Caridina

Caridina is a genus of fresh-water atyid shrimps. They are widely found in tropical or subtropical water currents in East Asia. They are filter-feeders, collector-gatherers and omnivorous scavengers. They range from 0.9-9.8 mm (C. cantonensis) to 1.2-7.4 mm (C. serrata) in carapace length.

Use by humans

Caridina species are all edible, and especially C. multidentata is exported.

Due to their algae-eating habits and non-aggressive manner, Caridina are also widely sought after in planted/natural aquariums.

In the aquarium trade, a black-and-white banded variety related to C. cantonensis is called the "diamond shrimp" or "bee shrimp", while a red-and-white banded breed of these shrimps is traded as "crystal red shrimp" or "red bee shrimp".

The wild forms usually have less distinct banding, and are simple traded as "wild bee shrimp" or "orange bee shrimp". Wild Caridina are not usually distinguished to species in the commercial trade, nor are they graded according to the crispness of their pattern.

Selected species

New species are regularly being described. There is evidence for hybridization between sympatric taxa, requiring care when interpreting molecular phylogenetic analyses that do not use a large number of specimens.

Caridina longirostris
Caridina malayensis
Caridina multidentata (formerly C. japonica)
Caridina nilotica Roux, 1833
Caridina nitonica
Caridina opaensis Roux, 1904
Caridina propinqua
Caridina sarasinorum Schenkel, 1902
Caridina serrata
Caridina serratirostris – Ninja Shrimp
Caridina spongicola Zitzler & Cai, 2006
Caridina thambipilaii
Caridina tonkinensis
Caridina trifasciata Yam & Cai, 2003
Caridina typus H.Milne-Edwards, 1837
Caridina weberi
Caridina wilkinsi
Caridina yunnanensis
Caridina sp. A 'Lake Poso'
Caridina sp. B 'Poso River'
Caridina sp. C 'Kawata River'
Caridina sp. D 'Puawu River'
Caridina sp. E 'Blue Ensifera'

Footnotes

References

(2007): Molecular phylogeny and diversification of freshwater shrimps (Decapoda, Atyidae, Caridina) from ancient Lake Poso (Sulawesi, Indonesia) — The importance of being colourful. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 45(3): 1033–1041. (HTML abstract)