Red Cherry Shrimp

 Quick Care Facts

• Care Level: Moderate   • Temperament: Peaceful   • Maximum Size: 1"
• Minimum Tank Size: 5 gallons   • Water Conditions: 60-82° F, KH 3-10, pH 6.5-7.5
• Color Forms: Red, White   • Diet: Omnivore   • Origin: Taiwan, Singapore
• Family: Atyidae   • Species: Shrimp   • Aquarium Type: Shrimp

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Red Cherry Shrimp have become popular within the freshwater aquarium hobby due to their bright red coloration and their appetite for all types of freshwater algae. Males of the species are more clear or pink in color, with females having a much more "cherry" red appearance.

When first introduced to the aquarium or when frightened, both males and females will exhibit more pale coloration. However, once established in an aquarium with plenty of vegetation or other suitable hiding places, the Red Cherry Shrimp will maintain a brilliant red coloration with delicate white markings and their body and legs. Overall the Red Cherry Shrimp is an easy to keep and active shrimp species that once settled in the aquarium will actively move about the aquarium in search of algae to consume.

Red Cherry Shrimp should be kept with peaceful freshwater fish species in either a planted aquarium or a community aquarium with plenty of plants, rocks or driftwood to provide them with cover when threatened and a place to forage for algae. Like most freshwater invertebrate species, the Red Cherry Shrimp needs clean water with very good filtration in order to thrive within an aquarium environment.

It is also important to not expose this or other invertebrate species to copper based medications as this can kill them. Red Cherry Shrimp should not be housed with aggressive fish species or with community species such as Loaches and puffers as they eat small shrimps in the wild.

Red Cherry Shrimp feed primarily on freshwater algae, and are coveted for this as they make excellent tank cleaners. However, they will also consume detritus and uneaten foodstuffs that they come across in the aquarium substrate. If no algae is present within the aquarium, it is recommended to supplement the Red cherry Shrimps diet with algae tablets as algae makes up a very large portion of their diet in the wild and will help them maintain a healthy immune system.

Red Cherry Shrimp are one of the easier freshwater shrimp species to breed within the home aquarium environment. At approximately 2 to 3 months of age, Red Cherry Shrimp will become sexually mature, and the females will begin to carry a clutch of yellowish eggs under their tail.

If there are males present within the aquarium, the female will become impregnated and the clutch of eggs will hatch in about 1 month. The eggs will be carried by the female until they hatch into miniature replicas of their parents, as the Red Cherry Shrimp does not go through an intermediate plankton stage.

At birth, the baby Red Cherry Shrimp are very small and are easily eaten by fish or sucked up into filters. Therefore, they should be provided their own breeding tank with a sponge covered filter intake and no fish present that could eat the young.

The babies should be fed a diet consisting of algae, algae tablets, baby brine shrimp or crushed flake foods. It is important to maintain the water quality of the breeding tank to high levels and make sure that ammonia and nitrite levels remain very low.