Red Cherry Shrimp: Tank Setup, Care & Breeding

Co-authored by Craig Morton

Last Updated: December 14, 2024 Approved

Hoping to set up a home aquarium? Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS) could be some great new friends to keep and breed at home. Although RCS can reach up to 1.5 inches (4cm) in length in adulthood, these low-maintenance critters don't need any special tanks, foods, dances, or shamans to breed. We'll walk you through everything you need to know, so you can start breeding your RCS in no time.

1

Set up your tank.

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You will need a 5 to 10 gallon or 20 to 40 litre tank for your shrimp . You'll also need a heater (to keep temperature at 75F-80F or 24-27C during cool nights), gravel (dark will stress the shrimps less), and a bubble filter that is cycled.
- To cycle a bubble filter in a new tank, put the new bubble filter in an old tank, turn it on, and wait for 4 weeks. RCS will not survive the cycling process and will die from high levels of ammonia or nitrites.
- Do not use a power filter unless the whole intake is covered with pantyhose (or something with similar very small holes) and secured with a zip tie (otherwise shrimp may get sucked into the filter and pureed).

2

Buy a master test kit.

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It is impossible to determine the problem with a tank without a master test kit. You will need the following tests: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Get drop tests, not test strips. Test strips are expensive, and expire after about 6 months of being open. Drop kits are much cheaper per test and last longer.

3

Purchase 5-10 red cherry shrimp.

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RCS cost $1.50 - $3 (US) each at a pet store. They cost much less per shrimp via online on websites and forums, many people also offer free shipping like $20 or so for 20 or so shrimp, it is easy to get a good deal these days. Try to get a mix of clear (males can have some red as well) males and red females. If you get 10 shrimp, your chance of getting both males and females is pretty much guaranteed. ^{[1]
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- If someone wants to ship with a method that takes longer than 3 days, ask for pictures about how the shrimp are packaged, Cherry shrimp are VERY hard to kill and will most likely have no problem with a week in transit. Take into consideration the weather over the distance it will be shipped, ask for heat packs or ice packs in the shipping container to help counter ambient temperatures if that is a potential problem. Also request breather bags.
- Do not buy RCS (or any fish or shrimp) that the pet store received in the last 3 or 4 days. Any deaths from the stress of shipping tend to occur during the 3-4 days after putting them in the store tanks, so buy after this period. Buy only shrimp that have been in the store tanks at least 4 days.
- It is normal and desirable for the shipping bag containing shrimp to be filled with 1/3 to 1/2 water. This maximizes the trapped oxygen in the bag during shipping. This only applies loosely to the bags that are just normal plastic. If shipping with these bags, see if seller can use pure oxygen opposed to just air.

4

Fill your tank with water that you have added dechlorinator to.

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So, make sure you get a dechlorinator that neutralizes both.

5

Get the shrimp used to the water using these steps.

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Add 1/4 cup tank water to the bag (perhaps use 1 turkey baster full of water). Wait 15 minutes. Repeat 2 more times. (An alternative to this is to test the bag's water parameters and your tank's if it is similar, just acclimate them to the temperature and dump them into the tank, cherries are very hardy and hard to kill relative to other shrimp.) ^{[2]
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6

Dump the shrimp in the tank.

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7

Set your heater to about 80 °F (27 °C).

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Check it daily when you feed them.

8

Feed the shrimp.

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Good options include flake food, sinking pellets, or blanched squash or zucchini. Shrimp eat anything a fish would. ^{[3]
X
Research source} You do not even need small pieces of food as they will rip off a piece of flake and feed it to themselves. Some shrimp do not like algae tablets, some do. (Foods with copper compounds are not ok for RCS.)
- If there is still food in the tank when you feed them, skip that feeding and check again later.
- Feed very small amounts once per day, especially if you just start with 10 shrimp. A flake the size of your pinky fingernail should last 10 RCS about 2, perhaps 3 days. Do not overfeed as it will result in harmless worms like detritus or planaria. If this happens do a water change and if you have no RCS babies then do a gravel vac and start to feed less food or not as often.
- To blanch zucchini , put one slice in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with about an inch or so or 3cm of water. Cook on high for 1 minute. Let cool for 20 minutes, then drop into tank. If the zucchini floats, weight it down with a zip tie, a piece of plastic, or a marble, but not metal.

9

Wait for the shrimp to breed.

