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I purchased 2 adult shrimp from a LFS, one was pregnant and a couple of days after bringing her home she released the babies. The identification on the tank was Sunkist Shrimp, Caridina Cantonensis. After researching I realized this wasn't the proper species i.d. for Sunkist. The LFS apologized and said they were not labeled properly IF they are in fact Sunkist, that it can be very difficult to properly id shrimp. The babies are one month old and appear to be doing fine. Here's my question. Since the mother was carrying the babies in freshwater at the store and they were also born in freshwater will they be OK. I found the following information at Sunkist Shrimp Breeding - Sunkist, Caridina Cfr. Propinqua These shrimp are unfortunately difficult to breed as they give birth to larvae which require brackish water. If you can get past that they will breed as the female shed her shell so the male can mate with her as this is the only time, she will hold around 20-25 eggs for a period of 30 - 40 days. Raising larvae in brackish water is extremely difficult as the salinity needs to be correct, they will also need moving to freshwater as they age and this also needs to be done very carefully.

I have six baby Sunkist Shrimp born November 18th. Five of them are relatively the same size which is .5cm in length. One is only .25 to .3 cm in length. Is it safe to assume the five larger shrimp are females and the smallest is a male?