Orange Sakura Shrimp

Neocaridina davidi

Also known as: Pumpkin shrimp, Orange Fire shrimp, Sakura Orange shrimp

Water Parameters

• Temperature: 18–26°C
• pH: 6.5–7.5
• Hardness (GH): 125–250 ppm (7–14 dGH)

Values above are general hardness (GH). For carbonate hardness (KH), the buffer that keeps pH stable, see the water parameters guide.

Care Summary

A warm pumpkin-orange colour morph of Neocaridina davidi, the hardy species behind the cherry shrimp. The higher grades carry a dense, opaque orange from head to tail and are sold as Orange Sakura or Pumpkin, while lower grades are patchier. Care is the same as the cherry and genuinely easy: peaceful, undemanding, and well matched to the moderately hard, slightly alkaline water of most Australian taps, breeding freely in a stable, mature, planted, copper-free tank from a group of ten. Orange reads vividly against greenery and dark substrate. As with all Neocaridina, keep a single colour per tank so the morphs do not cross back to wild brown, feed a varied diet with enough minerals for clean moults, and keep every trace of copper out of the water.

Tankmates

Like all dwarf shrimp, Orange Sakuras are tiny and defenceless, so adults are easily eaten and shrimplets picked off by most fish, even species sold as shrimp-safe. For a thriving colony, keep them in a shrimp-only tank or with only very small, gentle fish such as otocinclus and ember tetras, and plant densely with mosses for cover. Being Neocaridina, they want the opposite water to the Caridina bee shrimp: moderately hard and neutral to slightly alkaline, which suits most Australian tap water. Keep one Neocaridina colour per tank, since different colours interbreed and revert to wild brown. Killed by copper, so avoid copper-based medications and fertilisers.

Compatible with

• Bronze Corydoras
• Neon Tetra
• Harlequin Rasbora
• Otocinclus
• Mystery Snail
• Ember Tetra

Avoid keeping with

• Betta
• Angelfish
• Guppy Fry Predators
• Large Cichlids
• Loaches
• Gourami
• Kuhli Loach
• Dwarf Chain Loach
• Assassin Snail
• Tiger Barb
• Electric Yellow Cichlid
• Bumblebee Goby

Common Problems

• copper poisoning from medications or fertilisers
• colony collapse from ammonia or nitrite spikes in an immature tank
• moulting failure without enough calcium and general hardness
• patchy colour in lower grades or through hybridisation with other morphs
• predation by fish tankmates

Sources: seriouslyfish.com, shrimpscience.com · Last updated: 2026-10-05