- Origin:
- Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS) are a color morph of the wild black and white bee shrimp (Caridina cf. cantonensis) found in Taiwan and southern China.
- Discovery:
- In 1993, Japanese breeder Hisayasu Suzuki discovered a single red-colored shrimp among his colony of black bee shrimp.
- Selective breeding:
- Suzuki began selectively breeding this red shrimp, repeatedly breeding and back-crossing to create a stable red variety.
- It's said that the CRS strain was created from only 3 original shrimp, making it highly inbred and sensitive.
- Development:
- After many cycles of selective breeding, Suzuki finally arrived at a "true red shrimp" strain.
- In 1996, he named it Crystal Red Shrimp and was awarded a patent for this recessive mutation of the normal bee shrimp.
- Refinement:
- Since then, CRS have been further refined by Suzuki and other breeders to produce specimens with larger white patches and intensified red coloration.
- Grading system:
- A grading system was established to standardize the appearance of CRS, ranging from lower grades (C, B, A) to higher grades (S, SS, SSS).
- Global popularity:
- CRS became available in the United States in the early 2000s and quickly gained popularity due to their striking red and white patterns.
- Pure Red Line (PRL):
- Some breeders developed the Pure Red Line (PRL), which focuses on achieving a consistently vibrant red color without crossbreeding with other shrimp groups.