Why you can't mix Neocaridina colours

Red, blue, orange, green, black, yellow. Every Neocaridina davidi colour morph is the same species. They interbreed freely, and the offspring revert toward wild-type brown and clear within about two generations.

The reverted offspring aren't a new colour. They're not sellable at any grade, and there's no way back except starting over with fresh stock.

What this means for your tank

• One colour per tank. Permanently.
• A mixed-colour tank looks great for a few months and then turns brown. If you've seen this happen, this is why.
• Trade names matter. Sunkist, Orange Pumpkin and Orange Sakura are different selected lines. Mixing two oranges muddies the colour just like mixing orange and blue does.

The exception

Caridina (Crystal Red, Taiwan Bee, Blue Bolt) are a different genus and do not interbreed with Neocaridina. They're genetically safe together. They also want completely different water (RO, buffering substrate, KH near zero), so in practice they still need their own tank.