King Kong Shrimp Simple Care: A Step-By-Step Guide

King Kong Shrimp Standing

If you’re an exotic shrimp lover, King Kong shrimp can be a stunning addition to your aquarium. When you keep this amazing shrimp as your pet, you may need a step-by-step care guide. 

In this article, I’ve summed up all the required information about the habitation set-up, water quality, feeding guide, suitable tank mates, breeding care, and other required issues. So, let’s go through this article without any further ado.  

Since King Kong shrimp are mutations of Taiwan Bee shrimp, you might find similarities in the care guide of these shrimp. These shrimp are also known as Panda shrimp. There are also yellow King Kong shrimp that are mutations of two different types of shrimp species.

However, you should take a quick look at the profile of King Kong Shrimp before bringing these shrimp to your home. 

Let’s check out the following chart for an overview of King Kong shrimp.

Scientific nameCaridina cf Cantonesis 
Size 1-1.5 inches (2.5-3.8 cm)
Tank size10-25 gallon
Optimal pH6.2-6.8
Optimal temperature68-76 degrees Fahrenheit (20-22 degrees Celsius) 
Temperament  Docile 
Aquarium levelBottom middle  
Diet Herbivores 
Care levelIntermediate 
Reproduction Livebearer
Breeding careIntermediate 
Lifespan1-2 years

What Do You Need To Keep King Kong Shrimp As Pets?

Before going into the habitation setup process, you should bring all required supplies together. I’ve made a small list of the basic supplies that you need to keep King Kong shrimp as pets. These are-

  1. A tank of 10-25 gallon
  2. Substrate
  3. Heater
  4. LED light
  5. Décor
  6. Aerator 
  7. Thermometer
  8. Water conditioner
  9. Live plants
  10. Some hardscape materials 
  11. Water test kits
  12. Tank lid 

How Do You Set-up Up A King Kong Shrimp Tank?

1. Choosing A 10-25 Gallon Tank

When you want to keep shrimp as pets, the first thing you need is a suitable tank. Although King Kong shrimp are small creatures, these shrimp require a large space to thrive in captivity. Like other shrimp, King Kong shrimp also do best in a colony of shrimp. After all, these shrimp are social creatures.

For this reason, you can keep a colony of 5-6 King Kong shrimp in a 10-gallon tank. But, you should provide additional space to roam them freely. 

You might know that shrimp produce biological wastes that pollute the water in the tank. When you keep your shrimp in a large tank, the large volume of water will require fewer changes. To keep your King Kong shrimp healthy, you should choose a 10-25 gallon tank.

2. Adding Substrate

Some shrimp owners prefer to keep bare-bottom tanks for aesthetic purposes. But, you should add a good substrate to help your King Kong shrimp thrive in captivity. 

Before adding a substrate, you should know which type of substrate is suitable for your King Kong shrimp. King Kong shrimp are included among Caridina Cantonensis shrimp species. So, you should choose the Caridina shrimp substrate. 

If you notice at their pH level, the optimal pH range of King Kong shrimp should be within 6.2-6.8. To keep the water acidic, you can keep a high-quality active substrate. If you keep a buffering substrate, the such substrate will lower the pH level of the water. 

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So, the substrate is a must needed component to balance the pH level of water. In addition, it’ll provide sufficient space for your King Kong shrimp to hide or dig up the substrate. 

3. Adding Live Plants

King Kong shrimp require a heavy plant-based aquarium to thrive in captivity. You should add plenty of live plants to your shrimp tank. Moreover, you can add anything that can grow biofilms in the tank. 

Plants play a significant role by absorbing some toxic elements from the water. Moreover, heavy plantation provides sufficient space for your King Kong shrimp to explore and hide out. In addition, plants act as the hard surface for your King Kong shrimp on which they can eat their food. 

While choosing plants, you must ensure buying safe plants for your King Kong shrimp. There are several good examples of plants for a shrimp tank. Such as Java moss, Anubias, duckweed, water lettuce, water fern, pearl weed, water wisteria, red tiger lotus, hornwort, etc.

Click here to know about 7 floating plants for a shrimp tank 

4. Adding Décor Items

To create a naturalistic environment, you should add some safe décor items to your King Kong shrimp tank. There are driftwood, porous bricks, rocks, ceramic decorations, bottles, PVC pipes, etc. 

Your King Kong shrimp can hide out in this décor stuff. Besides, these items provide your shrimp sufficient space to take a rest. You should remain concerned that there should not be any sharp edges on these items. 

