Blue Velvet Shrimp: Complete Guide to Blue Dream Shrimp

Blue velvet shrimp sometimes also called the Blue Shrimp, they are very similar to the much more commonly known Red Cherry Shrimp, as the only difference is color. 

Blue Velvet Shrimp 

They are part of the order Decapoda in the family Atyidae. 

These little freshwater shrimp are a great addition to any aquarium, with their bright blue bodies. A quick fact about the color of these little swimmers is that no one really knows where the color came from, since it is most likely not natural.

Most colorful fish and species are intentionally bred at some point, but that does not seem to be the case with this particular species of shrimp. 

Some people believe that they descended from the Carbon Rili Neocaridina shrimp, while others like to think it is from the Wild Schoko. Either way, they are a beautiful little sea critter with a very interesting color scheme and will definitely spice up any aquarium, if they don’t get eaten by your other fish of course.

I will go into more detail on what fish they are ok to be kept with, and which ones they will just be a snack for. These shrimp are a very durable and resilient species, but that doesn’t mean that you can put them in any kind of water and expect them to flourish, as there are some parameters to follow.

To know for certain that the way you treat your Blue Velvets is correct, make sure to read the whole guide, so that you do not make any fatal mistakes, and end up with your beautiful shrimp dead. 

Natural Habitat 

 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp is presumed to be originally bred from the more well known and more popular Red Cherry Shrimp, which came from the eastern Pacific, around the Peru to Mexico area, but they are sadly overfished, and since they are so small they are easily caught by accident since the fishers can’t tell where they are and aren’t so they end up being caught in their nets. 

 

Keeping Them with Other Aquatic Life 

Finding other fish to keep with these particular shrimp, like with most other shrimp, isn’t the toughest thing to accomplish since they are quite peaceful and tame sea creatures, which means that you don’t even have to worry about the shrimp themselves at all, rather you would need to find other fish that wouldn’t want to eat them for lunch.

Calm and more peaceful fish, which aren’t too big, or ones that aren’t too invasive are a good fit. Some recommended species are the Bristlenose Pleco, Otociniclus, Gourami, Cory Catfish, Hillstream Loach, and Ember Tetra.

Read more in our article about Ember Tetra

Blue Velvet Shrimp, just like any other freshwater shrimp, are totally fine to be kept together, but be warry of more aggressive fish. Things like the Betta and the Angelfish are not a very good idea, although some people have had success with female Bettas.

Something that we would recommend pairing it with is the Ember Tetra, which is a nice tame fish perfect for our blue shrimp, since they like the same water specifications and like a fairly similar tank size. 

 

Appearance and Size 

 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp generally looks like a generic small little shrimp with one main exception. They are blue. Like really blue. And I don’t mean the dull kind of sea blue that you would see on blue whales, I mean you can find some without searching too hard that are almost neon blue.

They have a bit of transparency to them, staying in line with most other kinds of freshwater shrimp, and helps their amazing color pop and look even better.  

The blueness of your Blue Velvet Shrimp will depend on where you get it from. Different people will want to breed their shrimp to create their own version of “The Perfect Blue”, which can look like anything like one of those blue tinted bottles, which is a darker blue with a bit of transparency to it, ranging all the way to a light almost cyan color, and of course it has that shrimp signature transparency. 

To find the color you like, you can do one of two, or probably more things I might forget about. The first is to shop around and see if anyone has the color that you would want, which can either be done at a pet store, or by looking around at private breeders. 

The second, is a little more tedious, but also a great and viable option. You can find the shrimp that are colored in the closest way to what you would like in your tank, and then breed them together and keep breeding the ones you like.

This process in fact, has a name, which is called artificial selection, and humans have been doing it for years. It is the practice of only letting the animals (or plants) with the best traits breed and live in some cases.  

Through this process you can find your perfect shrimp and sell anything you don’t really want to other people that might be interested in having some Blue Velvet Shrimp of their own. Who knows, maybe you’ll even show them this article, so that you can spread the knowledge about these amazing creatures. 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp typically grow from 1.5 to 2 inches when they hit adulthood, but to ensure that your shrimp are as big as possible, make sure to only purchase them from reputable sources and providers and make sure they have the best environment possible as they grow up.

There is also definitely a genetic component to the size, which is why you should buy from well known sources since they have been breeding them for a very long time, and have fish with great genetics. This can also benefit the lifespan of the fish. 

 

Caring for your Blue Velvet Shrimp 

 

Since these shrimp are very resilient and quite a hardy species, so they won’t mind too much which substrate (the stuff at the bottom of the tank). While they do like rocky bottoms, they can get used to things like sand or a fine type of gravel, if you really need to.

You can plan around the other fish in your tank, because these shrimp don’t really care all that much, so you can pass the decision over to their tank mates. 

In terms of lighting, you can again let the other fish in the tank decide that for them, since they do not need anything fancy, and make sure that the other fish are comfortable. 

 

 

Aquarium Size and Specifications 

 

The minimum tank size recommended for these little swimmers is 5-10 gallons, but 10 is the better choice since it opens up more options for other fish to kept together, like the Ember Tetra, which we really like here at myfishkeepingworld if you couldn’t already tell. 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp likes a heavily planted and forested tank, since that is what their natural habitat is like, and it will help with making sure that the water is of good quality. 

Having a well wooded tank will also take care of part of their diet since they like to snack on the algae and biofilm that grows and accumulates on the greenery, and anything that might get detached or flakes off. Java moss is also a good common choice that works exceptionally. 

The plants are also used as cover and places to hide, which looks a little strange since they are bright blue after all, but they do like to try. 

