Spotted Head Bee K12 / K14 - Caridina logemanni

Especially due to its beautiful black, rarely also red spotted markings on the head and the white coloration on the rest of the body, the Spotted Head Bee is very popular in the shrimp hobby. Class K12 describes a shrimp with enlarged white maro-ten spots on the otherwise red or black part of the head carapace. In class K14, the maro-ten spots are so large that they break up the red or black and create interesting patterns. Additional white spots may be added, further reducing the colored areas. With a maximum size of up to three inches, Spotted Head Shrimp females grow quite large for dwarf shrimp. The males are smaller and also less beefy than the females.

As a soft water shrimp, the Spotted Head Bee also prefers rather cool and soft, clean water in the more acidic range. Tap water is not suitable for a permanent keeping or even breeding depending on the region. In such cases osmosis water, which is brought to optimal values with a special mineral salt(bee salt), is to be preferred. An active Soil, which buffers the water values in an optimal range for soft water shrimps, is also advisable, although Spotted Head Bees can certainly be kept on neutral substrate such as gravel. Neither gravel nor decoration should release lime into the water! For high breeding shrimp like the Spotted Head Bee, water changes of 10 to 30% per week have proven to be beneficial. The Spotted Head does not need heating in the aquarium, it feels very comfortable at room temperatures. In the summer one should think about cooling if necessary - temperatures over 25 °C are tolerated only badly.

The Spotted Head Bee is like practically all dwarf shrimp a scavenger and omnivore. Brown autumn foliage is grazed very gladly, it supplies valuable vitamins and proteins by the biofilm forming on it. If the foliage has been broken down by bacteria, it will also be eaten itself. It can be left in the aquarium until it has completely decomposed. Two to three times a week Spotted Head Bees still need a suitable protein food. Otherwise, they are very happy to eat mainly vegetable food.

The Spotted Head Bee also reproduces well when environmental conditions are favorable. A Spotted Head Bee female can carry between 20 and 40 eggs under her abdomen. After three to four weeks, it then releases fully developed young, which immediately start moving around the aquarium on their own. When they are still very young, Spotted Head babies are sessile and do not move far from where they first left the mother. Therefore it is good to use a micro ground dust food, which is well distributed in the aquarium. Note: Feeding less and more often is better for the water quality than giving large portions a few times.

With other color forms of the bee shrimp and with Taiwan shrimps (Shadow Bees) the Spotted Head Bee can be socialized very well, they have identical requirements to the water values. It can come here to mixed forms! If you want to socialize them with other shrimp species, the requirements to the water values should also match. With peaceful small fishes the Spotted Head Shrimp can be kept well in an aquarium. However, their lower reproduction rate makes a species tank (possibly together with peaceful snails) advisable. The Spotted Head Shrimp cannot be kept together with mussels, predatory snails, crayfish and freshwater crabs .

Shipped as a mix of red and - predominantly - black Spotted Head Bee Shrimp.

Our food recommendation: NatureHolic's soft mainfeed softpads are designed for daily feeding. They contain all the nutrients shrimp need for shell development, egg formation and growth. During the production we pay attention to a gentle and environmentally friendly production, which preserves the vitamins and other valuable ingredients as much as possible.

Our plant recommendation: Use for the planting NatureHolic InVitros. These are free of snails, planaria and other unwanted co-inhabitants. Also free of algae spores, bacteria and fungi.

Expert Tip: We recommend for fish keeping the NatureHolic 3 Phase Liquid. The care set offers the best all-round protection for your animals. It ensures optimal conditions for successful breeding and keeping.