5. Providing A Good Lighting Set-up

Since you make a planted tank for your King Kong shrimp, you should create both dark and bright corners in the tank. If possible, you should keep your shrimp tank beside the window of a room where sunshine can readily come. Sunshine encourages the growth of algae and other plants.

Otherwise, you can adjust a low-powered LED light in one corner of the tank. Keep the lighting for only 8 hours a day to control the algae growth. Also, the dark corners help moss and fern plants to bloom well. 

For a planted tank of King Kong shrimp, I suggest you check out Fluval Plant 3.0 LED Planted Aquarium Lighting.

6. Adding A Heater

You might know that King Kong shrimp are freshwater shrimp. These shrimp are accustomed to living in warm water in the wild. The optimal temperature for King Kong shrimp ranges between 68-72 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperature is a crucial factor in the growth of King Kong shrimp. Besides, warmer water helps your shrimp keep a good metabolism rate. For successful breeding, you must keep a constant temperature in your shrimp tank. 

If the room temperature doesn’t remain in the optimal range, you must add a heater to your King Kong shrimp tank. Cold temperature makes shrimp weak day by day. So, you must add a thermostat regulating heater in your King Kong shrimp tank.

7. Adding A Good Aquarium Filter

The filtration system of the aquarium plays a significant role in the survival of your pet shrimp in captivity. Like any other shrimp, King Kong shrimp are sensitive to water changes. 

On the other hand, the water parameters do not always remain constant. Ammonia will be added to the water through the leftovers, decaying plants, shrimp feces, etc. When the ammonia turns into nitrite and nitrate, the water will become toxic. 

Hence, you must add a good filtration system to filter the toxic elements. Also, a filter will add beneficial bacteria to your shrimp tank. 

You should choose a safe filter for your shrimp. Sometimes, a filter can suck up the baby King Kong shrimp if the filtration system has a strong current. On the contrary, a weak filter may not help create a healthy ecosystem in your shrimp tank.

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There are lots of filtration systems for your King Kong shrimp. You can choose among internal filters, hang-on-back filters, canister filters, etc. But, the experts suggest sponge filters as 100% safe for King Kong shrimp.

8. Adding A Tank lid

Generally, hobbyists fix tank lids in the aquarium of fish or aquatic frogs. There isn’t much risk of your King Kong shrimp jumping out of the tank. But, you should add a tank lid to keep the tank environment right.

If you add a tank lid, there will be less evaporation. In such a case, the minerals of the water will not be evaporated. Besides, a closed-lid tank will keep the tank warmer. You must add a cover on the tank when you run a heater for your King Kong shrimp. 

Water Parameters For King Kong Shrimp

When you keep King Kong shrimp as pets, your utmost responsibility should be keeping the right water parameters in the tank. Like all shrimp, King Kong shrimp are also highly sensitive to water changes. If the water parameters do not remain within optimal range, your King Kong shrimp will not survive too long.

Let’s check out the following small chart of water parameters for King Kong shrimp.  

pH6.5-8.0
Temperature 65-76 degrees Fahrenheit 
TDS200-300 ppm
KH3-15 dKH
GH4-8 GH
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate Less than 25 ppm

Because of being freshwater shrimp, these King Kong shrimp require soft acidic water in the tank. In addition, you should maintain lower KH and GH. Although King Kong shrimp can thrive in a bit harder water, these shrimp can’t survive long in this condition.

King Kong shrimp loves to live in cooler temperatures. These freshwater shrimp can survive in the temperature of the upper 60s. But, the temperature range should not go over 76 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Besides, you must ensure that the ammonia and nitrite level should remain at zero. Due to the leftovers and decaying materials, the ammonia level may go up readily. Hence, you should do a 30-40% water change twice a week. 

Cycling The Tank Before Adding King Kong Shrimp

After setting up the tank, you might be excited to introduce your King Kong shrimp into the aquarium. Before that, you should cycle the tank to add beneficiary bacteria.

You might know that all shrimp leaves biological wastes in the form of ammonia. In addition, the leftovers, dead fish, decaying plants, and other wastes are the sources of ammonia. This ammonia is a curse to the closed environment. 

When you leave your King Kong shrimp in a new tank, your pet shrimp will not survive for a long time. You should introduce nitrifying bacteria to your King Kong shrimp tank. These good bacteria require some time to grow in the tank.

Not to mention, the nitrifying bacteria convert the ammonia into a less harmful nitrite. Afterward, the nitrite turns to nitrate. The entire process of converting ammonia to less harmful nitrate refers to cycling. So, you must not miss this step before adding your King Kong shrimp. 

