Blue Tiger Shrimp
Caridina cantonensis
Atyidae
About
The blue tiger shrimp, usually sold as the orange-eye blue tiger (OEBT), is a selectively bred colour form of the Caridina bee-and-tiger shrimp complex, prized for its glowing sky-to-royal-blue body crossed by dark tiger stripes and vivid orange eyes. It does not occur in the wild and does not breed fully true, so a single brood will throw both deep-blue and paler siblings. Peaceful and endlessly busy, it grazes biofilm and algae across a mature, stable nano aquarium, but it is fussier than a cherry shrimp and rewards clean, soft, low-nutrient water.
Care
Keep a colony of 10+ in a mature, fully cycled nano tank on soft, stable, low-nitrate water (ideally RO remineralised for shrimp) with gentle sponge-filter flow, plenty of moss and biofilm, and steady GH for clean molts. Do not house with other bee or tiger shrimp, as they interbreed. Highly copper-sensitive.
Diet
Omnivorous biofilm and algae grazer that also works over detritus and leaf litter. Offer a light dusting of prepared shrimp food, blanched vegetables and occasional biofilm boosters a few times weekly, and never overfeed, since excess food quickly spoils the clean water it needs.
Tankmate compatibility
Gets along with (31)
Possible with care (137)
Avoid (103)
Computed by the AquaSage engine for a spacious reference tank — always check the full verdict for your exact setup in the calculator.
Telling males from females
What works for this species, most reliable first.
- Saddle and berryStrong · at 12–18 mm body length — under 10 mm nothing shows
The ovaries show through the shell behind the head as a pale yellow or green patch shaped like a saddle. Those are unfertilised eggs, and their appearance is what tells you she is mature. Once she is carrying, they move under the tail and are fanned by her swimmerets.
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Frequently asked questions
- What tank size does a Blue Tiger Shrimp need?
- A Blue Tiger Shrimp needs an aquarium of at least 38 litres (10 US gallons) with a footprint at least 45 cm (17.7 in) long — for this species, swimming length matters as much as raw volume.
- What water parameters does a Blue Tiger Shrimp need?
- Blue Tiger Shrimp does best at 18–25 °C (64.4–77 °F), pH 5.8–7.8 and a general hardness of 4–10 °dGH.
- What group size does a Blue Tiger Shrimp need?
- Blue Tiger Shrimp is a social species — keep a group of at least 10 so natural behaviour emerges and stress stays low.
- Is the Blue Tiger Shrimp suitable for beginners?
- Blue Tiger Shrimp sits in the middle of the difficulty scale — manageable for a careful beginner who has done the reading, but it has specific needs worth researching first.