Freshwater Fish · Shrimp

Cherry Shrimp

Neocaridina davidi

Hardy red cleanup crew for nano tanksBeginner

Lifespan: 1-2 years
Size: 1-1.5 in
Social needs: Social; keep a colony of 10+
Time: Low
Cost: Low
Diet: Omnivore scavenger (biofilm, algae, shrimp foods)

Overview

What is this animal?

The cherry shrimp is a small, hardy freshwater invertebrate, a selectively bred colour form of Neocaridina davidi known for its bright red shell and easy care.
It is one of the best beginner invertebrates and a popular nano-tank species.

Reaching just an inch or two, cherry shrimp graze biofilm and algae, breed readily, and form colourful colonies.
They are sensitive to copper and unstable water but otherwise undemanding, making them a good introduction to keeping freshwater shrimp.

Temperament

Cherry shrimp are peaceful, social grazers that do best in colonies and feel secure in numbers, so start with at least ten.
They spend their days foraging over plants and surfaces and pose no threat to other inhabitants.

Show 3 more

Keep them in a species tank or with very small, peaceful fish, as most fish will eat shrimplets and some will hunt adults.
Avoid all aggressive or larger fish.
They breed prolifically; cross-breeding with other Neocaridina colours dulls their bright hues over generations.

A good fit for

Nano and planted-tank keepers
Beginners new to freshwater invertebrates
Those wanting a natural algae cleanup crew
Aquarists interested in easy shrimp breeding

Common mistakes to avoid

Any copper, from medications or decor, is lethal
Adding shrimp to an immature, unstable tank
Fish tankmates eating shrimplets and adults
Overfeeding fouling the small water volume

Enclosure

Minimum 10 gallons, for a group of 10

Cannot be kept alone. The minimum is 10, and the space above is for that group.

A stable, mature, planted tank of at least 10 US gallons suits a cherry shrimp colony; they survive in smaller tanks, but a colony is far more stable in this much water, with cool to warm temperatures of 64-79°F and neutral to slightly alkaline water of moderate hardness.
They need plenty of biofilm, so an established tank is essential.

Provide moss, plants and surfaces for grazing, and gentle, shrimp-safe filtration with intake guards to protect tiny young.

Show 2 more

Keep ammonia and nitrite at zero and avoid any copper, which is lethal.
Stable parameters and a cycled tank matter more than precise numbers.

Check your enclosure

Supplies

Setup

Tank and stand
Filter
Heater and thermometer
Substrate, plants and decor
Liquid test kit
Dechlorinator and starter supplies

Ongoing

Specialised shrimp pellets or sticks
Courgette and spinach for blanching
Mineral or GH supplement for shell health
Small feeding dish to keep food off the substrate
Fine net or tweezers for removing leftovers

Safe substrate: Fine, smooth sand · Smooth, rounded fine gravel (not for loaches or sand-sifting cichlids; sand is better for corydoras) · Bare bottom (quarantine and grow-out only)

Work out the cost

Care routine

Daily

Check temperature and equipment
Head-count and look everyone over

Every few days

Feed small amounts (target-feed bamboo shrimp into the current)every 2 days
Top up evaporationevery 3 days

Weekly

Small, matched water change
Test hardness as well as nitrogen
Wipe the front glass only

Show 5 more

Every few weeks

Trim and thin the plantsevery 2 weeks

Monthly

Check labels for copper
Check supplies and reagent dates
Replace or recharge chemical media, if you use any (skip it in a blackwater tank)
Rinse the filter media

Health review: Quarterly colony and mineral review, every 3 months

Tools

Is your enclosure big enough?Check your measurements against the recommended size What will it cost?Setup, monthly and over its whole life, itemised Is this ammonia reading dangerous?Works out the toxic part from your pH and temperature

Care in depth

Diet

Omnivore scavenger (biofilm, algae, shrimp foods)

Cherry shrimp are omnivorous scavengers that graze biofilm and algae continuously, supplemented with specialised shrimp pellets, blanched vegetables such as spinach and courgette, and occasional protein.
A mature, biofilm-rich tank meets most of their needs.

Feed only tiny amounts every day or two, removing uneaten food to protect water quality.
Overfeeding fouls the water and is a common beginner mistake.
A varied diet supports colour, moulting and breeding; calcium and stable hardness aid healthy shell formation.

Health

Signs of good health, and the common problems

Cherry shrimp are hardy but acutely sensitive to copper, ammonia, nitrite and sudden parameter swings, all of which cause failed moults and death.
Most losses trace to medications containing copper, unstable water, or adding shrimp to an immature tank.

Avoid copper-based fish treatments entirely, acclimatise new shrimp very slowly by drip, and keep water stable and well cycled.
Moulting problems often indicate insufficient calcium or fluctuating hardness.
In clean, stable conditions a colony stays healthy and reproduces steadily.

Is this urgent?

7 warning signs and how fast to act, 4 of them right away

In a shrimp tank the patient is usually the water. Test before you treat: many fish medications harm shrimp, and dosing a healthy tank for a disease it does not have makes things worse.

