The Caridina japonica is one of the first shrimps that became popular in a tropical aquarium. In english they are called glass shrimp, Amano shrimp or simply Japonica. The Japanese Takashi Amano made them popular as he always used them in his aquariums. Takashi Amano is a world renowned aquarium photographer and aquatic enthusiast.

The body of this shrimp is mostly transparent gray. The females have a yellow stripe down their backs and which the males sometimes lacking. When the  shrimps are mature, the females are larger than the males.

The Japonica are so popular because they have a string of qualities appropriate for an aquarium. They are bigger than the average shrimp so they are always seen, they can age up to 5 years and sometimes even older, they are not picky with food and eat leftovers and algae and are not agressive to fish. Moreover, they are also fun to watch. Their surrounding needs are not high demanding. A well planted aquarium with not too large other fish and a temperature of about 25 degrees Celsius is good enough for a number of years. They are very sensitive to medication. When their is neccessity to apply m,edication the shrimp are better taken out of the tank.

For trade, we depend solely on wild caught from Taiwan and other countries. This is partly because these shrimp are difficult to breed. Female regularly have eggs but the offspring cannot survive in freshwater longer than 24 hours. For successful breeding, the newborns need brackish water and very fine food. All in all is the Japonica shrimp an asset and is here to stay in many tanks.