Species Profile: Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina Davidii)

Cherry Shrimp neocaridina davidii (formerly neocaridina heteropoda) are perhaps one of the most popular aquarium inhabitants available in the hobby. They are hardy, colourful and friendly. They also breed fairly well, so maintaining a sizeable population is easy.  However, shrimp are often a favoured snack of many fish species and many aquarists make the costly mistake of adding them to tanks with larger fish. And even really small fish like Neon Tetras will hunt baby shrimp when given the opportunity, so it's best to have them in a fully planted tank with plenty of hardscape (driftwood and rocks) and moss carpets to give them plenty of places to hide. In the wild, they live in shallow streams chock full of rocks, wood and leaf litter. Giving them a similar environment will make them more comfortable and bring out the best of their colour. And speaking of colours - Cherry Shrimp come in many different colour morphs: red, green, yellow, orange, several shades of blue, chocolate brown, black and even a few new and rare morphs that have mixed colours!

Catching WILD Aquarium Shrimp

Ideal Parameters:

 Tank Set-up

 Cherry Shrimp like a tank with plenty of surface area, plants/moss and biofilm to graze on. They usually don't mind whether the tank is brightly lit or not so long as they have plenty of places to hide. You can achieve these goals by providing plenty of driftwood and/or rocks with a generous coverage of mosses and plants. They like a clean and warm environment and although they can survive in cooler environments with little to no filtration, you really don't get the best from them in colouration or breeding in those conditions and many funguses and parasites that affect dwarf shrimp thrive in dirty water.

Our recommendation for a dedicated shrimp-only tank is a large, wide and shallow tank with a air-driven sponge filter. Add in plenty of driftwood (malaysian bogwood, goldvine and cholla wood are perfect for this), a big ball of moss and as many stem or carpeting plants as you are able. Use a fine gravel, sand or soil substrate (dark natural colours work best to bring out your shrimp's natural colours and finer substrate will limit the amount of excess food that gets lost). Establish your Nitrogen Cycle, and let your tank mature with plenty of light for a few weeks (or use already aged driftwood or a biofilm generator) to allow plenty of biofilm to grow. Combine these steps with a properly blacked out tank and you've got a recipe for success. Catappa leaves, alder cones and other Blackwater Botanicals will also help lend a natural air to your shrimp aquarium.

Note: Make sure you use inert Aqua-soil for a neocaridina tank or you may have issues keeping your pH and kH levels up.

If you wish to use an internal power filter, HOB or Canister filter, make sure you cover the inlet with a fine mesh or sponge to prevent your shrimp from being sucked in and hurt or killed. We recommend sponge filters for these reasons, as well as the fact that the sponge provides a fantastic grazing area for biofilm. (Matten filters provide the most surface grazing area but often require sepcialised or DIY set-up). There's a whole host of shrimp caves, toys, chemical additives and other accessories on the market which are all perfectly valid to use but we prefer to focus on a more natural environment.

If you intend to keep your shrimp with other fish species, make sure there's more moss and overhangs for them to hide behind so that they don't get scared and ensure you only introduce peaceful nano fish.

Cohabitation:
Cherry Shrimp are fairly small and tend to become snacks for anything larger than them. This leads them to hide and stress - which can limit their breeding and reduce their bright colouration. It is best to keep them in a species only tank where they can graze and breed safely but if you decide to keep them with other fish, we recommend keeping them with nano fish like Micro Rasbora (boraras maculata), Ember Tetras (hyphessobrycon amandae), Endler Guppies (peocilia wingei), Neon Tetras (paracheirodon innesi), Celestial Pearl/Galaxy Rasboras (Celesticthys margaritatus), Otocinclus catfish (otocinclus arnoldi), and Pygmy Corydoras (corydoras pygmaeus). They may also be kept with plecos and bristlenose catfish although these fish can outcompete them for food and shelter and may injure your shrimp when feeding/breeding. Care must also be taken when selecting co-habiting species to ensure that those fish do not produce too much waste. Low water quality is detrimental to all fish, and a number of shrimp specific diseases and parasites thrive in dirty water. It is not recommended to keep caridina and neocaridina species together because they have vastly different water parameters.These two species will not crossbreed though, so adapting neocaridina to the softer water requirements is a valid option. 
 

