Cherry Shrimp Care Guide
1
Tank Setup
When we started Shrimpitos, we did not buy expensive glass aquariums with fancy LED lighting. We use 22L food-grade plastic tubs with basic sponge filters and air pumps. Sponge filters are non-negotiable because power filters suck tiny baby shrimp into the impeller. Substrate wise, stick to inert black sand or cheap gravel. Do not touch active soil meant for soft-water shrimp. For decor, pile in Java moss, Monte Carlo, and 3D-printed hides. Biofilm grows on these surfaces, giving newborn shrimp constant food.
2
Water Parameters
Here in Cambridge, we get standard UK hard tap water straight out of the tap. The great news is that cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) love hard water. You do not need expensive reverse osmosis setups or chemical buffers. Our tap water sits around pH 7.6 to 7.8, with general hardness (GH) around 12, carbonate hardness (KH) around 8, and total dissolved solids (TDS) around 250 ppm.
3
Feeding
Cherry shrimp are scavengers, spending all day picking at biofilm on moss, plants, and tub walls. We feed our colonies blanched veggies, snowflake food, Crab Cuisine, and Algae pellets. To blanch vegetables, we drop a slice into boiling water for two minutes, cool it in cold water, and sink it into the tub.
4
Temperature & Heating
Our room temperature sits around 20°C to 22°C most of the year. Cherry shrimp survive easily in unheated room-temperature setups, but their activity and breeding speed up noticeably when water stays warmer. Right now, we are working on getting small adjustable heaters for all our tubs because we noticed our best females carry eggs far more consistently at 24°C.
Don't let your tubs sit near cold window drafts or chilly exterior walls.
5
Signs of Healthy Shrimp
Healthy cherry shrimp stay active, colorful, and busy. They flex their tiny legs constantly, grazing on plants, sand, and filter sponges for micro-food. Male shrimp swim around the tub like crazy when a female sheds her shell and releases breeding signals. Shells should look bright, solid, and opaque rather than patchy or clear.
You also need to know what a normal shell molt looks like so you do not panic. A healthy molt looks like a translucent, hollow ghost shrimp sitting on the sand, complete with clear legs and antennae.
6
Breeding
Breeding cherry shrimp is surprisingly easy once your water stays stable. Our very first batch bred without us doing anything special at all. First, you will spot a dark greenish-yellow patch behind the female's neck, called the saddle, where unfertilized eggs develop. After molting, she mates and moves those eggs under her tail. She becomes berried, holding 20 to 30 round eggs with her swimmerets and fanning them constantly with fresh water.
After roughly 30 days, tiny baby shrimp hatch out as microscopic replicas of adults.