The Berried Clubby Molt & Moss
Menu

Record mixed-colour crosses across generations: evidence dossier

This is the audit trail behind one practical guide. It keeps the linked studies, supporting authorities, named uncertainty, search trail and public changes together without copying a second bibliography.

Guide purpose: Parent labels, display versus breeding goals, F1 and later offspring, phenotype and uncertainty.

Read the practical guide

Download this guide's 20 linked evidence records: CSL-JSON or RIS. Both retain every record's support and limitation notes.

This is an inventory, not a confidence score. A direct study is still limited by its animals, experimental unit, water, treatment, duration and endpoint. Record counts do not prove consensus, completeness or a universal care rule.

Linked evidence records
20
Direct Neocaridina
13
Direct controlled experiments
11
Supporting authorities
0
Named open questions
2
Public research changes
11

Registry reviewed 2026-08-12. Next scheduled review 2027-02-12. Read the editorial method.

Linked evidence records

Each record states what was measured and the nearest claim it cannot support. One source can serve several guides, so dossier totals must not be added together.

Controlled experiment Neocaridina identity evidence

Decoding color variation: genome-wide characterization and expression analysis of pigment pathways in Neocaridina denticulata

Bai et al., 2026. BMC Genomics 27: 535.
Source taxon as published: Purchased red, yellow and blue Neocaridina denticulata strains without reported voucher, diagnostic identity method, trade names or ancestry

Study shape: Pigment-pathway homologs were identified from public BioProjects and unpublished laboratory genomic and transcriptomic data. Six adult tissues and whole juveniles were compared by 18S-normalized qPCR with three biological samples and technical triplicates. CRCN abundance was compared by western blot, and fluorescence at 380/450 nm was measured after separate cephalothorax and abdomen extraction with hepatopancreas and intestine removed.

Experimental unit: Three biological samples per strain and endpoint were reported, but the number and sex of shrimp per sample, pooling, molt state, independent source-tank history, number of culture tanks and strain-to-tank allocation were not defined; technical triplicates are subsamples

Environment: Purchased red, yellow and blue strains held in 29 x 18 x 15 cm transparent recirculation-system tanks at 26 +/- 2 C and pH 7.2 to 7.5, with the number of tanks and strain-to-tank allocation unreported

Endpoints: candidate pigment-pathway homologs and phylogenies, adult-tissue and whole-juvenile relative gene expression, CRCN western-blot band intensity relative to tubulin, body-region relative fluorescence used as a pteridine proxy.

What it can support: The tested red, yellow and blue source strains differed in selected tissue and juvenile transcript levels, CRCN western-blot abundance and body-region relative fluorescence. These cross-sectional associations identify candidate carotenoid and pteridine pathways for follow-up; the tested blue strain had higher normalized CRCN band intensity than the red and yellow strains.

What it cannot support: The study did not manipulate candidate genes, cross strains, measure inheritance, quantify a standardized visible-colour phenotype, identify or quantify individual pteridine compounds, assay carotenoid composition, assign diets or validate seller lines. Its red, yellow and blue labels were not connected to named aquarium morphs, vouchers, diagnostic species confirmation, ancestry or pedigrees. Three biological samples per endpoint, unresolved animal pooling and tank history, an unreported calibrator for 2^-delta-delta-Ct comparisons, relative fluorescence without reported tissue-mass normalization, unpublished sequence inputs and low-powered distribution tests at n = 3 limit causal or reproducible pathway ranking. The work cannot provide a genotype test, dominance chart, feed or carotenoid prescription, colour-grade prediction, ancestry claim or commercial trade-line pedigree.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Neocaridina identity evidence

Functional Analysis of the NinaB-like Gene in Body Color Regulation of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Li et al., 2026. BioTech 15(1): 15.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Study shape: Expression was compared across colour strains and stages; RNA interference and sampled SNP associations were examined.

Experimental unit: Embryo group or biological sample, depending on endpoint

Environment: Laboratory expression, association and RNA-interference study

Endpoints: NinaB-like expression, red pigment deposition, SNP association.

What it can support: Functional involvement and sampled genetic associations for body-colour regulation in the source taxon.

What it cannot support: The candidate SNPs do not certify Blue Dream, Sunkist, purity, relatedness or a universal named-morph genotype.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Growth, reproduction and pigmentation performances of red cherry shrimp Neocaridina davidi fed with black soldier fly larvae Hermetia illucens meal

Azhar et al., 2025. Planetary Sustainability 3(2): 56-76.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi, red cherry adults

Study shape: Five approximately 42 percent protein formulas replaced 0, 25, 50, 75 or 100 percent of fish meal with black soldier fly larvae meal. The actual meal contents were 0, 10.8, 21.68, 32.62 and 43.64 percent of the complete dry formulas. Each diet was assigned to five aquaria containing one male and one female, fed to satiation twice daily.

Experimental unit: The 3-litre aquarium, with five aquaria per diet; treatment was assigned by aquarium, but the one-way ANOVA description does not state whether aquarium or animal observations entered each endpoint analysis

Environment: Twenty-five 3-litre aquaria with Java moss during a 60-day feeding trial, with daily water checks, 20 percent water exchange every three days and 50 percent weekly exchange

Endpoints: feed intake, survival, length gain, weight gain, specific growth rate, shed-molt count, ovary measurement, reported offspring count, colour coordinates.

