Pinocchio Shrimp

Pinocchio Shrimp (Caridina gracilirostris) is one of the most unusual-looking shrimp in the hobby — a nearly transparent body traced with fine red and yellow striping, topped off by a long, needle-like red rostrum extending out past the head. That exaggerated "nose" is exactly where the common name comes from, and it's also sold under the names Pinokio Shrimp, Red Nose Shrimp, Rudolph Shrimp, and Rhino Shrimp. The rostrum can regenerate if broken, and males tend to run larger and more colorful than females — the reverse of most shrimp species.

Pinocchio Shrimp come from estuaries, coastal streams, and slightly saline freshwater rivers across the Indo-Pacific, including Thailand, the Philippines, and parts of India — environments where fresh and salt water mix. In the wild they graze constantly over submerged vegetation, picking biofilm and algae off every surface. In the aquarium they're surprisingly active swimmers for a shrimp, darting through the water column while feeding rather than just walking along surfaces the way most dwarf shrimp do — one of the more entertaining behaviors to watch in a nano tank.

A 10-gallon or larger brackish aquarium is a safe starting point, with plenty of cover in the form of shrimp flats, driftwood, and decorations. Live plants are more limited in a brackish setup — Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus) is one of the few true aquatic plants that tolerates low-end brackish conditions well. Keep the tank cycled and stable; ammonia and nitrite are just as dangerous in brackish water as in freshwater, and nitrate should be kept low with regular water changes.

Tankmate options are limited by the brackish requirement — most freshwater fish and invertebrates simply won't tolerate the salinity. Stick to other brackish-tolerant species: Clithon-genus Nerite snails handle low-end brackish water well, as do some brackish-adapted ghost shrimp. The tiny Bumblebee Goby is sometimes kept alongside them, but use caution — it's a small predator and given the chance may pick off very young shrimp. Avoid any fish large enough to see a 1.5–2 inch shrimp as a meal.

Molting is the most vulnerable period in a shrimp's life — for 12–24 hours after molting, the new shell is soft and the shrimp is essentially defenseless. Do not remove molted shells from the aquarium; shrimp will consume them to reclaim the minerals they contain. Stable salinity and temperature are especially important around molting — fluctuations are a common cause of failed molts in brackish species.