As a newbie, you may not be properly caring for cherry shrimp. Therefore, in this article, we will provide you with some beneficial guidance. Even if you are an expert, this article can provide you some useful knowledge. Also, we have been raising shrimps for a long time and have solid experience in the field as well as trustworthy sources and clients.
We’ll also demonstrate how you can handle tiny caring for cherry shrimp. Besides, we will teach you how to breed, clean, and feed them, and what are the suitable aquariums, plants, and decorations for them.
Overview
The lovely cherry shrimps were initially brought into the freshwater aquariums marketplace in Asia in the 1990s. They have become famous since they consume algae and are pretty attractive. A Red Cherry Shrimp might be an excellent pet for you; you just need an appropriate aquarium, and you will enjoy watching it. Its luminous red hue adds color to a tank, particularly those charged with lush green aquarium plants and black gravel.
Neocaridina Heteropoda is endemic to Taiwan, and it is called Cherry Shrimp. Yet, we can find them in shops as they grow and reproduce in freshwater. Cherry shrimps are energetic and attractive pets to raise and to observe.
Home Nature
The cherry shrimp you see in the pet shop is a consequence of selective breeding for many generations. They are usually translucent in their natural form, with little spots and stripes ranging from greenish-brown to brick red. Caring for cherry shrimp are omnivore shrimps. They devour grass with algae, leaves, biofilm, and any dead fish or invertebrates.
Habitat and Tank Conditions
They dwell on streams, pools, and rocky substrates bordered by thicker plants. You should try as much as possible for your aquarium to imitate its native circumstances to make it feel as if it’s in its habitat. Cherry Shrimp flourish in thickly planted aquariums which include many hiding holes and moss. And you can add some driftwood in the tank since the algae will be nibbled out of it.
They also eat plant debris that can form a fair percentage of their diet. Moss is necessary to conceal within the tank; you can use Java moss. If your Shrimps feel safer, they will fascinate you with their brightest colors. In terms of substrate, the rocky substrate for which it is utilized can be replicated by tiny stones.
A heater is not usually required for equipment. You may attach a heater when you want the water temperature to be exceptionally steady. But if the space in which you keep the aquarium has a steady temperature, then fitting a heater is typically not necessary.
The most controversial piece of equipment for shrimp maintenance is a filter! One typical problem with a filter is that it’s strong and may suck your Cherry shrimp into it. By employing a Sponge Filter (it produces biological filtration), you can prevent this problem. Or you may use a robust filter like a canister to restrict the flow by employing foam inlets. Be sure that the filters do not suck your cherry shrimp; It would be a miserable/sad story if they get sucked and died!
Aquarium Size
You can keep cherry shrimp in aquariums of up to 5 gallons. The size you choose, though, depends on the amount you want to preserve. You may add 2-5 Shrimp per gallon as a decent rule of thumb. Make sure you have at least a 20-gallon tank if you are planning to produce a lot.
Live Aquarium Plants
Any size tank can hold a Red Cherry Shrimp tank, provided the guidelines are observed against overstocking. You can add various live aquarium plants, moss balls, and java moss to the tank. These shrimps are energetic and desire to walk and explore plenty of areas. Live plants offer ideal hiding spots for these shrimps.
You can pour food into the column of water, and the food would settle on the plants so that the shrimps will eat it. There should also be a sponge filter in the aquarium. A sponge filter retains the food fresh, and the caring for cherry shrimp can spend several hours eating it. To retain the water flowing accurately, you can also maintain an Airstone (aquarium bubbler) in your tank to pump bubbles into the water.
Plants and Decorations
They adore a seeded tank that has various decorations. Caring for cherry shrimp have no problem with decoration as they do require a cellar. The aquarium with many living plants is excellent. This is because they cover with plants to ensure safety. Plants also produce many biofilms; Shrimp adore grazing throughout the day. Plants are also a good food source.
Diet and Feeding
In the wild, Cherry shrimps will consume whatever they come across since they are omnivores; Yet, they often feed on biofilm and algae. Cherry shrimp is a nourishing shellfish and consume both meat and plants. For them, algae are an easy food to obtain.
We recommend that you make the core of their diet a high-quality pellet. Various brands produce feed for cherry shrimp and invertebrate products in particular.
In addition, you can include packed food like Algae Wafers and many Shrimp food in their diet.
If you wish to feed them with algae, make sure to include it within their diet.
Also, they eat can veggies.
Remember, they are small and don’t need much food; overfeeding and polluting your tank is not recommended. They devour most algae in an aquarium, and they are a good family when it comes to eating; The way they eat in groups reminds me of silkworms. They don’t eat as many algae as bigger fish.
Make sure that you remove an excess feed from your aquarium to keep the water chemistry clean. Remember to clean the aquarium within 2 hours after consumption.
Care
Cherry shrimps are sensitive to copper and ammonia. Copper may be present in many medicines and feeds, so check on the label at all times. They’re also regularly throwing their exoskeleton as they develop. You have to leave the exoskeleton in the tank because they will devour it to restore critical minerals. You should always keep their water parameters steady. The bigger your aquarium, the easier it will be for you to keep it.
