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Inexperienced shrimp keepers may find the blue Neocaridina davidi variety the most perplexing due to the wide range of colors available for this species. Many distinct shades of blue are available, and many of them go by many different names (blue dream, blue fairy, blue jelly, blue rili, blue velvet, etc.). Furthermore, you’ll see that each comes in a wide range of colors and coverages, which in turn influences the shrimp’s marketability and pricing.
Do you feel like your brain is about to explode? Please feel free to contact us for assistance. You should be able to recognize your shrimp as a blue dream and learn where it ranks on the scale after reading this article on the different grades of blue dream shrimp (Neocaridina davidi var. “Blue Dream”).
Neocaridina davidi var. “Blue Dream” shrimp are graded on the following characteristics:
Aquarists developed the blue dream shrimp by breeding a brownish wild type shrimp, much as they did with all other Neocaridina davidi variations, including the wildly famous red cherry. The resultant blue specimens display a wide range of color intensity and clarity, from light and splotchy to dark and opaque.
It’s more challenging to cultivate shrimp with a fully opaque color pattern than it is to cultivate shrimp with transparent spots. This is due to the fact that only the best-colored shrimp are kept after the process of selective breeding. The motivations of a breeder who does this are unclear. Okay, I guess it all comes down to personal taste. In general, more opaque, uniformly pigmented shrimp are considered more desirable in the shrimp hobby. In a nutshell, we think they’re better than average. As a result of their scarcity, these shrimp are more expensive than their less attractively colored siblings.
So how exactly do you determine where on this scale your blue dream shrimp really lands? Use the following table to determine the quality of a single shrimp or the whole colony.
Norms for grading:
- Definitions are murky at best: The first and most crucial fact to remember is that there is currently no universally accepted grading system for blue dream shrimp. We’ve made an effort to design the system according to user input, however everyone has different tastes. We’re not trying to set any kind of rule here; we’re simply trying to make sure everyone is on the same page.
- Grades are based on opaqueness and color uniformity. A premium blue dream shrimp will have a uniformly deep blue color throughout. No transparent areas are allowed, not even on the extremities. If you want to be taken seriously, you should aim for a uniformly blue complexion with no dark around your hair and scalp.
- Negative character trait: Some blue dream shrimp may develop a “rusted” appearance on their upper surfaces. Most shrimp farmers believe that this characteristic has little effect on grading and that it may be found in shrimp of all sizes.
- Tone ranges are possible. While some are virtually black, certain blue dream shrimp have purple undertones. Other examples are noticeably paler. A shrimp of any color, even the rare purple kind and the more common blueberry, may be considered of the highest quality.
- Sexual dimorphism in shrimp: Gender has a significant role in determining a shrimp’s ranking in the genus Neocaridina. Males are often smaller, lower-achieving, and have more pronounced racial splotchiness. In the upper levels alone, males are roughly color-neutral to females.
- Preferences vary from person to person: When breeding blue dream shrimp with the intention of selling them, it is common practice to prioritize the production of high-quality specimens. Because of their superior quality, they command a greater premium. And yet, are they superior from a technological standpoint? To the contrary, they are not. “Low grade” shrimp are as healthy as, or even healthier than, “high grade” ones (thanks to reduced levels of inbreeding). What matters most is how you feel about how it appears.