Go now

Any detectable ammonia or nitrite in a stocked tankChange 25-30% now with dechlorinated water matched for temperature and hardness (GH, KH and TDS), and repeat in steps through the day rather than making one large change. Stop feeding. Test again in 12 hours. Both are directly toxic. How toxic the ammonia reading is depends on pH and temperature, so the same number can be harmless or lethal. One large change with unmatched water can trigger failed moults.

Now

Several shrimp crowding at the waterline, or trying to climb outIncrease surface movement now, then test the water and think back over anything new that went in. Either the oxygen has crashed or something in the water is irritating them. Both are hours-scale problems. A bamboo shrimp perched in the filter current is feeding, not escaping.

Now

Shrimp darting or swimming frantically, especially after a water change or a new additionStop, test the water, and check whatever went in for copper or pesticide residue. If something did, take it out and change water in matched steps. Frantic swimming is how shrimp react to a sudden change in the water or to something toxic in it, and a new plant, decoration or treatment is a common source.

Now

Sudden deaths, more than one animal in a dayTest ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, GH, KH and temperature before doing anything else, and think back over anything new that went in. Do not add medication. Multiple simultaneous deaths usually point at the water, the equipment or something added to the tank rather than a pathogen, so rule those out first.

Now

Today

A shrimp stuck partway out of its old shell, or repeated failed moultsTest GH, KH and TDS and compare them with your last readings, then bring any drift back slowly, over days rather than hours. Failed moults come from swinging hardness far more often than from dirty water, and a shrimp that cannot finish a moult usually dies.

Today

White spots, white fuzz or white threads on the animalShrimp do not get white spot (ich), so identify what you are seeing before you treat anything. If fish in the same tank have white spot, treat the fish in a separate hospital tank: copper kills invertebrates at ordinary doses, and malachite-green and formalin remedies can harm them too. White spot cannot keep going in a tank with no fish, because the parasite cannot survive without a fish host. The look-alikes on shrimp (Vorticella, Scutariella, fungus, and the milky white muscle of a sick shrimp) each need different handling.

Today

Soon

Hiding or not grazing for more than two days (bamboo shrimp: fans folded, or sweeping the substrate)Test the water, including GH and KH, and review recent changes. A bamboo shrimp sweeping the substrate with its fans is hungry, so target-feed it into the current. Usually the earliest visible sign of a parameter drifting. A shrimp hiding for a day or two around a moult is normal.

A few days

Never add new animals to a tank that is not fully cycled, and never treat blind. Read every medication, algaecide and plant treatment for copper before it goes in. A test kit is cheaper than the colony.

This is general guidance for a healthy adult, not a diagnosis. An exotics vet who knows your animal always overrides it, and the time to find one is before you need one.

Bedding and substrate

3 safe, 4 with a caveat, 2 to avoid

Substrate in an aquarium is a filter as much as a floor. Most of the biology lives in and on it.

Safe

Fine, smooth sandCorrect for corydoras, kuhli loaches, eartheaters such as rams and acaras, and anything else that sifts or burrows. Barbels wear away on sharp gravel.

safe

Smooth, rounded fine gravel (not for loaches or sand-sifting cichlids; sand is better for corydoras)Rinse thoroughly before use. Grain size should be too large to swallow and too small to trap food. Kuhli loaches need sand to burrow into and rams and acaras sift mouthfuls of it; bronze and panda corydoras manage on smooth fine gravel, but sterbai corydoras need sand.

safe

Bare bottom (quarantine and grow-out only)Legitimate for quarantine and grow-out tanks. Easy to clean, but it holds far less biological filtration, and it is no long-term home for burrowing loaches or sand-sifters.

safe

With a caveat

Crushed coral or aragoniteDeliberately raises hardness and pH. Correct for rift-lake cichlids, wrong for soft-water species.

with a caveat

Aquasoil for planted tanksExcellent for plants, but most active soils soften the water and pull pH and KH down for months, and many leach ammonia for the first weeks. Right for soft-water species; wrong for hard-water animals (livebearers, rainbowfish, goldfish, and snails, whose shells erode in soft, acidic water) unless you test GH and KH and remineralise. Cycle around it; do not stock into it.

with a caveat

Very deep sand bedsAnaerobic pockets form below about 2 inches in still sand. Either keep it shallow or keep it stirred.

with a caveat

Painted or coated gravelUsually fine, but coatings chip. Test a handful in a jar for a week first.

with a caveat

Never

Sharp or angular gravel with bottom-dwellersWears down barbels and leads to infection in corydoras and loaches.

never

Anything containing metal, limestone of unknown origin, or shells in a soft-water tankSlowly alters chemistry in ways that are hard to diagnose later.

never

This is our general list for freshwater fish. We have not built one specific to Shrimp yet.

Top resources for more info

Independent creators and organisations we would send a friend to. We have no affiliation with any of them, and nothing here is sponsored. Links checked 2026-10-22.