Sulawesi Galaxy is a tank-bred line of Sulawesi lake Caridina, bred by Shrimp Aquatics and not collected from the wild. The name comes from the pattern: a dark body scattered with pale speckles, which varies from one shrimp to the next and fills in as the animal matures. It is an advanced line that asks for a mature, warm, alkaline tank first and a buyer second.
Check your tank against Galaxy water targets before you order
This line is kept inside the same group range as every Sulawesi shrimp we sell. If your tank already runs there, it is a candidate. If it needs to be moved into range, finish that first.
| Temperature | 79-86°F (26-30°C) |
|---|---|
| pH | 7.5-8.5 |
| GH | 4-8 dGH |
| KH | 3-6 dKH |
| TDS | 150-250 ppm |
| Nitrate | Under 10 ppm |
| Substrate | Inert substrate and hardscape, no active pH lowering soil |
At Shrimp Aquatics, most of our Sulawesi systems currently run at TDS 150 ppm, GH 6-7 dGH and pH 7.5. We start those systems with RO water rather than tap water, then use Sulawesi Mineral 7.5 to prepare the water for our current tank targets before shrimp are introduced, and we test the finished pH, GH and TDS before the water goes into a tank.
Do not try to keep this line in a tank built for Crystal or Bee Caridina. Soft acidic water and active buffering soil are the opposite of what it needs, and adjusting a few numbers does not convert one setup into the other.
Galaxy needs a mature grazing layer, not just the right numbers
In our Sulawesi systems, mature algae and biofilm do most of the feeding. We normally offer prepared food only about once a week and remove leftovers, because many of the shrimp in these systems show limited interest in it and because food that sits in warm water adds organic waste and can raise ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as it breaks down.
So a cycled tank is not yet a ready tank. We wait for 0 ammonia and nitrite, stable temperature and chemistry, an established biological filter and visible grazing surfaces on the rock and glass before stocking. With a powdered bacterial starter our normal minimum is 3-4 weeks; with a liquid or live culture the same checkpoint may arrive in 2-3 weeks.
- Ammonia and nitrite read 0 on two tests a few days apart.
- Temperature, pH, KH and TDS have held for at least a week without correction.
- Rock and glass carry a visible film of algae and biofilm.
- Do not order to a tank that was set up this month, whatever the test kit says.
Which tankmates and Sulawesi lines can share a Galaxy tank
Bee and Taiwan Bee Caridina are incompatible with this water. Sulawesi snails are the usual companions because they share the range and the grazing surfaces; count them into the grazing load. Filtration should keep oxygen high with gentle movement at shrimp level.
We have no crossing record for Galaxy against the other lines in our range. Keep it in its own tank if you want the pattern to stay as it arrived.
How many Galaxy shrimp to order for a colony
Order a group, not a pair. When we can sex the shrimp with reasonable confidence, we usually build a Sulawesi breeding group with either 2 males to 8 females or 3 males to 7 females, to reduce mating pressure on newly molted females. We do not promise the sex or sex ratio of shipped stock unless that exact stock has been verified, and we do not promise how any individual’s speckling will develop.
Before you order
Email contact@shrimpaquatics.com with your pH, GH, KH, TDS, temperature, tank size, cycle status and current livestock if you are not sure the tank fits. A short answer before you buy is cheaper than a colony lost to an immature tank.
Settling a Galaxy order into your tank on arrival
Follow the instructions packed with your order. For a sealed bag after a long transit, the current Shrimp Aquatics shipment protocol is to float the bag to equalize temperature, then net the shrimp into the tank without adding the shipping water. Packing method, transit time and species can change the right method, so the sheet in the box takes precedence over this page. Keep the lights off for the first 24 hours.
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