# Some red cherry shrimp are brown



## slimnexus (Jan 19, 2012)

I seem to have a dual population of RCS. One is the standard red and the other is brown and I suppose closer to the wild coloration. Anyone else have RCS like this? Should I seperate the browns from the reds?


----------



## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

Are you sure its not male vs female?

My Cherry males are typically much redder and brighter to the duller reddish/brown female.


----------



## slimnexus (Jan 19, 2012)

I'll borrow my sister's camera sometime soon and post a pic. I would really like to know if they are wild or just dull colored. I'll try and post back soon.

Thanks!


----------



## slimnexus (Jan 19, 2012)

Alright. I snapped a few shots.

Here is a brown shrimp:









Here is a younger brown shrimp, notice that there isn't any light red coloration like regular young RCS but instead light brown coloration:









And here is a red to compare them to:









So what do you think? Are they wild Neocaridina or what?

Thanks for the help!


----------



## jemminnifener (Nov 15, 2011)

I've got some brown-ish looking ones too from some red adults. My understanding is that neos have lots of different colors they can be and without selective breeding for color, they'll revert to the wild coloring (brownish).

You'll want to separate the colors/cull/select for the reddest ones if you want to preserve the red coloring.

The females should be the ones that get the reddest. Males tend not have such a deep red and are more clear-looking.


----------



## slimnexus (Jan 19, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. I will seperate them into my new plant growout tank when it stabilizes.


----------



## Newt (Apr 1, 2004)

I still say Male vs Female


----------



## TarantulaGuy (Apr 15, 2009)

It's mostly just natural variation. Before hobbyists got a hold of them, _Neocaridina heteropoda_ was primarily brown. Selective breeding has greatly enhanced the red color in the cherry variation. Same with yellow shrimp, same species, bred for a different color. Granted, females *are* generally more colorful than males, but your brown shrimp are simply the "ancestral" form of modern cherries. My population started with some brown ones, I like the way they look, but the brown was quickly eliminated, and I now don't have *any* in a tank that probably has a couple hundred cherries.


----------



## slimnexus (Jan 19, 2012)

Thanks for the reply TarantulaGuy, what you said makes sense. The cherries have been breeding amongst their own little group for quite a while so I suppose the wild coloration was bound to show up eventually.


----------

