Tell Me About Cherry Shrimp

[kortniee 452]

I've been ogling aquarium setups again (which is never a good idea for my budget) and I've kind of fallen for the Fluval Spec. It's a 2 gallon aquarium with kind of a monster of a filter. But the question is... what to put in it?

I think cherry shrimps would look absolutely smashing in there with a dark substrate and some really nice plants. I've always sort of been interested in shrimp, but I have never tried keeping them. I think I would just keep a handful in the little Spec, if that's what I've decided to go with.

I can't seem to find solid information on stocking on these guys, but I've read of people keeping shrimp in very small environments. Is this okay to do? How many would be good in a 2 gallon? Do shrimp have a minimum number for social happiness?

What do I feed them? Usually shrimp are cleanup crew, right? But these wouldn't have anyone to clean up after...

Anyway. If you know things about cherry shrimp, please enlighten me! I would love to know if this is a good idea.

[Tinkokeshi 3]

I've never had experience with cherry shrimp (my husband has). He says it was similar to keeping ghost shrimp.

I have kept ghost shrimp before, so I'll share that experience with you and you can take it into consideration. Ghost shrimp are all right in small environments as long as the water is pristine clean. They can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and water chemistry, but it is important that it not fluctuate.

If you're stocking a 2 gallon tank, I'd recommend a thin layer of substrate and live plants if possible or marimo balls. If live plants would be difficult, silk plants work too. The shrimp like to hide so make sure that there are hiding places for them. I think if you have a well established, cycled tank with live plants. You could probably have 4-6 ghost shrimp in there. If they're happy, they'll make babies.

The shrimp with munch on whatever foods you throw in there. My ghost shrimp would go BONKERS for Saki-Hikari goldfish food. Just make sure that the food isn't too big and that it sinks. It's important not to over feed though because it can and will pile up. Just toss in a small pinch of food maybe 1-2 pellets per shrimp.

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

I've been doing some reading on shrimp, and I read that cherry shrimp reproduce more easily that ghost shrimp. But I have no personal experience with either (yet!).

[kortniee 452]

Thanks for the input!

I like the cherries better than the ghost shrimp just cause I think red would be an awesome color in that setup.

I would love to do real plants. I recently got live plants for my goldfish tank, but that tank is barebottom AND low-light so I've got... anubias and java fern. Cause those are pretty much the options. I think it would be awesome to explore some other (still low-tech friendly) plants that perhaps require a substrate. So real planting is definitely on the to do list for this hypothetical tank.

I am a bit worried about the reproducing thing. I sort of live in fear of unintentional overstocking. I suppose it may be possible to find a LFS that would take babies. I feel like a horrible person for thinking this, but could I feed them to my goldfish?

[Tinkokeshi 3]

Yes the cherry shrimp are also easy breeders. Daniel got a few babies in his 5 gal. setup. Babies do get eaten by other community fish though, and sometimes so do adult shrimp that are molting.

I'm not sure if goldfish eat them, but I wouldn't worry about overstocking. The shrimp don't have babies like crazy. They have small batches at a time, and not all of 'em hatch and not all of them survive. It's just cool to see the eggs in the female shrimp's swimmerets.

[xchairity_casex 28]

i want cherries super badly so of coarse i did a ton of research. cherries cannot servive on algea wafers alone or algea they need a meat sorce. depending on how many you have you can feed them every other day.

cherries are very good breeders and youlll have way more luck getting babies from them becuase unlike ghost shrimp whos babies are born in a larval stage and grow into shrimps cherries are born as miniature shrimp capable of everything mommy and daddy shrimps are! so expect to have a full tank of cherries within a few months!

all shrimp need certian amounts of calcium in there food to help with there"shells" so its best to invest in a shrimp formulated food otherwise after only a few molts they just die.

the smaller hte tank the closer an eye youll need to keep on the prams as shrimp are sensative to this.

otherwise shrimps are pretty easy keepers ive kept ghost and amano shrimp and waiting on turning a 10 gallon into a cherry tank dont forget to post some pics when you get them!

[Silverfish 0]

Cherry shrimp are adorable!

You can keep roughly 10 per gallon, but remember they breed like CRAZY so don't overstock to start with. I started out with 9 shrimp, now I have hundreds.

I'd recommend moss balls, and lots of java moss and a small piece of wood to tie the moss on to, they'll really appreciate that.

I'd seed the filter with some mature sponge from a cycled tank, cherries are a bit sensitive to water parameters so I snipped some media from my goldies and stuffed it into the filter, instant cycle!

