Are you looking for a new pet to add to your family? If so, you may want to consider Red Cherry Shrimp! These small, colorful creatures make great pets for first time owners and can bring a lot of joy and entertainment into your home.
Red Cherry Shrimp are native to Taiwan, but they can be found in many aquariums around the world. They are small, usually only reaching a size of 1-2 inches in length.
These shrimp are very easy to care for and require minimal maintenance. They prefer water that is slightly acidic with a pH level between 6.5 and 7.5. They also need plenty of hiding places, such as rocks and plants, to feel safe and secure.
Red Cherry Shrimp are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter. They feed on algae, detritus, and small pieces of fish food. It is important to provide them with a balanced diet that includes both plant and animal matter.
In addition to being easy to care for, Red Cherry Shrimp are also very social creatures. They enjoy interacting with other shrimp in their tank.
Red Cherry Shrimp are one of the easiest types of shrimp to care for. They are very docile, and don’t require much attention. They are also very peaceful, and will never attack anything else in their tank. They’re also very easy to breed, making it possible to produce large numbers of these little shrimp.
They are very easy to maintain, and won’t require much cleaning. They are also very clean and will eat algae off of rocks and plants. They are also relatively inexpensive, costing about $1 to $3 per shrimp. They are very attractive, and will look great in any aquarium.
If you’re looking for a pet that is low maintenance and easy to care for, then Red Cherry Shrimp may be the perfect choice for you. They are sure to bring lots of joy and entertainment into your home. So why not give them a try?
Red Cherry Shrimp Information
- Average Length: 1.5 inches
- Scale Colors: Shades of Red
- Attention Needs: Low
- Tolerance to Heat and Cold: Yes
- Good Pet: Yes
- Good with Other Freshwater Shrimp: Yes
- Good with Other fish species: Only with small non-aggressive species
- Good for Less Experienced Pet Owners: Yes
- Health Concerns: Bacterial Infections, Rust Disease, Vorticella and Scutariella Japonica
- Average Life Span: 1 – 2 years
Red Cherry Shrimp are found in Taiwan, parts of Vietnam and China. They live near water bodies with dense vegetation and rocky substrates.
Physical Appearance of Red Cherry Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp can have various colors in the wild but captive bred Cherry Shrimp are usually only red. Their red color is from years of captive breeding. Their shade of red varies from deep to pale red with spots.
Depending on the shade of red there are different variations of Red Cherry Shrimp.
Cherry Shrimp are graded based on their color and appearance. There are four grades from least desirable to most desirable and most expensive. Cherry Shrimp are the lowest grade and have a transparent body with red patches. Sakura Cherry Shrimp are the next grade with a slightly red color with clear patches on their body. The next is Fire Red Shrimp that have full red bodies. The highest graded is Painted Fire Red Shrimp that are a deep solid red without any transparent areas on their body and will usually have red legs.
Cherry Shrimp are small and grow up to 1.5 inches, with females slightly longer than males. When the Shrimp are young males and females look similar making it difficult to distinguish them. The only difference is that when females mature they develop a pouch-like part on their stomach. The females use the pouch to hold eggs.
Temperament of Red Cherry Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp are non-aggressive and generally peaceful. They are active and will spend most of the day grazing food from plants, substrate and other decorations.
Red Cherry Shrimp get along with each other well and should be kept in large groups of at least 10.
Best Habitat for Red Cherry Shrimp
Setting up a tank for Red Cherry Shrimp is easy. The only major need is a densely planted tank. These Shrimp thrive in planted freshwater tanks and aquatic plants make them feel safe.
Tank size
It’s possible to keep your Cherry Shrimp in a small 5-gallon tank, but we recommend a larger tank. We recommend keeping 2-5 Shrimp per gallon of water. A 10 gallon tank should give your Shrimp enough room around, and the larger tank size will keep the water conditions more stable.
Temperature
The water temperature should be between 65°F and 85°F. The higher end of the temperature range is important if you want to breed your Shrimp. If it’s not at least 80°F in their tank, then your Shrimp won’t breed.
Water Hardness and pH
The pH should be between 6.5 to 8 and water hardness between 5.6dGH and 11dGH.
Lighting
Normal aquarium lighting is enough for them, but they do enjoy hiding at the bottom of their tank. Dimmed LED lighting might be good for them if you only plan on keeping Shrimp in their tank.