What it can support: The 50 percent fish-meal-replacement formula, which contained 21.68 percent black soldier fly meal, had higher reported length gain, weight gain and specific growth rate than the 75 and 100 percent replacement formulas. The table letters did not distinguish it from the control or 25 percent replacement groups. Survival, ovary measurement, reported offspring count and colour intensity did not differ statistically among diets.

What it cannot support: This was a complete-formula comparison, not a test of adding 50 percent insect meal to finished food. Fish meal, black soldier fly meal, fish oil, corn meal and cellulose changed together, while measured lipid and ash also varied; amino acids, fatty acids and energy were not reported. Every diet contained the same Spirulina and astaxanthin. Feeding was described as both to satiation and predetermined, without an exact ration, uneaten-feed recovery method or leaching correction, and measured water values were not reported. The analysis unit was not explicit. The published molting equation multiplies molts per starting shrimp by 100, while the table reports 4.8 to 7.6 percent without reconciling the scale. Ovary size was calculated as length times width but reported in cm, one figure caption refers to male ovary development, and post-mortality brood denominators are unclear. The study does not establish a universal 50 percent recipe, a whole-insect feeding method, reproductive safety, a colour benefit or a home molting rate.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

System observation or method study Direct Neocaridina evidence

Genome-wide identification of the crustacyanin gene family in Neocaridina denticulata sinensis based on comparative genomics and localization analysis

Feng et al., 2025. BMC Genomics 26: 1151.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Study shape: The authors identified CRCN-family candidates in an unpublished laboratory genome, compared the family across six crustaceans, examined a 15-library five-tissue expression matrix with three libraries per tissue, ran epidermal qPCR, expressed NdCRCN-6 in Escherichia coli, generated a mouse polyclonal antibody and used western blotting and immunohistochemistry for tissue localization.

Experimental unit: Gene and genome for computational analyses; 15 transcriptome libraries with three per tissue but no reported animal-versus-pool provenance; qPCR reports three samples without defining the biological animal unit; western-blot preparations, immunohistochemistry sections and independent animal counts were not reported

Environment: Aquaculture-center shrimp 1.8 plus or minus 0.2 cm, acclimated for two weeks in a 29 by 18 by 15 cm recirculating tank at 25 plus or minus 1 C and fed Sera Shrimp Natural twice daily

Endpoints: CRCN candidate-gene count and location, gene-family phylogeny and duplication, tissue expression matrix, epidermal qPCR, antibody reactivity, epidermal and muscle immunolocalization.

What it can support: The source genome contained 24 CRCN-family candidates, mostly clustered on chromosome 23, with seven reported tandem-duplicated pairs. The 15-library matrix and qPCR showed differing tissue and epidermal expression patterns, and the generated antibody produced CRCN-family signal in epidermis and muscle under the reported assays.

What it cannot support: This is a molecular identification and localization study, not a colour-strain, diet, breeding or grading experiment. It did not measure visible colour, chromatophores, astaxanthin amount, direct astaxanthin binding in Neocaridina, growth, survival, reproduction, molt, health or selection response. One unpublished source genome cannot establish population-wide copy number, variants or commercial-line identity. Total shrimp count, tank count, sex, age, colour line, lineage and taxon-identification method were not reported. The tissue libraries do not resolve animals versus pools, and the paper does not define the biological unit behind three qPCR samples. Primer efficiencies and a calibrator were not reported for cross-gene qPCR comparisons. High CRCN sequence similarity means the polyclonal antibody may recognize multiple family members, so localization cannot assign each subunit a distinct function. Independent animals, section counts, blinded scoring and quantitative image methods were not reported. Muscle transport, epidermal colour modulation and individual-subunit functions remain inferred rather than directly measured. The accession CRA018357 is linked only to the archive homepage in the article and does not resolve these sample-provenance gaps. Twenty-four candidate genes do not mean 24 visible traits, a trade-line inheritance chart, a consumer genetic test or a colour-food recommendation.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Neocaridina identity evidence

Functional Analysis of NdBCO-like4 Gene in Pigmentation of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Huo et al., 2025. Fishes 10(3): 134.
Source taxon as published: Laboratory red, blue, yellow and wild or transparent strains labelled Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Study shape: Adult and tissue expression used seven individual samples per strain. Embryonic expression pooled all sampled embryos from one berried female as one replicate, with seven maternal replicates per source-defined stage. For RNA interference, metanauplius embryos from each of five red-strain mothers were divided into sibling treatment and control wells of 15 embryos, exposed ex vivo after hypochlorous-acid membrane softening to 5 micrograms per millilitre NdBCO-like4 or EGFP dsRNA in ultra-pure water, and photographed after 24 hours. A transcriptome-derived candidate SNP was then targeted for genotyping in four laboratory strains.

Experimental unit: Individual shrimp for adult and tissue expression, nested within separately maintained strain tanks whose number and replication were not stated; maternal clutch for the five-mother paired RNA-interference comparison; individual shrimp for genotyping, although the reported figure totals do not reconcile with the stated 192 individuals per strain

Environment: Laboratory-owned strains selectively bred for more than three years and cultured separately in glass tanks at about 25 C, with aerated tap water, planted aquarium soil, daily compound feed and 50 percent water changes every three days

Endpoints: NdBCO-like4 expression by strain, tissue and developmental stage, RNA-interference target expression, red-channel pixel brightness ratio, pigment-particle distribution index, candidate-SNP genotype frequency, predicted RNA secondary structure.