[kortniee 452]

I'm definitely planning on seeding the filter from my established, healthy tank. I find that one of my fishkeeping strengths is monitoring water parameters, so I feel pretty good about being able to make shrimps happy. Basically all of the kinds of plants I've researched sound good (well, the smallish ones anyway)... I will probably have to do some serious plant-prioritizing in a tank that small, which is kind of an odd situation to be in, for me.

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

Did you ever get your shrimp tank? I got a Fluval Edge recently, and now I have four cherry, two orange and two yellow shrimp. They are interesting little guys. The yellows are a bit more active and a bit bigger, but all of them are quite small.

[mjbubbles 211]

I feel like a horrible person for thinking this, but could I feed them to my goldfish?

I've had the same thoughts, Kohrtnie! A wondered if I could feed extra fry to my goldies. Not goldie fry, but others if I ever had it.

It's kind of like the natural lifecycle process.

Good luck with the shrimp. I have to admit that they're beautiful, but also remind me of cockroaches, so I don't know if I'd ever want to keep them.

MJ

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

LOL! I was just looking at them and thinking the same thing! I'm fine with them as long as they stay in the tank. Otherwise, too buggy and gross.

[kortniee 452]

I haven't gotten a shrimp tank yet, but it's still in my plan. I usually have a hard time coming up with things to put on my christmas list (and my family always demands ideas) so I generally stop buying anything for myself around August so I have enough things to put on the list. So maybe I will get that Spec in a few months. I did find a LFS that seems to have happy cherry shrimp, so I'll know where to go stocking when I do get it!

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

The store where I got the yellow shrimp had many varieties. Maybe you could get a fruit salad like we have.

[Azlaier 12]

Quick question... can you eat them? Now I'm curious lol

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

LOL! Popcorn shrimp!

[Azlaier 12]

LOL! Popcorn shrimp!

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

My cherries are doing so well. Two of the four have died. I'm not sure what's up. The other colors look more active.

[Trinket 108]

Fruit salad and cockroaches and popcorn shrimp

Can't wait to see pics Kortniee (and Shawnee)

We use to keep ghost shrimp, they were so fascinating, and also crayfish, larger versions that would climb out and walk around the house shedding whole lookalike skins that scared the life out of visitors... but that is a story for another time..

Meanwhile since there aren't any yet in this thread I'm posting this pic for a visual:

You can see the eggs inside her.

And here's a community tank shot of some kind of cherry shrimps I think..from our LFS:

[kortniee 452]

Can't wait to see pics

Here's a picture of what I have going on so far! It's a bit of a work in progress...

And here's a community tank shot of some kind of cherry shrimps I think..from our LFS:

I think those are called crystal red shrimp? They are very pretty but for some reason I want the solid red ones more.

Edited October 16, 2011 by kortniee

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

I think crystals are a little harder, but I'm not sure why. I've read a couple of times that someone should start with cherries and then move to crystals. ???

Lol! Great start with the sand!

[Lucerne 218]

I think most shrimp are the same difficulty level, but the fancier versions are ALOT more expensive, so that is probably why most people start out with cherries.

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

Thanks, Lucerne! I was wondering.

[Lucerne 218]

No probs :]

what are you feeding your little guys? is it a shrimp formulation? they do need minerals and calcium to rebuild shells after moulting or they can cark it early :[

Its also worth mentioning, incase you didnt know, that its best not to remove any old shells you might see in the tank after they moult - shrimp will eat their old shells to regain the calcium lost by shedding, so it is best to leave these in (they will usually dissapear in a few days anyway).

Maybe when your tank is more mature you could consider getting a wood/bamboo shrimp?

I have one myself, his name is Abelard - they are much bigger than the dwarf shrimps but they wont compete for food as Bamboo shrimps eat microscopic critters from the water column - they make a really nice addition to a shrimp tank as they have different behaviour to most other shrimp - generally they will just chill near the filter outlet fanning the water :]

I really hope your cute shrimpy tank goes well for you!

[ShawneeRiver 2,720]

Lucerne, I have been looking for a shrimp specific food and can't find anything. There is a dried shrimp treat (for fish). I'll check the lfs in a few days -- they have a large variety of shrimp.

[Lucerne 218]

Hmmm, strange, most LFS usually sell some kind of ''shrimp wafers'', at least in the UK anyway!

They generally look pretty similar to the bottom feeders tablets you can buy. Recently my LFS had testers of this shrimp food that was in a Gel form, if I can find the name out from them I will let you know.

I have also seen success keeping shrimp in tanks that are fed a mixture of bloodworm, home-made earthworm pellets (home-made by my LFS guy, not by me) and the odd crushed pea.

Its probably worth just asking them at the shop what it is they feed the shrimp in the sales tanks on :]

Edited October 17, 2011 by Lucerne