Do you know about cherry shrimp or red cherry shrimp? Or what do cherry shrimp eat?… well if you are interested in knowing about this dwarf shrimp people love to keep in their aquarium then this article is for you.

Cherry shrimp is a colourful water invertebrate and a peaceful animal that will easily and proactively eat all the algae in your aquarium. The red cherry shrimp live in the freshwater of streams and ponds surrounded by densely packed plants.

There are many species of shrimp. It is native to Taiwan and is also known as the name of Neocaridina Davidi. There is a wide range of colours of N. David such as blue, green, orange, black, violet yellow, etc., however, the red cherry shrimp is most frequently sold. There are few other species of shrimps, like ghost shrimp and the brine shrimp but the red cherry shrimp is the best one to keep if you want your fish tank to look attractive and beautiful.

Diet Of Cherry Shrimp

The red cherry Shrimp love to eat many types of food. Algae and biofilm are the main and favourite food of cherry shrimp. They are considered omnivores which means they can eat both plants and meaty food. The natural food source is algae for red cherry shrimp and can eat many types of algae found in your aquarium. Zoo Med Plankton Banquet blocks in the tank are also a good idea.

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The blanched vegetables are also an excellent food for cherry shrimp. Also,  Zucchini, Lettuce, Spinach, and Carrots are the most commonly used vegetables as cherry shrimp food. When you prepare these vegetables, you have to place them in the boiled water until they are soft, for leafy vegetables, it will take 2 to 3 minutes and longer for carrots and zucchini.

How Much Feed To The Cherry Shrimp?

A small amount of each vegetable should be fed at a time. You have to make sure there is rotten food left in the aquarium because it can be noxious for fish and cherry shrimp.

You have to keep all food, supplements, and chemicals away from the shrimp tank. This keeps shrimp active and helps them to provide essential minerals, particularly calcium and spirulina. Shrimp graze on the bacteria, so cholla woods and catalpa leaves are also helpful sources of food as bacteria break them.

When these little cherry shrimp are in their original habitats like streams and ponds, they tend to feed on plankton, algae, small fishes, plants on the bottom of the pond and other dead water animals. There is plenty of food available for this draft freshwater shrimp around densely packed plants and a rocky substrate but in an aquarium, you have to feed them a healthy diet. Although they are very well adapted to the aquarium environment and easy to care for. The red cherry shrimp is also food for many other water animals. They have a very large number of predators like fishes and crabs.

Characteristics Of Red Cherry Shrimp

The cherry shrimps are omnivores and eat plants, vegetables, and flashy things. They prefer to stay in clean water with a pH of 6.5 to 8 and at a temperature of 14 to 30 degrees C. These shrimp can live up to 1 to 2 years in normal conditions. It can adapt to a variety of conditions in the aquarium and in other water places.

They are found in various grades if we talk about keeping them in your aquarium and cherry shrimp eat a variety of food. They can be in deep dark red to paler colours. Females are the most colourful and attractive in the category of cherry shrimp. They can look pale or even transparent with a light colour substrate.

This species of shrimp will be present throughout the day. They can be seen eating and grazing on biofilm and algae in the bottom or at the side of an aquarium tank. This shrimp will leave its exoskeleton or an empty white ghost in the water or tank. We should not clean this exoskeleton from the tank because shrimp will eat this to recover the valuable fossil it contains.

How To Keep Red Cherry Shrimp In Your Tank

Cherry shrimp are small in size so they don’t really need a big tank or aquarium. You can keep them in a standard 10-gallon tank or in other very popular nano tanks. Besides that, keeping cherry shrimp in a large tank will be better to maintain a more suitable environment. Water quality is the most important thing, you have to clean and change the water within a period of time.

If water conditions meet with their adaptability, there will be remarkable results and shrimp can survive longer. The red cherry shrimp can adapt to a wide range of temperatures and pH levels of the water. But to make them comfortable you may keep them between the temperature of 70⁰ to 80⁰F. They find the pH level from neutral to a bit higher better and more suitable.

Cherry shrimp can adopt various temperatures and pH levels in the water but are inefficient in tolerating ammonia and nitrite. Cherry shrimp eat many plants and bacteria in the water. They may start dying if any of these two substances are in the water of the tank. Water needs to be inspected timely and on a regular basis. Regular filtration is also Important But, make sure, there can be baby shrimp or small adults in the tank that can be easily sucked into the canister filter; you have to take care of that also. You can put a piece of sponge, old pantyhose or any old cloth over the mouth of the filter.

Do you love keeping cherry shrimp in your fish tank? let us know if this article was helpful for you and share your experience feeding the cherry shrimps in the comment section…….