What it can support: In the sampled laboratory strains, NdBCO-like4 expression was higher in the red strain than the yellow, blue and wild or transparent strains and varied across the five source-defined developmental stages. In the five paired maternal clutches, embryos receiving NdBCO-like4 dsRNA had lower red-channel brightness ratios and pigment-particle distribution indices than EGFP-dsRNA sibling controls under the artificial 24-hour exposure. The G.1719G>A candidate occurred in every sampled strain at different reported genotype frequencies.

What it cannot support: This is evidence of molecular involvement under the source assays, not a validated commercial-line marker, inheritance chart or consumer genetic test. The paper does not report the number of culture tanks per strain, so strain, family and shared tank history cannot be separated. The ex vivo RNA-interference protocol used removed embryos, 1 to 5 percent hypochlorous acid for 1 to 2 minutes, ultra-pure water and destructive molecular sampling; it is not a breeding or colour-enhancement method. A blank control is described but omitted from the displayed RNA-interference results, scoring regions and blinding are not reported, one reference gene was used without reported stability validation, and the split-clutch design was analysed with an independent t-test rather than an explicit paired model. The results text calls the target-expression decrease p greater than 0.05 while the discussion calls it significant. The abstract calls G.1719G>A synonymous, whereas the results and discussion call it a missense or non-synonymous D445N change. The same strain is called wild in the methods and transparent in figures. Although the methods state 192 genotyped individuals per strain, the Figure 7 genotype counts total 148 red, 95 yellow, 190 blue and 172 transparent animals, without explaining missing calls. The variant-frequency association does not establish causation, dominance, parentage, pedigree, selection response or identity for Blue Dream, Sunkist, Bloody Mary or any seller line.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Examining the Adaptive significance of colour change in the freshwater shrimp Neocaridina davidi

Ishiba et al., 2025. Jxiv preprint, version 1.
Source taxon as published: Field-origin Neocaridina colony from the Tatsuta River, with five colony representatives assigned to N. davidi clade B by COI barcoding

Study shape: Sixty-four randomly selected shrimp spent seven days in a white environment, received standardized dorsal photographs, were randomly assigned by sex to four coloured environments for seven more days and were photographed again. No feed was supplied during the full 14 days. ImageJ mean RGB luminance ratios were calculated for the whole body and five body regions.

Experimental unit: Individual survivor for colour analysis; vessel count, shrimp density and animal-to-vessel mapping were not reported

Environment: Laboratory white acclimation followed by red, blue, green or white glass-sand and polyester-cord environments

Endpoints: day 14 to day 7 RGB luminance ratios, body-region RGB ratios, survival by colour environment.

What it can support: The matching RGB channel had the largest mean ratio in every environment, but only the blue group showed a significant among-channel difference, specifically red versus blue. White, red and blue environments produced some within-channel changes; green produced none. Approximate survival was 56 percent in white, 93 percent in red, 93 percent in green and 87 percent in blue.

What it cannot support: This is a version 1 preprint, not peer reviewed. Only five colony representatives were barcoded, not all 64 experimental animals. Vessel allocation and replication were not reported, so pseudoreplication cannot be excluded. Animals received no feed for 14 days; water chemistry, temperature, photoperiod, mortality timing, molt state and family contributions were omitted. The colour treatment combined sand, cord and reflected light, white survival was about 56 percent and colour results include survivors only. Repeated tests lacked a stated multiplicity correction and the analysis did not model within-animal RGB channels. The study did not test inherited colour, commercial grade, genetics, health, optimal substrate, predator detection or a camouflage survival benefit.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

The effectiveness of natural feed in enhancing color and survival rate of ornamental shrimp Neocaridina sp.

Kusuma et al., 2025. Juvenil 6(3): 290-300.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina sp., laboratory reproduction-stock animals without species, line or identification method reported

Study shape: Tubifex sp., Chironomus larvae, Daphnia sp. or an unidentified Spirulina pellet control were assigned to three aquaria each. The paper states one shrimp per litre, one week of acclimation and ad-libitum availability checked twice daily, with old food replaced when present.

Experimental unit: Aquarium assigned to feed, with three aquaria per treatment; the exact integer starting count is not stated, because the reported 21.6-litre volume and one-animal-per-litre density do not resolve it, and endpoint animal or aquarium denominators are not supplied

Environment: Twelve nominal 21.6-litre aquaria at approximately 25.49 to 26.86 C, pH 6.34 to 7.57 and dissolved oxygen 5.125 to 5.205 mg/L during a 40-day feeding comparison with weekly siphoning

Endpoints: survival, absolute length gain, absolute weight gain, ordinal visible-red colour score, feed proximate composition, temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen.

What it can support: Across the reported 40-day treatment means, Tubifex aquaria had the highest survival mean at 85.00 percent and highest colour-score mean at 3.50. Reported length and weight gains were not statistically distinguished among feeds. The comparison supports only that these four complete feed treatments produced different reported survival and visible-colour patterns under this protocol.

