don't think that the taxonomy of freshwater dwarf shrimps is very well worked out. But, when two species belong to two different genera, it generally means that their morphology or genetics is quite different relative to comparisons between species within the same genus. This suggests that these two lineages have not interbred for millions of years, and the chances of physiological mating incompatibility are high. So, usually this means that individuals from different genera will not produce fertile offspring. Some have observed that offspring are produced from crosses between Paracaridina and Caridina and between Neocaridina and Caridina, however. I don't know if these hybrids have proven to be fertile.
Does anyone know this?

Tangerine Tigers and Blue Bees look quite different, in terms of size and body shape, and I'm betting that if you have enough males and females of each species present, chances of them crossing and producing fertile offspring are low. I would give it a shot.

I'm setting up a Blue Bee tank, and I was thinking about trying Tangerine Tigers in the same tank, so maybe I'll give it a shot myself.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

You can't just take one person's word one way or another. Do a reasonable amount of research, and always have a backup plan. 

No offense to anybody posting here, I think we all mentioned good things, however you seem to sway one way or another depending on what one person says. Do good research for yourself.


I guarantee if they are listed on alpha pro as possible interbreeding species, they can and probably will.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Lexinverts, my neo x tiger cross are infertile.. 

However, there has already been confirmed crosses between blue bee and crs, and they were fertile. And also the paracaridina is not a known to be a separate species from caridina, it's only suspected, hence the para caridina.


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## Lexinverts (Jan 17, 2012)

mordalphus said:


> Lexinverts, my neo x tiger cross are infertile..


Thanks for the information! That's what I would expect.



mordalphus said:


> However, there has already been confirmed crosses between blue bee and crs, and they were fertile. And also the paracaridina is not a known to be a separate species from caridina, it's only suspected, hence the para caridina.


That's good to know about the cross between Blue Bees and CRS. Thanks.



mordalphus said:


> And also the paracaridina is not a known to be a separate species from caridina, it's only suspected, hence the para caridina.


In my understanding, Paracaridina has been formally described as a new genus. However, there is some discussion as to whether some of the species that have been placed in Paracaridina, should actually be in other genera. 

Moreover, the Blue Bees have not been given their own full scientific name, but they have been informally placed in the Paracaridina genus. As I said in the earlier post, the taxonomy of dwarf shrimps is still being worked out....


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## GeToChKn (Apr 15, 2011)

mordalphus said:


> Lexinverts, my neo x tiger cross are infertile..
> 
> However, there has already been confirmed crosses between blue bee and crs, and they were fertile. And also the paracaridina is not a known to be a separate species from caridina, it's only suspected, hence the para caridina.


Yup, confirmed breeding project that was between CBS and blue bee, http://www.joma-shrimp.de/de/entry/caridina-x-paracaridina-kreuzung-gelungen they stopped it but are looking to start again.

In general, tanks of different species tend to stick to their own kind, but not always. Most cross-breeds tend to be a forced crossing, IE, all female of 1 species and male of another, so they have no choice, but not always. I know HolyAngel added some TT's to his CRS tank and had hybrids going like nuts between them without any intervention.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Yeah, I read that about blue bee, I thought it was for all paracaridina.


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## randyl (Feb 1, 2012)

Hope I'm not derailing the subject too much, where can I find some blue bees? Would definitely love to have some.


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## gmoses (Sep 22, 2012)

thats too funny... i just was about to order tt and blue bees and was hoping i can take a few and see if they would crossbreed. what are people crossing to get tibees? maybe i will switch it up and get something different.


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

planetinverts.com

for all your shrimp info, including what species of shrimp not to put in with others (so you don't get brown shrimp......)


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## Bananariot (Feb 28, 2012)

randyl said:


> Hope I'm not derailing the subject too much, where can I find some blue bees? Would definitely love to have some.


aquabid, always some up. Fair warning they don't stay blue my were brown most of the time


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## abc (May 18, 2004)

Thanks everyone for their comments. I am probably thoroughly confused but I have enjoyed the friendly banter and dialogue. Research wise: all the charts say caridina and paracaridina can cross breed. Experience wise: I don't have any but appreciate what others have shared from their own tanks. 

I guess the way forward is to try it myself, observe, and see what happens...


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Bananariot said:


> aquabid, always some up. Fair warning they don't stay blue my were brown most of the time


yes, they seem to go from black to brown, mine are never blue unless stressed out (like a bkk).


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

mordalphus said:


> yes, they seem to go from black to brown, mine are never blue unless stressed out (like a bkk).


Is there a decent quality blue bee? Or are all this 'poor' coloration? 

When I purchase a shrimp, I have vivid colors accompanied by accurate naming in mind.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

I don't know of any "good" strains, I just know the ones I've seen change color and pattern, which makes it difficult to breed for a certain trait.


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## pinoyghost2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I kept all of my Blue bees in my CRS/CBS tank for over 1 year...no hybrids! I found they go from a dark blue to brown often depending on where they are hiding. 

As mentioned when there is a limited supply of males x females I think then you might see a cross. 

However TTs and CRS/CBS will definitely cross, I can verify that as I have the hybrids right now in my tanks. My Bengal are from Red Tiger x TTs...and I still have berried females producing this gorgeous coloration/markings, so Im happy with this cross. roud:

Not sure what a TTx BB would look like, and as the BB is a very small shrimp compared to the TT the offspring might not look so hot :icon_frow


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