Red Cherry Shrimp Care
Cherry Shrimp care is easy because these invertebrates are pretty low maintenance and self sufficient. Red Cherry Shrimp are hardy and adaptable to a wide range of water conditions provided the aquarium water remains stable. Water parameters should be in the tropical community tank range:
Water Temperature: 72 – 78 Degrees Fahrenheit, with a wider range possible
Aquarium pH: 7.0 – 7.8, although some suggest a wider range is acceptable
Aquarium Lighting: Standard community tank lighting works
Red Cherry Shrimp seem to be comfortable in established aquarium water that is on the hard side, with a decent flowing current. The key is to keep water conditions stable, and avoid ammonia spikes, high nitrites, high nitrates. Also be careful when using medications and most importantly avoid copper because it can be fatal to aquarium shrimp.
Red Cherry Shrimp Lifespan
Red Cherry Shrimp lifespan is about a year, or a little longer if tank conditions are right. That said, they can die soon after being added to a tank…possibly related to stress caused from shifting water conditions, or stress from being transported.
Red Cherry Shrimp Feeding
Red Cherry Shrimp feeding is not difficult at all. Their diet includes commercial food like fish flakes, shrimp pellets, fish pellets, and algae wafers. Red Cherry Shrimp diet can also include edible plant matter shed from live aquarium plants. Cherry Shrimp are also algae eaters, feeding on forms of soft green or brown algae that grow on hard surfaces, and soft bio-film algae as well. As algae eaters, Cherry Shrimp will actually be able to stand on soft green or brown algae that has grown on the side glass of a tank and feed off it.
Red Cherry Shrimp are great scavengers that will help keep a tank clean of uneaten food and debris like Amano Shrimp and Nerite Snails do. But because of their small size, they really won’t consume as much as some of the larger “tank cleaners”. So do not think of these shrimp as tank cleaning miracle workers. Think of them as pets in their own right. Keeping Cherry Shrimp, or other tank cleaning species is not a substitute for proper tank maintenance.