What it cannot support: The animals were identified only to genus, and source line, sex, age, life stage, starting size, starting colour balance and randomization method were not reported. Feed amounts and actual intake were not measured, the live foods and pellet differed in physical form and proximate composition, the Spirulina pellet was not identified, and proximate values lack replicate error and a stated wet- or dry-matter basis. Aquarium is the assigned unit, but the analysis does not state whether aquarium means were modeled, how many animals entered each endpoint or whether colour scoring was blinded under standardized lighting and background. The written method describes four colour scores while Figure 1 shows five with conflicting descriptions. The table note says different letters indicate a difference at P greater than 0.05 while the text says P less than 0.05. The discussion substitutes Hermetia illucens for Daphnia in one passage and later says Chironomus and Daphnia produced more intense colour than Tubifex, contradicting the table. Water ranges are pooled rather than treatment-specific, and nitrogen, mortality timing, feed-borne organisms, disease, reproduction, composition and long-term safety were not measured. This does not establish Tubifex as a complete or safest food, a live-feed dose, a colour-grade method or a recommendation to introduce wild or cultured worms into a home aquarium.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Neocaridina identity evidence

Role Analysis of the scarb1 Gene in the Pigmentation of Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Zhang et al., 2025. Animals 15(7): 901.
Source taxon as published: Laboratory red, yellow, blue and wild Neocaridina denticulata sinensis populations

Study shape: Scarb1 expression was compared across four selected colour populations and five developmental stages; five maternal clutches were split between scarb1 and EGFP dsRNA exposure, and one candidate SNP from a 216-shrimp transcriptome was targeted in four planned 384-animal population samples.

Experimental unit: Individual or biological sample for expression, maternal clutch for the paired RNAi comparison and individual shrimp for genotyping; source-population tank replication was not resolved

Environment: Laboratory culture at 25 +/- 1 C followed by removed-embryo RNA interference, expression assays and targeted genotyping

Endpoints: scarb1 expression, red pixel brightness ratio, pigment distribution scale, chromatophore development, G1593A genotype and allele frequency.

What it can support: Scarb1 knockdown changed metanauplius chromatophore measurements under the source protocol, and the synonymous G1593A genotype distribution differed sharply in the sampled yellow population.

What it cannot support: The RNAi used removed embryos from five mothers, did not report the statistical method for most comparisons and did not function at the later pre-zoea stage. The table reports 345 rather than the planned 384 genotypes per population without explaining missing calls. A selected-population association without crosses, independent line validation, phenotype prediction or a causal variant test cannot identify Sunkist or another named commercial line, establish dominance or forecast offspring.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Enhancing the color and stress tolerance of cherry shrimp using astaxanthin and Bidens pilosa

Hou et al., 2024. PLOS ONE 19(12): e0315585.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi var. red

Study shape: Five diets differing in astaxanthin and Bidens pilosa were compared with repeated colour measurements, gene expression and a later sealed-bottle challenge.

Experimental unit: Independently filtered jar for the diet treatment and dissolved-oxygen bottle for the later challenge

Environment: Independently filtered six-litre jars at 24 C for 56 days followed by a nine-hour sealed-bottle challenge

Endpoints: CIELAB colour, colour-related gene expression, stress-related gene expression, nine-hour colour stability.

What it can support: The tested additives changed measured colour values and selected gene-expression outcomes under the reported diet and challenge conditions.

What it cannot support: It does not establish genetic colour improvement, permanent grade, general health benefit, transport success or a safe dissolved-oxygen threshold.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

The coloration of Neocaridina davidi (Bouvier, 1904) (Caridea, Atydae) fed with live microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis and the cyanobacteria Spirulina (Arthrospira) platensis

Luna-Vivaldo et al., 2024. Latin American Journal of Aquatic Research 52(2): 298-306.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Each phenotype received alginate spheres containing live Haematococcus pluvialis, live Spirulina platensis or no microalgae, while all groups also received the same commercial food. The article reports 11 juveniles per basket and four basket replicates, then measured uropod optical density, chromatophore number and chromatosome area at the end of 31 days.

Experimental unit: Supplement-treatment basket containing 11 juveniles, with four basket replicates reported; baskets received shared recirculating culture water, and the one-way ANOVA description does not state that basket or water system was modeled as the independent unit

Environment: Three-day-old juveniles from pet-trade-derived wild, Fire Red and Diamond Blue stocks held for 31 days in maternity baskets within recirculating culture water at 28 C

Endpoints: uropod optical density, chromatophore number, chromatosome area, 31-day survival.

What it can support: The two live-microalgae sphere treatments changed selected uropod colour measures relative to the no-microalgae sphere control, with different patterns in wild, Fire Red and Diamond Blue juveniles. All groups had 100 percent survival during the 31-day test.

What it cannot support: Shared recirculating water limits independent system replication, and the allocation and analysis descriptions do not clearly preserve basket-level independence. Imaging occurred only at the endpoint after one minute in ice water, with no blinded scoring or repeated individual baseline stated. Internally inconsistent significance wording for chromatosome area and missing raw data limit reconstruction. Equal survival across every group does not demonstrate a survival benefit. The study did not measure growth, health, reproduction, permanence after withdrawal or genetic change, and it does not validate a commercial powder, spoon dose, home algae culture method, grade guarantee or ice-water handling protocol.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Morphology or taxonomy Neocaridina identity evidence

Barcoding of ornamental freshwater shrimp, Neocaridina denticulata (De Haan, 1844) from the aquatic ornamental market in Purbalingga, Central Java, Indonesia

Kusmintarsih et al., 2023. Biodiversitas 24(7): 3766-3773.
Source taxon as published: Market-sourced ornamental shrimp reported as Neocaridina denticulata from Purbalingga, Central Java; no voucher-based identification was reported

Study shape: Abdominal tissue from ten visibly labelled market samples was extracted. A custom primer designed from a Neocaridina denticulata mitochondrial reference amplified an approximately 545-base-pair CO1 fragment. Bidirectional sequences were assembled, compared with one primary BLAST reference and placed in a neighbour-joining tree with selected GenBank sequences and one distant outgroup.