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If water temperature is warm enough and there is enough food, they will simply breed. Female shrimp should get greenish or yellowish eggs under their tail within 30 days of you receiving them, if they don't already have eggs. ^{[4]
X
Research source} Female shrimp get a yellowish "saddle-shaped" patch behind their head. These are eggs in their ovaries. The eggs should move to their tails in 7-10 days. Once the eggs are under their tails, the eggs will hatch in 3-4 weeks.
- You will notice how the mom fans the eggs occasionally to prevent fungus from growing on them.
- The eggs will hatch faster if the water is warmer.
- You may wake up one day to find tiny clear shrimp on the plants, or on the bottom.
- Baby RCS look just like the adults, but they are very small, about 2mm long, and clear. But their shape is the same as an adult RCS.
- Shrimp will not eat their babies unless they are starving. Besides, the babies are quick to get away.

10

Maintain the tank.

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Just make sure that you change 25% of the water each week without exception. Do not vacuum the bottom of the tank, baby shrimp get a lot of their daily food out of the "waste". However too much waste will cause a buildup of nitrates. High nitrates can kill shrimp.

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Question

How long does it take for an RCS to mature into an adult?

Community Answer

It takes about three months for a shrimp to mature into an adult capable of reproducing itself.

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I have a 50 gallon aquarium and an explosion of cherry shrimp. Do they inbreed?

Caeiia

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Yes, they will breed with each other. But if you have enough in there (you can add more too), it's not a problem. Inbreeding usually isn't going to produce horrid results in shrimp.

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How do I keep the nitrate levels down?

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Have plants in your aquarium, and change about 20% of your water. You can also purchase products to help rid of ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. And do not put too much food in the tank, only what your water pets consume. Otherwise, left over food turns into ammonia, ammonia into nitrite, and nitrite into nitrate*. *Nitrate isn't as harmful as ammonia and nitrite.

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Shrimp who are getting ready to molt will form a "u" shape. They will bend and try to touch their tail. If you are lucky will see them shed. It is very fast. They flick out of their old skin in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a perfect hollow replica of themselves.

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Shrimps love a small piece of boiled carrot. It also improves their color. Do remove it within 24 hours or it will pollute the water.

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The biggest mistake a new person can make is using too many chemicals. If your ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate<50 ppm, and ph is 6.0-8.0, you should be fine. You should never use pH up or pH down, stress coat, or other chemicals. They will only compound your problems. The only chemical you need is a dechlorinator which neutralizes chlorine and chloramines.

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If you are wondering how to tell male and female shrimp apart, female cherry shrimp are typically larger and more vibrant. Male cherry shrimp are a little more pale or transparent.
Red Cherry shrimp are graded based on the intensity of their color. Individuals with brighter, more solid coloration will usually have a higher rating and a higher price tag.
Be careful having shrimp in a community tank with "algae eaters" like suckerfish and plecos. They eat shrimp and other small crustaceans too!

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Warnings

Cardinal tetras will harm RCS babies.

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Do not remove any empty shells of molted shrimp. Many will consume this to get back valuable minerals.

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Shrimp in general are sensitive to, and can be killed by chloramines, chlorine, ammonia, nitrites, and high nitrates. Make sure your water dechlorinator takes care of chlorine and chloramines.

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Many fish will eat adult shrimp, as well as baby shrimp. Any type of catfish, predator fish, angelfish, oscars, clown loaches, or eels will eat shrimp. If you have lots of cover, more babies will survive. Java moss makes excellent cover and forage.

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Uncoated heavy metals like zinc, lead (from plant weights) and elemental copper will kill shrimp, especially copper. If a tank has ever had elemental copper in it, you will have a hard time keeping shrimp alive. Copper sulfate in fish foods is safe as it is a copper compound in low amounts. The dangerous stuff is elemental copper (copper metal). The copper compound found in snail killing concoctions is toxic to shrimp and inverts because it is so concentrated.

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Some copper compounds seem to be safe for shrimp. For example, tiny amounts of copper sulfate are commonly used as a preservative in almost all fish food. It is safe to feed shrimp the food with copper sulfate since it is not elemental copper.

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Despite a persistent myth, an iodine supplement is not needed for freshwater crustaceans. There is no scientific support that freshwater shrimp use iodine in the water column. They get enough iodine from their food. Saltwater crustaceans MAY have a need for supplemental iodine.

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Adult RCS are safe with guppies, mollies, platies, porkchop rasboras, or any fish too small to eat the shrimp.

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If your tank isn't cycled well, you may be forced to perform water changes frequently. This can up the chance of you sucking up tiny shrimp babies.

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Never keep betta with any kind of shrimps. They will eat the RCS.

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Red Cherry Shrimp: Tank Setup, Care & Breeding

Steps

Set up your tank.

Buy a master test kit.

Purchase 5-10 red cherry shrimp.

Fill your tank with water that you have added dechlorinator to.

Get the shrimp used to the water using these steps.

Dump the shrimp in the tank.

Set your heater to about 80 °F (27 °C).

Feed the shrimp.

Wait for the shrimp to breed.

Maintain the tank.

Community Q&A

Video

Tips

Tips from our Readers

Warnings

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