Aquarium Size

Cherry Shrimp do not require a large aquarium. A healthy population of cherry shrimp can easily be maintained in a 10-gallon aquarium. The larger the aquarium, the better! Larger aquariums have more stable water parameters and the most important factor for keeping Cherry Shrimp healthy is to keep all water parameters stable.

Previous Aquarium Use

It is important to know what pervious uses an aquarium that is meant for Cherry Shrimp has been used for. An aquarium that was used for a quarantine tank or a heavily medicated aquarium should never be used for Cherry Shrimp. Cherry Shrimp, as with all other freshwater invertebrates are extremely sensitive to copper, a common ingredient in many aquarium medications. The copper can seep into the silicone and leach out and kill the Cherry Shrimp.

Filtration Types

When making a filtration choice for an aquarium that will include Cherry Shrimp it is important to consider the size of a freshly hatched Cherry Shrimp. The newly hatch shrimp are ¼” or smaller and will fit into the screens included with most power filters (Hang on back filters, internal power filters, or canister filters). If you choose to use one of these filters a sponge pre-filter should be placed over the intake. The safest type of filter for a Cherry Shrimp aquarium is an air drive sponge filter!

Plants and Decorations

Cherry Shrimp require something to climb on and to cling to in order to feel comfortable. The best things for shrimp to climb on are live plants (check out plantedtank.net for great information about planted tanks). Other decorations such as fake plants and rocks will also work. It is important to make sure that with whatever decorations you choose that there are plenty of hiding places for the shrimp. After the molt (shed their exoskeleton to grow) they will need to hide until their exoskeleton hardens.

Basic Information

The Cherry Shrimp is a Neocaridina species (Neocaridina heteropoda) that is originally from south east Asia. A full grown shrimp is around 1.5 inches and displays a bright red color. They have a life span of about 1-2 years and can live in most aquarium water conditions.

Cherry Shrimp adapt very well to the home aquarium and as long as copper is avoided are fairly hardy. They do not require a very large tank, a 10 gallon aquarium is sufficient, and they will eat just about any food intended for aquarium inhabitants.

Of all the freshwater dwarf shrimp, the Cherry Shrimp is one of the more active. They will spend most of the day picking at plants and other decorations eating algae. They are rather non-aggressive and make great tank mates for any other dwarf shrimp. If you plan to keep fish with them, small non-aggressive fish are recommended, but breeding Cherry Shrimp will not be successful with most fish as they will eat the young shrimp.

Cherry Shrimp are omnivores. They will eat any food intended for aquarium use. They prefer to have a high vegetable content in their diet and are also good algae eaters. A great supplemental food is blanched (boiled until soft) vegetables. Zucchini, baby carrots, and spinach are great vegetables to blanch and feed to cherry shrimp.

As long as there is a male and a female present in an aquarium and no predators, cherry shrimp will breed. The female will carry the fertilized eggs under her tail until they hatch. Newly hatch cherry shrimp are miniature versions of their parents.
The male is smaller and less colorful The female is larger and displays a much darker and fuller red color. Often times the female will display a yellow “Saddle” that is the eggs developing in her ovaries. If planning to breed and raise cherry shrimp tank mates other than snails should be avoided.

There are quite a few resources on the internet to find more information and a few that I would recommend are Cherry Shrimp - TheShrimpFarm.com and One Buck Wiki - Cherry Shrimp.