Raising Shrimplets
Shrimplets consume the same food and require the same conditions. The only issue is they require a bit more protection. Use a sponge filter to cover the filter input. Plants are also a food source. On plant feeds, newborn cherry shrimp feed on biofilms.
Breeding
If you would like to breed Cherry Shrimp. you can grow/raise them efficiently.
The first step is to prepare their tank for breeding. This may be done by ensuring the aquarium is planted densely and give the shrimp safety and comfort. Then you need to ensure that high-protein foods are served regularly. Lastly, the water temperature should be raised to 82°F.
Sexually mature shrimps (4-6 months), and 3 to 5 months old, should start reproducing once they are in the tank. The female can lay lots of eggs (called “berried”) beneath her tail. During this period, you will notice that the female keeps fanning her tail to ensure that eggs are oxygenated. It takes around 30 days for the eggs to hatch.
You’ll notice newborn shrimps seem close to their parents, although a lot smaller! The adults do not make excellent parents with their babies. The only excuse adults have is that they go to feed themselves.
Preparing for Breeding
Cherry shrimp do not need a specific preparation to prepare for breeding. They’re good to go as long as they’re provided the circumstances they require to thrive. To raise baby cherry shrimps, you need to keep the temperature somewhere from 70°-80°F. Sexing is often straightforward, provided that the caring for cherry shrimp is mature.
Female shrimp are extensive, longer, and features a dark color. Males are short, slimmer, and light in color. The male’s physique type is leaner, and the abdomen is substantially thinner. The female’s abdomen bends underneath the substratum, where it carries her eggs following fertilization. Females who prepare to raise will develop what is known as the “saddle.” A yellow patch is located at the belly on the rear of their cephalothorax. The saddle is the ovaries of the female, full of unfertilized eggs. It has the same form of saddle as a horse.
The Breeding Process
Once she molds, her body starts putting out pheromones, which attract all the males in the tank. It takes less than a second for the actual process. Male will shoot the female again and again and land for only one moment on her back to fertilize her eggs. The female passes from her bright yellow eggs to the base of the abdomen after fertilization.
Gravel Vacuuming
A gravel vacuum for a shrimp isn’t necessary unless you want to use the TDS (Total dissolved solids.) For cherry shrimps, the optimal TDS should be 150 – 200 while the limits are 100 – 400. The danger of substrate vacuuming is that anything damaging to the tank may be released.
In this situation, how should you vacuum gravel if you have to:
Make various moves over the area to remove the cherry shrimps. Keep the vacuum approx 1 cm above the base so as not to release a cloud of germs. Repeat this method and concentrate on a small region to prevent disrupting or swallowing shrimps accidentally. Check your vacuum bags for shrimps and release them back into the aquarium.
The usage of airline tubing is a superior alternative to gravel vacuuming. They can’t remove a big piece of dirt but work hard to absorb food and puddles. I recommend you connect the airline tubing to a chopstick to make it move easier. The added weight keeps the tubing closer to the tank bottom. The benefit of tubing is not to hurt the tiny shrimp or to stir up any clouds of germs.
In this way, any caught shrimp will be on the net, which you can put back after the water change is done. It is also recommended to use a white color bucket. It will be easier to spot any shrimps that might slip through the net.
Hiding Spots
Every colony of shrimps is distinctive and hide in various areas. Be extra careful while clearing the hidden locations.
Cloths
Putting a cloth over the suction mouth might be of great help. It may preserve shrimp babies and save their lives.
Bucket
Put a shrimp next over a bucket and pour water into the tank when you change the water. Thus, each shrimp captured is on the net, and once the water change is done, it can easily be placed back again. Any shrimp that may slide through the web will be simpler to notice.
Behavior
- They will be active if they feel safe.
- Females that are pregnant tend to remain concealed in gloomy environments.
- The females hold eggs under their bodies to hatch.
- If a predator threatens them, they forsake their eggs. (It is sad but quite intelligent, they survive to lay eggs the next time; If she wouldn’t escape, the predator will eat her with the eggs inside).
Life Cycle
After three weeks, the eggs will hatch, and they gradually get deeper in color. Newborn cherry shrimps are around 1 mm long. Also, the newborn caring for cherry shrimp originally lurk among rocks and plants, feeding on plant surfaces of the biofilm. After a few days, they come out of their hiding spots and start to grass algae in their tank.
Red Cherry Shrimp Lifespan
The lifetime of a Red Cherry Shrimp is roughly one year or a bit longer if the conditions are suitable. Once you have installed a tank, they may die due to stress-induced by water shifts or stress from transit. Their lifespan lasts from 1 to 2 years. How sad! 🙁
Facts
- The Cherry Shrimp’s skin must be left in the tank since vital minerals are obtained by eating the shell.
- Their color intensity varies with the water temperature, tank pH level, and the food kind.
- Cherry shrimps featured with their external skeleton called “Exoskeleton.“
- Their abdomen is covered with segmented shell armor.
- While they feed, they use a three-arm set.