Are there any beginner alternatives to Sulawesi shrimp that isn't a Neocaridina?

[harveym]

Hello, I'm just new here and a beginner looking for an alternative to Sulawesi shrimps that is good for beginners, has beautifully vibrant coloration and it isn't Neocaridina.

[shrimpsarereallycool]

You could go with Caridina shrimps (non-Sulawesi).  Some people say they are for experienced keepers, but others think of them as being very easy to keep and breed.  I keep Caridina shrimps and I find that they are actually quite easy to take care of.  I have messed up in the past with them, but think that was because I did frequent water changes.  That may seem odd, but since my tank had plants that consumed nitrates/nitrites/ammonia, the water never got any, and because the shrimps are so small, they do not create much waste.  Water changes were a door for inconsistent water parameters and, therefore, stress.  However, when your colony gets very large, you might need to do more water changes.  Anyway, the reason why I think you should not do water changes (if you are just beginning and do not care about mass producing) is because the parameters stay the same and all you have to do is start with the right parameters and just top off the tank when too much has evaporated.  I used SaltyShrimp Bee Shrimp Mineral GH+ for the initial mineralizing.  Make sure that you get your aquarium cycled before adding your shrimps (maybe add snails for some bioload).  If you are looking for easy-to-find shrimp, you could get bee shrimps (common ones include crystal reds (CRS), crystal blacks (CBS), black king kongs (BKK), shadow pandas, blue bolts (BB), golden bees (GB), snow whites (SW), etc.) or you could get tiger shrimps (some common ones include orange eye royal blue tigers or super tigers (ST)).  There are also many many tibees (pintos) and taitibees.

 

Make sure not to overfeed.  That could lead to an algae bloom, increased ammonia, increased snail populations, and dying shrimps.  I just feed my shrimps whatever amount of shrimp pellets they'll eat and a catappa leaf.

 

If anyone thinks otherwise, please say so.  But, that is what seems to be working for me.  BTW, I have not bred shrimps yet because I have had only females.  I keep pure red line shrimps (which I just bought some males for them to breed with).  So, still do your own research.