White Bee Shrimp

English name: White Bee Shrimp
Scientific name: Caridina cantonensis sp. "White Bee"
Origin: Wild ancestor from Southern China, but colour morph probably from Germany
Size: 1 in / 1.2 in (male/female) 2.5 cm / 3 cm
Water temperature: 64-78 °F / 18-25.5 °C (but 76-78 °F / 24-25.5 °C is recommended)
Recommended pH range: pH 6.5 - 7.5
Behaviour: non-aggressive
Difficulty: easy to medium
Breeding rate: high

Introduction to White Bee Shrimp

The White Bee shrimp is a white colour morph of the Bee Shrimp and has been present in the hobby for quite a long time now. It was probably first discovered in Germany, but little is known about this. The species is still rare in the hobby and can be hard to find.  

Physical appearance

As mentioned above, the White Bee shrimp is a white colour morph of the Bee Shrimp. All colours are gone (except for the white markings on the body), but female specimens have contrasting blue ovaries and eggs.

Keeping White Bee Shrimp

Keep the White Bee shrimp in soft water. The pH-value can be from slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (pH 6.5 to 7.5). A water temperature around 76-78 °F / 24-25.5 °C is recommended. Keep the levels of organic waste products down. If they rise, it is okay to let the shrimps go without food for a day or two until you have figured out the problem. It is better for them to be without food for a while than to live in water with a lot of waste.

Feeding White Bee Shrimp

The White Bee shrimp is not a picky eater in captivity and it will accept most food types. Keeping it on a varied diet decreases the risk of malnutrition. You can for instance give your shrimps bloodworms and similar, combined with prepared foods like pellets, and blanched vegetables, e.g. zucchini, aubergine and lettuce.

If there is still food left 2-3 hours after feeing, you are giving your shrimps too much food. (Or they are too shy to come out and feed. Try including more hiding spots in the set up and feed when the lights are off.)

Sexing and breeding White Bee Shrimp

This species is still hard to find in aquarium stores, so it would be a good thing if more people devoted their time to breeding it. Breeding White Bee shrimp is not very difficult, provided that you keep healthy specimens in a suitable environment.

To distinguish the sexes from each other, look at body size and shape. The female White Bee shrimp has a round “undercarriage” below and she is also larger and wider than her male counterpart.  Females have a (typically blue-coloured) saddle where the eggs are kept. Body colouration can not be used to sex White Bee shrimp, since it is the same for both sexes.  

A typical White Bee shrimp batch consists of 20-25 eggs (normally bluish in colour). After the hatching, the mother is usually carrying new eggs within a week.