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Since both shrimps are reckoned to be cultivated varieties of some Neocaridinia sp (or closely-related Caridinia/Neocaridinia), it's likely that they can interbreed and produce viable offspring. It's also probably one reason why we are finding various "intermediates" in the market, as people put the two varieties together, causing the production of mongrels with no fixed colour trait. Anyway, this is the trouble with hybrids - they dilute the bloodline of both their parents.
The taxonomy of freshwater shrimps in the Caridinia/Neocaridinia group is still very much subject to question, especially since nobody is quite sure which varieties are natural and which are man-made (see, more trouble from hybrids). Researchers are uncertain even about the exact locality of the shrimps. This is a bad situation, because a fair number of described Caridinias and other freshwater crustaceans have very very limited distributions. One Hong Kong species, for instance, is found in only a couple of streams in the hills of Kowloon. One freshwater crab is found ONLY in Bukit Timah Hill, so if the hill's condition worsens due to quarrying or drought, the crab is gone forever.
The issue of getting animal IDs right is vital, because you can't get legal protection for a variety. People in the hobby may know of a colourful little shrimp called "Malayan shrimp", but if nobody knows where exactly the shrimp is found, whether the various colour forms of this shrimp (and similar shrimps) are natural or man-bred, conservation authorities will not recognise the species in any way. Scientists must be able to describe the species fully, with details on its morphology, locale, unique characteristics, evolutionary relationships to other shrimps etc.... before the creature can even be officially recognises as a species. And if this is not done, it does not matter if the shrimp is found ONLY in one river in Johor - if it's not described, it and its habitat will not be protected in any way.
At this stage, since nobody is clear about the original wild species from which cherries, tiger, bee, crystal red and other fancy shrimp are derived, the creatures have no status at all, and their habitat could be destroyed without anyone knowing it.
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