Decorations
Red Cherry Shrimp need densely planted tanks. Having lots of plants gives them enough space to hide and feel safe. Their tank should have moss plants like Java Moss because it gives them a lot of places to hide. The plants will also be a rich source of algae for your Shrimp. Red Cherry Shrimp will eat the plants without causing any harm to them.
Driftwood is also great for creating hiding areas. Red Cherry Shrimp will also be able to nibble algae from driftwood.
Substrate
Rocky substrates like pebbles should be used because this replicates their natural environment.
Tank conditions
Red Cherry Shrimp are small and can be pulled by high-powered filters. Their tanks should have only low-flow filters. Sponge filters are best because they can be adjusted to be slower and will trap bits of food that your Shrimp can feed on. If you use canister filters make sure to add foam to the water inlet tube. The foam will restrict the flow of water and reduce the chances of your Shrimp getting sucked in.
Tank Maintenance
Red Cherry Shrimp can’t tolerate high levels of ammonia or nitrite. A sudden spike in ammonia or nitrite can quickly kill them. A 10-15 percent water change should be performed every week. Depending on your tank size and their tank mates you may have to perform higher water changes.
Regularly check the water conditions using an aquarium testing kit. Make changes if the readings are outside of the healthy range.
Shrimp shed their exoskeleton to grow. After they shed their exoskeleton, it should not be removed because they are a rich source of calcium. Your Shrimp will consume the exoskeleton after shedding it. The only time the exoskeleton should be removed is if there was recently a parasitic outbreak. Then the exoskeleton should be removed to prevent re-infection if it is consumed.
Best Tank Mates for Red Cherry Shrimp
Red Cherry Shrimp are peaceful and non-aggressive. If you plan to keep them in a community tank make sure to have at least 10 Red Cherry Shrimp because it makes them feel confident and reduces their dominance. For larger community tanks there should be more than 10 Shrimp.
They can live with small tank mates who are peaceful and calm. Good tank mates include:
- Other Shrimp – Ghost, Vampire and Amano Shrimp
- Freshwater Snails
- Cory and Otocinclus Catfish
- Small Plecos
- Cardinal Tetras
- Dwarf Gouramis
The small size of Red Cherry Shrimp still makes them an easy target for all types of fish. Other fish may confuse them for food. Having lots of plants will create hiding places for your Shrimp and make them feel safe and keep them from getting eaten.
Don’t keep them with aggressive fish like Oscars, Discus and Cichlids.
Feeding Red Cherry Shrimp
Feeding Red Cherry Shrimp is easy because they are scavengers and feed on the leftover matter. They are omnivores and eat both plants and meat.
They will feed algae forms like brown algae and soft green algae. These types of algae grow on hard surfaces like the glass walls of the tank. Cherry Shrimp eat soft biofilm algae, a type of algae created by bacteria feeding on tank waste.
Commercial shrimp food like shrimp pellets, algae wafers, fish pellets and fish flakes can be fed to your Red Cherry Shrimp. Vegetables like spinach, cucumber, carrots and lettuce are great for a change from algae. Make sure to blanch the vegetables before feeding your shrimp.
Shrimp should be fed in small quantities and any excess food should be removed within two hours. Overfeeding can cause excessive waste in your aquarium.
Related Questions:
Can I Breed Red Cherry Shrimp?
Yes, Red Cherry Shrimp can be bred in an aquarium without much difficulty. One of the most important factors in being able to breed these Shrimp is keeping the water between 80 and 85 degrees. If the water is below 80 they won’t breed no matter how good the other water conditions are.
Red Cherry Shrimp reach sexual maturity at 2 to 3 months. You will see female Shrimp carrying 10 to 30 yellow eggs in their pouch. They will carry the eggs for up to 5 weeks after which they will start hatching. The hatchlings will look like smaller Shrimp and will eat an adult Shrimp’s diet.
Make sure the filter doesn’t pull the baby Shrimp and there are no aggressive fish to eat them.
Maryna is an animal expert that has had dozens of animals in her life over the years. She has never found an animal that she didn't love immediately. It seems like every year she finds kittens that have been abandoned by their mom and she nurses them to health and finds homes for them. She contributes her vast knowledge about animals and family pets to our website and we're forever grateful to have her working with us. She's also an amazing graphics designer and has designed all of the social media images that we use across all platforms.