Husbandry:
There is very little that is required for Cherry Shrimp to start breeding aside form correct parameters, sufficient food, absence of predators and a male and female of the species. You will certainly find that your shrimp breed easier in larger groups as they feel more safe and comfortable in the presence of other caridina species. Care must also be taken not to mix different colour strains as their genetics will muddle over a few generations and will revert back to a murky green/brown wild form. Female Cherry Shrimp will develop an egg spot (also known as a saddle) on their ovaries when they are ready to breed (although this can be difficult to spot on higher grade shrimp due to the opaque nature of their shells) and after a moult will release hormones into the water that will attract males to fertilise her eggs. Once the fertilisation has taken place, the eggs will move down to her belly (or Skirt) above the Pleopods (swimming legs). This is stage is referred to as being "berried". Once there, they will remain for up to 30 days before she retreats to a mossy area to release her young.  
Note: It has been my experience over the past decade of breeding shrimp that they will not begin to breed without sufficient biofilm presence in the aquarium. I believe this is due to an instinct that only triggers release of breeding hormones when sufficient grazing food is available. They simply do not breed efficiently - or often at all in a new and sterile tank. 

Newly hatched Cherry Shrimp are less than 1mm in length and cannot swim for a few days so it is important that your tank has sufficient biofilm growth for them to feed on or they will starve. You can also use powdered baby food or Green Water to help offset this issue. After about a week, your baby shrimp will have gained the ability to swim and will venture out further for food, although they are incredibly vulnerable to predators at this stage. They will continue to feed, moult and grow for the next 4-6 months until they reach approximately 8-12mm in size. This is when they start to reach sexual maturity and have their full colour. They can be safely and easily moved once they reach this size with less risk of disease or death. 

Biotope:
Cherry Shrimp are endemic to Taiwan, but have been introduced to waterways in China, ranges of Europe as far North as Germany and Poland, Japan and even Hawaii. Wild strains of neocaridina davidii have even been recorded in the freshwater rivers in Israel. They are detritovores and love to feed on the biofilm generated by decomposing leaves, seedpods and timber, as well as serving as vital clean-up crew for other decaying plants and animals. They make their homes in and around rock overhangs in fairly fast flowing and clean water that brings food right to their doorstep. Very few fish live in their native habitats - with most being top dwelling insectivores that typically leave them alone.  

Diet/Feeding:
Cherry Shrimp are detritovores, which means that their primary diets are dead and decaying plant and animal matter (including dead fish and insects). In the aquarium, they will eat almost anything from generic fish flakes and pellets through to more specialised shrimp foods. Many breeders even feed them bloodworms for the protein, although this is not actually a great idea as they cannot properly digest bloodworms. They devour these foods as well, although they will need more fibre intake to prevent constipation. Leaf litter is always a popular choice for feeding your shrimp, and can be added regularly to maintain biofilm growth. Care should be taken to ensure that you do not overfeed your Cherry Shrimp, as excess food will pollute the water, causing a drop in quality and possibly causing parasites like Vorticella, scutariella japonica and Planaria.

Colour Forms of neocaridina davidii:
Neos can come in a wide variety of colours, ranging from the ever common red cherry through to vibrant hues of light blue, yellow, green and even dark black! Neos can even express clear or multi-coloured patches on their shells (these are typically referred to as Rilli shrimp [which is a reference to the punjabi patchwork quilts of the same name]).Below are a number of images showcasing some of the different colour forms I have kept and collected over the years. One day, i will (much like Ash Ketchum) catch all the darned things!