Caridina japonica is a species of shrimp found in the Yamato river area of Japan as well as parts of Korea and Taiwan.

According to different sources, Caridina japonica was introduced into the world of aquaria by Takashi Amano in the early eighties. Takashi Amano is a well known photographer and aquarist. He would have been the first who noticed these shrimps' useful characteristic of eating algae and started using them in his show aquaria.

The most important characteristic of Caridina japonica is the translucent body covered with reddish brown points of ± 0.3 mm on their sides which may look like a broken line of reddish colour. The dorsal surface has a white stripe that runs from the head to the tail and the eyes are black.

Females are easily distinguised from males from the more elongated lower row of dots lining the body.

Common names: Alga shrimp, Japanese swamp/marsh shrimp, Amano shrimp, Yamamoto shrimp, Yamato Numaebi

External Links

• The Japanese Suiso Aquarium Network - Everything About Caridina japonica
• Caridina japonica site