Experimental unit: One destructive tissue sample per visible colour entry, with ten sequence entries in the result tables; the paper does not report vouchers, specimen IDs, seller or aquarium clustering, replicate extractions, independent PCR confirmation or public accession numbers for the new sequences

Environment: Shrimp collected in August 2019 from the Purbalingga ornamental fish market and transported to a laboratory; seller, source farm, number of source aquaria and prior breeding history were not reported

Endpoints: CO1 PCR band, assembled fragment length, BLAST identity, neighbour-joining placement, reported pairwise genetic distance.

What it can support: Within this market sample and assay, the ten sequence entries labelled dark red, bright red, black, white, blue-black combinations or yellow were reported at 98.24 to 99.29 percent identity to the same Chinese N. denticulata mitochondrial reference, and the study reported zero pairwise distance among its sampled sequences. Visible colour labels therefore did not separate those sampled entries into different reported CO1 groups.

What it cannot support: This is a ten-specimen convenience sample from one market, not a survey of named global trade lines, farms, sellers or source populations. Collection wording does not resolve whether specimens came from one seller, aquarium, brood or colony. No morphological key, sex-based diagnostic structures, voucher deposition, extraction blank, PCR negative control, replicate extraction or new sequence accession is reported, so the specimen identity and sequence audit cannot be independently reconstructed from the article. The blue lane in Figure 2 has no band, the figure numbers lanes 1 to 10 while the text refers to samples 2 to 11, and Table 2 reports ten sequence entries without a standalone blue entry. The methods and Figure 3 describe a Jukes-Cantor tree, while Table 3 is labelled Kimura 2 parameter. The article reports 0.00 distance among the study entries even though their BLAST identities to the same reference vary from 98.24 to 99.29 percent, and its new sequences are not shown as deposited accessions. Low branch support appears across several reference relationships, the outgroup is a tunicate rather than a closer atyid, and the selected reference labels include disputed or inconsistent Neocaridina names. A short mitochondrial fragment records one maternally inherited locus; it cannot establish nuclear ancestry, pedigree, relatedness, genetic purity, line stability, inheritance, hybrid status or the species identity of another shrimp based on colour or a matching seller label.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Neocaridina identity evidence

Microinjection-based CRISPR/Cas9 mutagenesis in the decapoda crustaceans Neocaridina heteropoda and Eriocheir sinensis

Li et al., 2022. Journal of Experimental Biology 225(6): jeb243702.
Source taxon as published: Animals sold as Neocaridina heteropoda from a local aquatic market and cultured in the laboratory for more than six months; no voucher, morphology or molecular host-identification method reported

Study shape: A tracer pilot compared 1000 ng/uL dextran with 0.05 percent Phenol Red. For editing, three Nh-scarlet sgRNAs were designed using a partial Neocaridina sequence and the Penaeus vannamei genome as reference. Cas9 at 300 ng/uL and sgRNA at 200 ng/uL were delivered at about 0.8 nL per embryo; individual sgRNAs were checked at gastrula and all three were co-injected for the flea-larva eye-phenotype screen.

Experimental unit: Individual embryo for injection and phenotype screening. Twenty-eight injected embryos survived to the reported Neocaridina screen, but the initial number injected, maternal-clutch contributions, allocation, complete control structure and tracer-table denominator or replicate basis were not reported.

Environment: One-cell embryos removed from females four hours after spawning, placed on wet filter paper with the upper surface exposed to air, injected and irrigated three times daily with sterilized freshwater through in vitro development

Endpoints: embryo survival by developmental stage, Nh-scarlet expression by developmental stage, visible eye pigmentation and shape, target-region PCR and sequencing.

What it can support: The method delivered CRISPR/Cas9 material into ex vivo Neocaridina embryos and recovered target-region insertions, replacements or deletions with altered eye phenotypes in three of 28 surviving injected embryos: two with altered eye shape and one with an absent eye.

What it cannot support: The authors called 3 of 28 surviving injected embryos a 10 percent gene-editing efficiency; the denominator excludes embryos that did not survive, and the initial injected total was not reported. Screening was based on abnormal eyes, so phenotype-normal survivors were not shown to have been systematically genotyped. Some embryos contained more than one edited sequence, consistent with mosaicism. Off-target effects were not assessed, one sgRNA lacked detectable in vitro digestion, and exact family contributions, randomization, blinding and complete negative-control comparisons were not reported. The study ended at early development and did not test adult survival, health, body colour, fertility, germline transmission, F1 inheritance, stable-line creation, commercial grade, named-trade-line identity or a consumer genetic test. The invasive embryo method is a functional-genomics protocol, not a hobby breeding procedure.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Morphology or taxonomy Direct Neocaridina evidence

The occurrence process of chromatophores in three body color strains of the ornamental shrimp Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Lu et al., 2022. Zoomorphology 141: 283-295.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina denticulata sinensis

Study shape: The authors photographed eight source-defined embryonic stages in red, yellow and blue strains, then followed chromatophore type, form, number and distribution into early post-hatch development. Six individuals per strain were used for the detailed chromatophore observations after pigment cells appeared, and six individuals per stage per strain were dissected from metanauplius through membrane-zoea.

