Crystal Red Back Line

A red-and-white shrimp that grows a white stripe down its back as it matures.

Arrives young, in plain red-and-white bands — the stripe is not there yet. It traces in over the following months.

One price, no grades. The stripe is the whole point and none of them are wearing it yet, so there is nothing to sort on.

Caridina — needs soft, slightly acidic water, so a step up from a first shrimp. Numbers in the FAQ.

The Crystal Red Backline is a Caridina line from our own stable SZ stock — classic Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS) red-and-white contrast, plus a single white line running the length of the back at maturity. Hardy, active grazers, and a forgiving way into Caridina keeping.

About the photo. The adult female shown has the signature backline this lineage can reach. We ship unsexed juveniles, so treat the photo as the target, not the arrival — the line isn’t formed yet, and red saturation and shell density build with each successful moult.

The backline is a trait you watch arrive, not one you buy finished.

• Juvenile: Classic red and white banding, like a standard healthy CRS — no line yet.
• Growing: A distinct white line begins tracing the top of the back over successive moults.
• Adult: The line connects into a solid white backline against the red body.

We grade by the traits that genuinely vary within a batch — pattern density, colour saturation, how far colour wraps around the shell. Where those differences are visible in the tank from day one, we sort them and price each tier for what it actually is.

Here the defining trait isn’t there to judge. Every shrimp we ship is a juvenile still in plain red-and-white banding — the backline traces in later, over moults, in your tank. Tiering this batch would mean sorting on a line none of them are wearing yet.

So Crystal Red Backlines are one grade, one price — the same SZ genetics in every cup.