Can anyone ID this shrimp for me please? is it a Chameleon?

[Ree]

Hi I was given this large shrimp by a lovely friend... she/he is about 3cm long and much 'heftier' than the mixed bag of neocardina culls she came with.  Can anyone please tell me if she is a Chameleon shrimp? or a chocolate cherry? My friend at first thought she was a Rifle shrimp as that was he had been told, but I haven't seen any baskets on it or seen any filter feeding...  This is the best poto I have been able to get of her/him.... she is a very active little shrimp and I normally end up with a picture of a brown/purple/bluish blur LOL

[fishmosy]

Hi Ree,

Its definitely not a riffle shrimp. In all likelihood, it is a poorly coloured cherry shrimp. Chameleons (and the similar Blackmore) don't tend to get as big as cherries, and yours is already bigger than these ever get (usually 2-3cm).

Whilst most cherries tend to get to only 3cm or so, some of mine have reached 4.5-5cm in total length.

[waffle]

I reckon it's a cherry - I have a cherry that looks really similar except the colouring is browny-blue rather than reddish. It was an odd one amongst a group of yellows that breed mostly true. It's in a separate tank with some culls for company and it's growing pretty big and is very active - actually seems more robust than its true-coloured yellow brethren.