Experimental unit: Individual embryo or post-larva for microscopy, with six individuals per strain for detailed observations after pigment cells appeared; the paper reports one culture tank per strain, does not report family contributions to the selected eggs and does not clearly describe independence across repeated photographs or inferential comparisons

Environment: Red, yellow and blue laboratory strains cultured separately, with one strain cultured in a tank at 20 to 26 C and pH about 7.4; eggs were removed with a sodium chloride and trypsin solution, washed and cultured in a shaken 24-well plate before post-larvae were moved to a glass tank

Endpoints: chromatophore type, chromatophore form, chromatophore number, chromatophore diameter, chromatophore distribution, embryonic morphology.

What it can support: Under this in-vitro protocol, no chromatophores were reported before pre-nauplius, erythrophores were the first visible chromatophore type in all three strains at the source-defined metanauplius stage, and later stage-specific observations included leucophores in red and yellow, cyanophores in blue and xanthophores in yellow after hatching.

What it cannot support: This does not establish a universal grading age, predict adult grade from an embryo or juvenile, validate a commercial colour-line identity or reveal inheritance. One tank per strain confounds strain with tank history, family contributions were unknown and only six individuals per strain were used for detailed observations. The egg-removal, trypsin, washing, shaker and in-vitro culture protocol is not a home breeding method. Food was not assigned as a treatment, adult colour was not followed, and discussion explanations involving carotenoids, yolk or feeding relied partly on hypotheses or unpublished data rather than a diet experiment. The paper gives one-way ANOVA but does not fully report the comparison plan, repeated-measure handling, assumption checks or exact P values, and its figure and text leave some post-hatch photographic timing ambiguous.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Brothers are better than nothing: first report of incestuous mating and inbreeding depression in a freshwater decapod crustacean

Tropea, Marciano and López Greco, 2022. Zoology 151: 125990.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Females were paired with brothers or non-brothers and offspring were followed through separate brood and juvenile endpoints.

Experimental unit: Mating pair or offspring culture group, depending on endpoint

Environment: Laboratory sibling and non-sibling mating comparison

Endpoints: mating, egg count, hatch count, juvenile survival, growth under feeding treatments.

What it can support: Mating and early egg measures can look similar while later hatch and juvenile outcomes differ after one full-sibling generation.

What it cannot support: It does not establish a founder minimum, multigeneration decline, colour loss, disease effect or calendar-based outcross schedule.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

All Shades of Shrimp: Preferences of Colour Morphs of a Freshwater Shrimp Neocaridina davidi for Substrata of Different Colouration

Maciaszek et al., 2021. Animals 11(4): 1071.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Groups of three same-morph shrimp were acclimated for one hour and filmed for one hour across shade, colour and pattern choices, usually with eight dish replicates.

Experimental unit: Dish containing three shrimp, not each occupancy observation

Environment: Short laboratory choice trials in circular dishes at 20 to 21 C with printed shade and pattern backgrounds

Endpoints: time in background zones, shade choice, pattern choice, photographic body shade.

What it can support: The tested morph groups preferred darker over lighter backgrounds during the short choice trials, with some morph-specific pattern results.

What it cannot support: The trials did not measure long-term welfare, stress, growth, survival, reproduction or a required aquarium substrate.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Body coloration, carotenoid content, spermatophore quality and biochemical parameters by effect of temperature

Tomas et al., 2021. Acta Zoologica 102(3): 297-309.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Reproductive, pigmentation and biochemical outcomes were compared across three assigned temperatures.

Experimental unit: Temperature treatment aquarium

Environment: Laboratory aquaria at 20, 24 and 28 C

Endpoints: survival, ovarian maturation, ovigerous females, weight, colour, spermatophore quality.

What it can support: Lower temperature delayed ovarian maturation in this protocol while survival remained above 90 percent in every treatment.

What it cannot support: It does not make every temperature in the tested range equivalent or establish chronic survival outside the study duration.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

System observation or method study Neocaridina identity evidence

Identification of Functional SSR Markers in Freshwater Ornamental Shrimps Neocaridina denticulata Using Transcriptome Sequencing

Huang et al., 2020. Marine Biotechnology 22: 772-785.
Source taxon as published: Supplier-sourced super red shrimp and chocolate shrimp labelled Neocaridina denticulata, plus a native black-shell strain used in marker development; no voucher or diagnostic identity method was reported

Study shape: RNA from three young super red and three young chocolate shrimp supplied one aggregate sequencing result per phenotype on an Illumina HiSeq 2000. Transcriptome SSR candidates were screened by PCR, sixteen amplified, and five polymorphic loci were reported across offspring from super red, chocolate and reciprocal crosses. Supplementary Figure S4 reports the largest eight females and males from each source strain as parents and three families per cross group.

