Blue Pearl Shrimp breeding tank

[stanleyc]

I keep Blue Pearl Shrimps in my H. Orientalis and C. Cyanurus (does the taxonomy change apply to Cyanuras as well?) tanks as a cleanup crew and possibly occasional meal for my newts. The thing is they aren't very blue at all, a few are slightly blue, some are almost clear, and most are more of an orange/brown color. I was hoping to take some out and selectively breed them for a nicer blue color in a Walstad style tank and was wondering how many shrimps should I have per gallon of water.

By the way, for those who may not know, Blue Pearls are the blue variants of the species Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis, the red variant being the much more common Red Cherry Shrimp. So whatever advice you have regarding the Red Cherries would apply to these.

Thanks
Stanley