Should I buy it?
Blue Dream Shrimp
Neocaridina davidi
Typical trade / ID note: Neocaridina davidi (blue colour line)
Also known as: blue velvet shrimp, blue jelly shrimp, blue cherry shrimp, Blue velvet shrimp, Blue jelly shrimp, Blue cherry shrimp
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on typical aquarium care sources; details may vary between setups. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
Cherry shrimp in a different colour. Same care, same breeding, with the trade-off that any colour mixing kills the line within months.
Best for
Dedicated neocaridina planted nanos 20L or more where colour purity is the goal and no other neocaridina colour variants are present.
Avoid if
Your tank already has red, yellow, or other neocaridina. Cross-breeding destroys colour lines within a few generations.
Top things that go wrong
- Shrimp & snails. Compatible with snails and otocinclus. Must not be mixed with cherry shrimp or other Neocaridina colour lines.
Common mistakeAdding one or two blue dreams to an existing cherry shrimp tank. The lines cross and within months the colony loses distinct colour.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Mixed with cherry shrimp in the same tank 'for variety'. The next generation washes out and the blue colour disappears within six months of breeding.
- 2.Bought at high-grade pricing for a fresh tank. Selected colour lines crash harder on ammonia spikes than mixed-line cherries, and an immature tank kills the colour before the colony settles.
- 3.Treat as cherry shrimp on every parameter except colour and price. The blue lines (blue dream, blue velvet, blue jelly) are slightly more sensitive than mixed-line cherries because the gene pool is narrower, so stable water matters a little more.
About this species
Blue dream is the same species as cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi), selectively bred for blue colour. Care and breeding are identical, with one extra rule: blue dream and cherry shrimp interbreed back to wild-type brown in two or three generations, so keep one colour line per tank.
- Cherry Shrimp20L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Malaysian Trumpet Snail20L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Nerite Snail20L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Assassin Snail30L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Amano Shrimp40L min · same group, similar adult size
- Ghost Shrimp40L min · same group, similar adult size
- Mystery Snail40L min · same group, similar adult size
- Bamboo Shrimp80L min · same fish family
- Amano Shrimpalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Assassin Snailalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Beckford Pencilfishalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black Neon Tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Bloodfin tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Cherry Barbalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups on file yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease78
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit82
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness76
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safe directions on file include: Otocinclus, Amano Shrimp, Nerite Snail.
Tank mate intelligence
Use the "Often compatible" lists as a shortlist, not a stocking plan. Always run the pair tool and check the footprint of your actual tank first. Verify behaviour for Blue Dream Shrimp against your own reading before you buy.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Blue Dream Shrimp + Otocinclus
- Try Otocinclus — open the pair check.
- Try Amano Shrimp — open the pair check.
- Try Nerite Snail — open the pair check.
- Try Corydoras Catfish — open the pair check.
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Blue Dream Shrimp is peaceful in mixed company.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Low listed risk — still watch new introductions.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Compatible with snails and otocinclus. Must not be mixed with cherry shrimp or other Neocaridina colour lines.
Ten or more to start a colour-stable colony. A trio rarely breeds visibly and the line dies out before it locks in.
Breeding behaviour depends on the species. Research before you buy a mixed-sex group of this fish.
- A mature tank running at least eight to twelve weeks with biofilm and stable parameters.
- No other Neocaridina colour line in the same tank. Keep blue dream as a single-colour colony.
- Ten or more from the same source on the same day. The colony stays a colony, not a thinning trio.
- Acceptance that the colony will breed and may need thinning to keep parameters steady.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 20L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 10 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 18–28°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 20L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 80L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 18–28°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Blue Dream Shrimp does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 18–28°C and pH 6.5–7.8:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: medium · 2 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Aquarium Co-Op. Neocaridina Colour Varieties
Primary: retailer guide covering blue dream, blue velvet, and other Neocaridina colour lines with breeding warnings on cross-colour mixing.
- Shrimp Wiki. Neocaridina Colour Genetics
Secondary: community reference on Neocaridina colour line stability and the wild-type reversion risk when colours are mixed.
Evidence notes
- Blue dream is a trade name for one of several selectively bred Neocaridina davidi colour lines. Other names (blue velvet, blue jelly) refer to slightly different shade ranges but the underlying species and care are the same.
- Cross-colour breeding reverts the colony to wild-type brown within two or three generations. A keeper who wants to keep the blue line clean cannot also keep cherries or yellows in the same tank.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.