Diet: What Do King Kong Shrimp Eat?

King Kong shrimp are omnivores and scavengers. In the wild, these King Kong shrimp tend to consume bacteria, algae, microorganisms, zooplankton, dead fish, or anything that they find at the bottom of the water bed.

Like the wild, King Kong shrimp have a large share of their diet from the leftover foods and microfilm of the tank. So, you can encourage the growth of algae and biofilm in your King Kong shrimp tank.

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To promote the biofilm in the tank, you can add Indian almond leaves, cinnamon sticks, alder cones, etc. These leaf litters release tannin in the water, which helps the biofilm growth of the shrimp tank.

To ensure good health, you should feed other varieties of foods to your King Kong shrimp. Since the shrimp aren’t picky eaters, they tend to eat plant and meat-based diets. You can feed them boiled vegetables.

For this, you should cut the vegetables into small pieces. King Kong shrimp can eat spinach, Kuri squash, zucchini, broccoli, cucumber, sweet potatoes, etc. Don’t forget to wash and peel the vegetables before processing them. 

Besides, you can add a cuttlebone for your King Kong shrimp. It’ll be the source of dietary calcium for your shrimp to make their shell strong.

You can also feed your King Kong shrimp and other commercial shrimp food. There are algae wafers, snowflake pallets, pollen, etc.

Adding Suitable Tank Mates For King Kong Shrimp

Before adding tank mates to your shrimp tank, you should remain aware of the temperament and requirements of those tank mates. The King Kong shrimp have peaceful and docile nature. Besides, these shrimp tend to stay at the bottom-middle of the tank.

You should keep tank mates with similar personalities and water conditions. Besides, you should choose such livings that can survive in acidic and low hardness environments. Do not add larger tank mates than King Kong shrimp.

There are some suggestions for suitable tank mates for King Kong shrimp. These are-

  • Bamboo shrimp
  • Blue bolt shrimp
  • Red tiger shrimp
  • Red bee shrimp 
  • Golden bee shrimp
  • Crystal red shrimp
  • Crystal black shrimp
  • Bee shrimp
  • Smaller danios
  • Rasboras 
  • Japanese trapdoor snail
  • Gouramis 
  • Malaysian trapdoor snail
  • Ramshorn snail 

Reproduction Care Of King Kong Shrimp

You should introduce male and female King Kong shrimp if you want to breed your shrimp. Some owners use separate spawning tanks. Otherwise, you can upgrade the environmental conditions of your King Kong shrimp for breeding purposes.

Before starting their breeding phase, you should take extra care of their diet. Do not keep your King Kong shrimp hungry. Along with strict feeding rules, you should keep constant water parameters.

The water temperature must remain within 68-75 degrees Fahrenheit. In addition, the pH level should be within 5-6.

Your King Kong shrimp will not succeed to breed if the temperature range doesn’t remain appropriate. Make sure to keep the ammonia and nitrite level safe for your King Kong shrimp. 

You might know that shrimp are shy creatures. Hence, you must remove all tank mates if you want to breed your King Kong shrimp.

Molting Care of King Kong Shrimp

Molting is a natural process of all shrimp species. But, failure in molting can take the lives of your pet King Kong shrimp. Sometimes, shrimp can stuck in their shedding exoskeleton.

To help your King Kong shrimp in the molting process, you can ensure keeping the mineral contents of the water perfect. In addition, you should maintain the pH level, dissolved oxygen level, and other water parameters.

If the water quality remains good, your King Kong shrimp may not face difficulty in molting. There remains a risk of cracking down their shells while molting. For this, you must ensure a nutritious diet. The diet of your King Kong shrimp should contain 30-45% protein. 

You can also add iodine to the water to encourage their molting. Also, you should not remove the shredded exoskeleton of your King Kong shrimp. It may add calcium to the diet of your shrimp.

If your King Kong shrimp is stuck in molt, you can check this article to know what to do.

Before You Go

In this article, you’ve learned details about the King Kong shrimp care guide. If you want to keep Taiwan Bee shrimp as pets, you can check out the following link.

Master Taiwan Bee Shrimp Care In 7 Easy Steps!

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Muntaseer Rahman

About Author

Hello, I’m Muntaseer Rahman, the owner of AcuarioPets.com. I’m passionate about aquarium pets like shrimps, snails, crabs, and crayfish. I’ve created this website to share my expertise and help you provide better care for these amazing pets.

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