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Overview:

Small and brightly colored, Red Cherry Shrimps are a joy to keep either in a species only tank, community tank or as companions in a small Betta tank. As long as the water is clean and the water parameters are kept stable, RCS will thrive and breed in captivity. They are also great clean-up crews since they feed on algae and left-over food in the tank.

Quick stats: Listed tank sizes are the minimum Size: Up to 1.2" (30.5mm) TL Tank: At least 2.5 gallons Strata: All over but tend to stay in the middle or bottom of the tank. PH: Very adaptable shrimp.  RCS can live under conditions that are soft and slightly acidic (ph 6.6-7.0) to very hard and alkaline (ph 7.0-8.4 and above). They are most productive and do best in soft to medium hard water with a ph in the alkaline range but they might not reproduce at all in water that is too acidic. Temperature: Tolerates wide range of temperature but best kept between 70°F-80°F (21 -27°C) Classification: Order: Decapoda tenth Super-Family : Atyidoidea Family: Atyidae Genus: Neocaridina Species: denticulata sinensis

Cherry Red Shrimp, Red Cherry Shrimp

Additional species photographs

Discuss:

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Distribution:

The Red Cherry Shrimp is bred in captivity in Taiwan. None are found in the wild. The wild form known as Taiwan shrimp is found in Southern China, Taiwan and northern Vietnam.

If kept in ideal conditions, they can live up to 1.5 years.

Feeding:
RCS are algae eating shrimp. If there are insufficient algae in a tank, algae wafers and blanched vegetables such as zucchinis and spinach may be added as supplementary food. RCS are also scavengers and will readily feed on uneaten flakes and pellets in the tank.


Substrate:
Bare or gravel.


Plants:
RCS need something to cling on to. A planted tank (real or fake) is highly recommended. In addition, plants will provide some cover and hiding space for the shrimp and will make them feel more comfortable and shows their color better.


Tank décor:
Some hiding space for the shrimp when they molt is required. Otherwise, they run the risk of getting eaten by fish.


Tank mates:
Good tank mates include peaceful fish such as the smaller tetras like glowlight, neon and cardinals, threadfin rainbows and danios. In general, if a fish has a mouth bigger than a RCS, it is a bad idea. Puffers and some loaches are a strict no as are the more aggressive cichlids.


Filtration:

RCS are sensitive to ammonia and nitrites so good established tank and filtration is needed. They are best introduced after a tank is well-established. Like all invertebrates, RCS is especially vulnerable to copper, heavy metals and medications.

 

Sexing the shrimp is easy. The adult females will generally show more red coloration than adult males, who may have very little coloration at all. Juvenile RCS shows coloration similar to adult males but will color up (if female) once they are 2-3 months old.

The red cherry shrimp breeds easily in a well kept aquarium. Prior to breeding, the yellow ovaries of females will become visible on the dorsal side of the females. The female carries the eggs and larva in her swimmerettes until they are miniature versions of the adults and able to fend for themselves, eating the same foods as the adults. This takes between 20-30 days. Unlike most other shrimp, there is no intermediate plankton stage.

 

Your comments:	Add your comments:
Please remember that the following comments are personal experiences and may or may not apply to your setup. Use them as guide to help better understand your fish, like us all individuals will behave differently under different circumstances.
From: Hari Date:12/08/12 I had 20 red cherry shrimp. In 2 months it went to 30. I added 5 assassin snails to control the snail population. 2 months later, I cannot find one single cherry shrimp. Mistake to have both in tank. Assassin snails will eat both snails and shrimp and sometimes even attacked my sleeping tetras. Also do not use any pesticides near the shrimp. I lost one lot of 140 shrimp when they had sprayed pesticides in my house. Though 4 feet away, it still affected, and I lost the entire lot of 140 shrimps over a period of 1 week. Nothing helped, including changing water daily -40% for 3 days. Putting them all in a separate bowl of water. But as long as they were alive, keep the hair algae and green algae away. They did not touch the brown algae. From: Dan Hammond Date:2/10/11 I had red cherry shrimp In a community tank. It was sparsely planted. I had a large chunk of Java moss and the RCS would stay in the Java moss. I had Zebras, platies, neon tetras, small angels in with them and a red tail shark. The Zebras instantly found the RCS and hunted them day and night. I found the Zebras eating the shrimp ruthlessly. I started with 30 shrimp in a 55 gal tank and in 2 weeks had none left. The zebras ate them all. I will never put RCS in a tank with zebras again. From: Turk1509 Date:12/8/10 This shrimp is amazing as is very cheap sometimes are very poor travelers, but if you get them home and they make it they are amazing.. They will colour right up and are pretty active mine seem to be having babies without any trying and its quite nice to find baby shrimp in the tank.. However give the babies somewhere to hide (mine seem to like the hairgrass) as other fish will pick them off I also hand fed them some times wisng a tweezer and flake as you can watchem eat and they will readly eat off the tweezers. From: S Date:1/4/09 Great in tanks where you need a "clean". Not so good in Betta tanks (Although this is quite dependent on how aggressive the Betta is). If you do decide to place them in a Betta tank though make sure its heavily planted and has lots of coverage. Otherwise they will most likely be eaten. From: Brandon Date:4/28/08 I have had Red Cherry Shrimp for just over a week and when they arrived (ordered over the Internet) they looked pale and ugly, now after a week in my heavily planted 15g tank they are colored up and beautiful. Anyone who has a planted tank and not too large of fish should defiantly look into these babies! also once you get them you can sell the off spring for a pretty penny, so its a win-win... I am not sure about their compatibility with betta though, that is the next step :) good luck any of you who try them!

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