Experimental unit: The transcriptome comparison appears to contain one pooled library per phenotype rather than independent biological libraries. The paper states 50 offspring in each of four cross groups, but Table 6 frequencies for both reciprocal hybrids occur in eighths and no individual genotype file, missing-call denominator, family allocation or family-aware analysis is supplied.

Environment: Separate supplier strains maintained in a flow-through breeding system at 22 to 25 C, pH 6.5 to 7.0 and GH 3 to 4; tank count, strain allocation and family history before the reported crosses were not defined

Endpoints: assembled transcriptome and annotation, phenotype-group expression counts, SSR discovery and PCR feasibility, allele and genotype counts, heterozygosity and polymorphic information content, genotype frequencies across four cross groups.

What it can support: The study developed five polymorphic transcriptome-derived SSR loci and found different genotype-frequency patterns among its sampled Larmax super red, chocolate and reciprocal-cross groups. The loci are candidates for population and cross validation within the sampled breeding material.

What it cannot support: One apparent pooled RNA library per phenotype cannot support replicated differential-expression inference. The study did not report standardized colour measurements, individual phenotypes, complete genotype denominators, parent-to-offspring assignments, Mendelian segregation, linkage, causal variants, blind classification or an independent validation population. The stated 200-offspring method conflicts with hybrid frequencies in eighths, and the claimed 4.31 percent single-marker and 0.0018 percent combined-marker misrecognition rates are not derived in the article or supplements and were not measured on a held-out test set. Multiple genotype tests were reported without a multiplicity correction and p values were printed as 0.000. These loci do not certify purity, pedigree, ancestry, diversity, Blue Dream, Sunkist, Bloody Mary or any other seller line, and super red is not evidence for equivalence to a current red trade name.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Effect of diets on carotenoid content, body coloration, biochemical composition and spermatophore quality

Tomas et al., 2020. Aquaculture Nutrition 26: 1198-1210.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Defined diets were compared for biochemical, pigmentation and male reproductive outcomes.

Experimental unit: Diet treatment culture unit

Environment: Laboratory diet comparison

Endpoints: carotenoids, visible colour, biochemical composition, spermatophore quality.

What it can support: Diet can change measured phenotype and biochemical outcomes under a defined protocol.

What it cannot support: Visible colour change is not inherited grade, genetic purity or proof that one diet is complete for every life stage.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Effect of background color and shelters on female pigmentation in the ornamental red cherry shrimp

Tomas, Sganga and López Greco, 2020. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 51(3): 775-787.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Background and shelter conditions were assigned and female pigmentation was followed for 90 days.

Experimental unit: Treatment aquarium

Environment: Laboratory background and shelter treatment

Endpoints: visible pigmentation, astaxanthin.

What it can support: Background can change measured visible pigmentation under a defined protocol.

What it cannot support: It does not establish that dark substrate changes genotype, prevents stress or improves inherited grade.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Controlled experiment Direct Neocaridina evidence

Assessment of potential trade-off between maternal colouration and offspring quality in the ornamental red cherry shrimp

Sganga and López Greco, 2019. Aquaculture Research 50(6): 1564-1573.
Source taxon as published: Neocaridina davidi

Study shape: Maternal colour was measured at defined ages and compared with offspring outcomes.

Experimental unit: Female and associated offspring group

Environment: Laboratory comparison of red-stock females and offspring

Endpoints: female colour, offspring colour, offspring quality.

What it can support: Visible colour changed with age, and maternal colour did not simply predict offspring colour at the measured checkpoint.

What it cannot support: It does not provide a named-morph inheritance chart, breeding value from one parent image or a universal grade age.

Open the source or open this record in the full research map.

Supporting authorities

These can govern a method, professional boundary, regulation, maintained identity record or manufacturer instruction. They are not counted as animal evidence.

No separate supporting authority is linked to this guide. That does not mean the evidence inventory is complete.

Named open questions and searches

Which complete diet and ration combinations support Neocaridina across the full colony life cycle?

Current boundary: Direct studies compare particular commercial products, formulated ingredient replacements, live feeds, biofilm systems and feeding frequencies. Their formulations, physical forms, ration methods, life stages and endpoints differ, so no study establishes one complete commercial food, pellet count, live feed or nutrient target for every colony.

What would answer it: Replicated aquarium comparisons with fully reported stable formulations, dry-matter ration, measured intake and leaching, life-stage and sex denominators, water chemistry, survival, growth, molting, reproduction, offspring and long-term health endpoints.

Open the gap in the full research map.

Reproducible search reviews

Public research changes affecting this guide

Knowledge gap refined2026-08-11

A suggested uropod imaging site is not a grade standard

Changed: The colour evidence backlog now records a direct 2011 Neocaridina chromatosome paper without promoting its abstract into a grading or husbandry rule.

Why: The accessible abstract identifies three phenotypes, anterior pigmentation and the uropod exopod as a suitable non-invasive monitoring area, but the full methods and results remain access-controlled. Phenotype definitions, denominators, holding conditions, imaging controls, scoring, statistics and effect sizes remain unverified, so one phone photograph cannot be treated as a stable whole-animal grade, genetic test, health reading or colour-care prescription.

Claim scope narrowed2026-08-11

Five SSR markers are not a colour-purity certificate

Changed: The genetics guide now includes a 2020 super red, chocolate and reciprocal-cross marker study while separating marker development in one supplier breeding population from a validated trade-line test.