Since you should be trying to accumulate a good amount of algae, adding rocks and bits of driftwood are a good idea, since it gives the algae more places to gather up, and subsequently gives the little blue swimmers more food to eat. 

The quality of the water matters as well, and just because they are a very resilient and tough species, doesn’t mean that you can put them into whatever kind of water you want and expect them to live and prosper, which is what some newer tank keepers make the mistake of believing. 

But this is not the case, and you should make sure that you follow the parameters because it doesn’t matter how good the genetics of your shrimp are, and how reputable the person you bought them from is, if you don’t treat your shrimp right, they will meet a devastating end. 

So, to avoid this, follow the below parameters and your Blue Velvet Shrimp will live a long and happy life. 

The water temperature should be from 65 Fahrenheit to 85 Fahrenheit, although 72 Fahrenheit to 82 Fahrenheit is the best range. For the rest of the world that would be 22 Celsius to 27 Celsius. 

The pH levels of the water in your tank should range from 6.2 to 8, and you can easily test it with these pH strips from Amazon. 

The water hardness should be from 0 to 8 KH which pretty much means how many minerals, specifically carbonates (CO3) and bicarbonates (HCO3) are dissolved in your water and stands for Carbonate Hardness. 

For Filtration any freshwater filter is fine, although make sure that the intake isn’t so powerful that it sucks up your shrimp, since that can easily happen with the wrong type of system. 

 

Blue Velvet Shrimp Behavior 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp are not very interesting in terms of crazy swimming maneuvers, since they spend all of their time swimming around and finding bits of algae to munch on, which is actually a good thing! 

Since they don’t have anything better to do, they will relentlessly clean your tank, which can be found pretty interesting. They aren’t picky about what they eat off of, and since they are bright blue, you can always spot them easily and be mesmerized by their methodical cleaning. 

Like most other shrimp, they are peaceful creatures, so they can be paired with other fish that are equally as tame, and you shouldn’t have any issues. 

 

Possible Blue Velvet Shrimp Diseases 

 

As mentioned before, the Blue Velvet Shrimp are quite a hardy and durable species, so illnesses aren’t too much of a worry, as long as they are taken care of properly and they are getting their basic requirements met, like enough food, and the right water specifications, but there are still things you should look out for and pay attention to. 

Shrimp do not do very well with copper, and the Blue Velvet is no different. The smallest trace can and most likely will be fatal, and you will wake up to your shrimp floating belly up. To avoid this, you should always perform a water test before putting them into a new tank to swim around in. This is very important as new aquarists  

Note that if you end up needing to put medication into your aquarium and you have other fish in there you will have to move your shrimp somewhere else, since most medications contain copper, so if you don’t want to kill off your shrimp, remember this piece of advice. 

Tl;dr, don’t introduce Blue Velvet Shrimp into a new tank before it has been tested for copper, and make sure to feed them and take care of them properly and you shouldn’t have any issues.  

Speaking of food… 

 

Diet 

 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp, like most other shrimp, eat mostly algae and other floating organic bits like biofilm, which means that a lot of their diet can be covered just by having a tank full of plants and greenery, since this lets a lot of algae and other organic matters accumulate and give them plenty to eat and keep their little stomachs full.  

Even if they seem pretty hands off, that doesn’t mean that you can completely leave them alone, as you do need to diversify their diet a little bit. Regular plant based flakes are great for them and make sure that they are getting all of the nutrients that they need. 

As long as you make sure that you don’t overfeed them, since it is really bad for the shrimp. It could also raise ammonia levels, which can harm your shrimp even more. 

As long as you don’t overfeed your shrimp, you can drop little slices of veggies, like cucumber or lettuce, to balance out their diet and give them something else to eat for a change. 

A great low maintenance feeding plan is to give your Blue Velvets a steady supply of food. Balance it out with some flakes and veggies to keep them healthy and happy. 

 

How many Blue Velvet Shrimp in a 10 Gallon Tank? 

If you have a tank dedicated for just Blue Velvets, you can store up to 100 of them in a 10 gallon tank, although it is recommended to keep a maximum of 50.

A good rule of thumb is to have 5 fish for every gallon of water. You would have to regulate it to make sure you can create a livable environment for your shrimp and fish.

Just because you can cram 100 in a single tank, doesn’t really mean you should, as creating a good and comfortable aquarium should be your first priority. Make sure that there is adequate space and checking the compatibility of your fish before putting them into the same tank. 

 

Blue Velvet Shrimp Lifespan 

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Blue Velvet Shrimp live around 1-2 years, but that heavily depends on how they are kept. Poor living and tank conditions can severely shorten their lifespan by a lot. Genetics are also a key factor, so again, make sure to only buy your fish and shrimp from reputable sources to maximize their lifespan. 

 

Blue Velvet Shrimp Breeding 

 

Breeding the Blue Velvet Shrimp isn’t very hard, so you should have a steady supply of them. You can use them to populate some of your other tanks or even sell them! 

You really only need to put the mating pair without any fish that could eat the eggs into a breeding tank and make sure that the water is up to what the recommended parameters are, which isn’t very hard to do. 

When they have mated and the female will be carrying the eggs under her tail. Make sure that there is plenty of algae and biofilm for the newborn baby shrimp to eat once they have hatched. This is what their whole diet will be made up of. If you don’t have enough food, then you can always add some algae tablets. 

Around 3 months later you will have another batch of hatched and grown up Blue Shrimp that can reproduce, which means that you will have new shrimp every 4 months or so  

 

Do you want Blue Velvet Shrimp in your Aquarium? 

 

The Blue Velvet Shrimp are great if you want an easy to look after species. It is peaceful and can be kept with other peaceful fish. If this is the case, then this is perfect for you. They don’t need too much special care, and they look amazing