Hello again fams. It’s been a long time since I’ve updated this blog. Before we go into today’s topic, I would like to wish everyone reading this a happy 2022! In 2018, I’ve written a post about how Fishbone Pinto are graded, you can find the post here.

Today, I like to talk about how Stardust is differentiated and graded. Stardust is a variant evolved from Galaxy Fishbone, it surfaced in around 2017 and is still amazingly good looking even until now.

Initially there were only black Stardust, and in 2019, red Stardust started to come into the industry and is still very highly sought after. A high grade red Stardust can range from 500USD to 1000USD depending on the seller. Now let’s take a deeper look into the different patterns of this interesting shrimp.

What is the difference between Stardust and Galaxy?
The key difference is that Stardusts have spots on their body while Galaxies only have spots on their head.

Fishbone
As they are the evolution of Fishbone pinto, one would ask if the Fishbone is still essential in grading Stardust. The quick answer to that is yes, a Stardust with clear define fishbone pattern would be graded higher than one without it. In the current market, one without fishbone can still be considered a Stardust, but most would prefer a Stardust to have a Fishbone.

There are several fancy names like “meteorite” that are used to represent Stardusts with extremely fine spots all over the head and body but without Fishbone patterns.

Spots on head
Stardust should have fine spots covering the top of the head to the bottom. The spots should not be touching each other. Lines on the face are a big no, these patterns eventually lead to bigger spots. Having one or two thin line on the face is usual, but thick lines and connecting patterns can be considered as culls.

Like the picture below, this particular piece has lots of connecting lines, they may look beautiful but would be a major factor to consider when culling shrimps. These lines can eventually turn out to mask the face.

Spots on body
Same as the head, the spots should be very fine and not touching one another or even the fishbone. Under good lighting, some Stardust with very fine spots cannot be seen with the naked eye, but they can be seen when taken with a camera.

Spider legs
This would be a plus point if your Stardust exhibits spider legs. Strong lineage has very defined spider legs and in their offspring, 95% of them will have spider legs as well.

New variations

There are two new variation or classification with Stardust. The upcoming trend would be Stardust with a white line at the side of the carapace between the head and body. The term necklace is used to describe this unique shrimp.

Another one would be lines that cover the bottom skirting of the shell and between each carapace on the body. This pattern somehow just reminds me of tiger stripes, but they definitely look different. I see some breeders refining this pattern in the lineage now and I believe they will soon be more readily available in the market.

Stardusts are very different from Galaxies and Boa. So, look carefully before purchasing and don’t get conned. Stardusts are commonly misrepresented with Galaxies, one with little spots on the body would be more costly than one without and would also be more worth it to purchase. Galaxies would take a very long time to produce Stardust.

Stardusts are quite affordable in the market now, low grade ones can range from $50SGD onwards. That’s all that we have today for you, if you like to find out more about this shrimp, you can head down to our store to look at them.