Why: The complete article and eleven official supplements support five polymorphic SSR loci and reveal eight selected females and males per source strain plus three families per cross group. They do not provide individual genotype data, complete group denominators, family-aware analysis, standardized colour phenotypes, Mendelian segregation or an independent test population. Hybrid frequencies occur in eighths despite a stated 50 offspring per group, and the claimed 0.0018 percent combined misrecognition rate is not derived or tested on held-out animals.

Knowledge gap refined2026-08-11

A colour transcriptome is not an inheritance map

Changed: The colour and genetics gap map now includes the 2022 red, blue and chocolate cephalothorax transcriptome and its public nine-run archive without promoting expression differences or mined SSRs into breeding guidance.

Why: The archive confirms three labeled RNA-seq samples per phenotype, but neither it nor the accessible article record states the shrimp count or pooling behind each library, independent tank and family units, or a standardized colour measurement. The study compared phenotype-associated expression. It did not test a named trade line, causal DNA variant, segregation ratio, dominance, cross forecast or validated genetic marker, and complete methods remain unavailable.

Knowledge gap refined2026-08-11

A multi-omics pathway label is not a colour-breeding target

Changed: The colour-genetics gap map and priority queue now include the 2026 crustacyanin RNA-interference and multi-omics study without promoting its abstract-level results into the method-reviewed evidence corpus.

Why: The publisher preview reports 24 family genes, two knockdown targets, compensatory expression and candidate interacting proteins, but not the complete animal, vessel, control, pooling, phenotype or analysis units. It reports no named-line crosses, standardized visible-colour outcome, whole-animal molt result or living-shrimp disease-protection test.

Claim scope narrowed2026-08-11

Three colour strains are not trade-line genotypes

Changed: The genetics and colour evidence boundary now preserves the full methods behind the 2026 red, yellow and blue pigment-pathway comparison, including its unresolved animals, pools, tanks, source identities and phenotype measurements.

Why: The study reported three biological samples per endpoint but not the shrimp count or pooling behind them, culture-tank replication or strain allocation. It compared transcripts, normalized western-blot bands and relative fluorescence without gene manipulation, crosses, standardized colorimetry, pigment-compound identification or named-trade-line validation.

Source added2026-08-11

Three altered survivors are not an inheritance chart

Changed: The genetics guide now includes the 2022 Neocaridina embryo-editing experiment while separating a target-gene method result from whole-cohort efficiency, adult outcome, inherited line and commercial-colour claims.

Why: The reported 10 percent was three visibly altered animals among 28 injected embryos that survived to the phenotype screen. The paper did not report the initial injected total, systematically genotype phenotype-normal survivors, follow edited animals to adulthood or test fertility, germline transmission or F1 inheritance.

Source added2026-08-11

A background-colour response is not a genetic colour change

Changed: The colour guide now includes a seven-day assigned-environment comparison while separating an RGB response among survivors from inherited colour, commercial grade and camouflage benefit.

Why: Only the blue group produced a significant among-channel difference. The preprint withheld feed for 14 days, reported about 56 percent survival in white, did not report vessel allocation or replication and barcoded only five colony representatives rather than all 64 experimental animals.

Source added2026-08-11

Ten market barcodes do not certify a trade line

Changed: The species guide now includes a direct ornamental-market CO1 study while separating its ten sampled colour entries from species diagnosis, seller-line ancestry, pedigree, purity and inheritance.

Why: The paper reports 98.24 to 99.29 percent identity to one mitochondrial reference and zero distance among its study entries, but it provides no vouchers or new sequence accessions, leaves seller and aquarium clustering unresolved, shows no band for the blue gel lane and conflicts over sample numbering and phylogenetic models. A short maternally inherited fragment from one market cannot authenticate another stock or a global trade label.

Source added2026-08-11

The highest live-feed mean is not a complete-food recommendation

Changed: The feeding and colour guides now include a 40-day Tubifex, Chironomus, Daphnia and Spirulina-pellet comparison while preserving its aquarium replication and reporting conflicts.

Why: Three aquaria represented each feed, but the study used genus-only stock, unmeasured ad-libitum intake, an unidentified pellet control and conflicting colour scales, significance language and discussion. It cannot establish Tubifex as complete, safest or capable of improving inherited grade.

Source added2026-08-11

A yellow-population scarb1 association is not a Sunkist test

Changed: The colour and genetics guides now include the scarb1 split-clutch RNA-interference result and G1593A population association while rejecting use of the SNP to identify a named yellow line.

Why: Only five maternal clutches supplied the functional comparison, later-stage silencing failed and most comparison tests are not named. The table reports 345 of 384 planned genotypes per population without explaining missing calls, and no cross, causation test, individual prediction or independent seller-line validation was run.

Claim scope narrowed2026-08-11

A candidate pigment SNP is not a named-line genetic test

Changed: The colour and genetics guides now include the NdBCO-like4 functional experiment while rejecting use of its one associated SNP to identify Blue Dream, Sunkist, Bloody Mary or another seller line.

Why: The strongest functional comparison used five paired maternal clutches under an artificial removed-embryo protocol. The paper also conflicts over synonymous versus missense wording, wild versus transparent labels and genotype totals, so the association cannot establish causation, dominance, pedigree or a cross forecast.

Audit or improve this dossier

Return to the practical guide, compare coverage across topics, or challenge an exact claim or add a missing source.