Snowball Shrimp
Neocaridina davidi var. 'Snowball'
Min Tank Size
10L
Adult Size
2.5 cm
Lifespan
2 years
School Size
6+
About
Snowball Shrimp are a selectively bred color morph of Neocaridina davidi, the same species behind Cherry Shrimp, Blue Velvet Shrimp, and a dozen other popular variants. The name comes from the females' egg clutches, which are large, round, and bright white, making a berried female look like she's cradling a tiny snowball under her abdomen. Outside of breeding season they're a clean, opaque white throughout, though color intensity varies between lines. Higher-grade specimens have a dense, milky white coloration with no translucency.
Care requirements are straightforward. They do best in mature, cycled tanks with stable water rather than pristine but fluctuating conditions. Aim for a pH of 6.5 to 7.5, GH around 6 to 15, and temperatures between 18 and 28 degrees Celsius, though somewhere in the low-to-mid 20s tends to produce the best breeding activity.
They're not fussy eaters. Biofilm, algae, blanched vegetables, and purpose-made shrimp foods all go down well. A heavy planting of java moss, fine-leafed plants, and leaf litter gives them constant grazing opportunities and cover, which keeps them visibly active rather than hidden.
They breed readily when conditions are right. A female carries around 20 to 30 eggs for roughly 30 days before the miniature fully-formed juveniles emerge. There's no larval stage, which makes breeding them in a home tank a realistic goal for beginners. Colony sizes can grow quickly, though populations tend to self-regulate based on available food and space.
They're genuinely peaceful and pose no threat to tankmates, though they're very much on the menu for most fish species.
Water Parameters
Temperature
°CpH
GH
dGHKH
dKHSwimming Level
Flow Preference
Keeping multiple Snowball Shrimp together
Snowball Shrimp are shoaling fish and need company of their own kind. Keep a group of at least 6. Smaller groups leave them stressed, washed-out in color, and prone to hiding.
Compatibility
The safest tankmates are other small, peaceful nano fish that have no interest in hunting shrimp. Ember tetras, pygmy corydoras, otocinclus, small rasboras like chili or mosquito rasboras, and freshwater snails all work well. Avoid anything with a mouth wide enough to fit a shrimp, which rules out most tetras larger than neons, gourami, betta fish (individual variation exists, but the risk is real), cichlids, and any predatory bottom dwellers. In a dedicated shrimp-only setup or species tank they thrive most noticeably, but a well-chosen nano community can work in tanks of at least 40 liters with dense planting providing refuge.
Commonly kept with
Species this one is most often paired withCommonly tried but avoid
Often paired, but shouldn't beCare Notes
The most common mistake is adding shrimp to an uncycled or recently cycled tank. Even trace ammonia will kill them fast, and the losses often get attributed to bad stock rather than water quality. The second big one is copper exposure. Many common aquarium fertilizers and broad-spectrum medications contain copper, and even low concentrations are fatal to shrimp. Always read labels before dosing anything into a shrimp tank. Consistency matters more than perfection with water parameters. A stable pH of 7.2 beats a fluctuating 6.8 every time.
Behavior & Aggression
Snowball Shrimp have essentially no aggression. Males will chase females during mating, which looks frantic but causes no harm. There's occasionally minor competition around a food source when a group converges on a wafer, but no actual fighting occurs. They do not nip fins, bother other invertebrates, or disturb plants. The only real concern is that their small size and slow movement make them an easy target, so the aggression risk here runs in the opposite direction entirely.
Things to Know
- Sensitive to ammonia and nitrite spikes, cycle tank fully before adding.
- Copper in any form, including fertilizers and medications, is lethal.
- Will interbreed with other Neocaridina color variants, keep varieties separate.
- Predatory fish and large cichlids will pick them off even in planted tanks.
- Breeds very easily, colony can grow quickly.
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