Red cherry shrimp – Neocaridina davidi

• Name: Neocaridina davidi
• Temperature: 68-78 F
• Size: 1-1.5”
• pH: 6.5-7.5
• kH: 6-12
• gH: 7-18
• TDS: 200-500
• Care Level: ⅕

Neocaridina come in a massive variety of colors, essentially everything except purple, as well as three pattern types. The most common type is a solid colored red shrimp, hence the name “red cherry”. This type of shrimp is the easiest colored shrimp to care for.

They will eat anything you throw at them and are a great cleanup crew! However, most of their diet is “biofilm”, which is a natural buildup on everything in an aquarium. It takes several months to develop a mature biofilm, so shrimp should only be added to a fully cycled and mature tank, which takes around 2-3 months.

Colors

There are two main lines of Neocaridina davidi. Both are from the same species but have simply been line bred into different colors. One side has many lighter colors, such as the red color, range, green, yellow, light blue, and various rilis of each color. The other side has darker colors, such as the black rose, blue dream, blue velvet, carbon rili, chocolate, Bloody Mary, and blue carbon rili.

Patterns

The three pattern types are solid coloration, wild coloration, and rili. Solid coloration is a shrimp that is one solid color. Wild coloration is typically a brown shrimp that has intricate brown clear, white, and cream stripes. Rili coloration refers to a shrimp that has a clear midsection but a solid colored back and front half. Rili shrimp either have a fully clear midsection or one that is faintly tinted another color, usually blue.

Tank Mates

Cherry shrimp are compatible with any fish or shrimp that will not eat them. They are not aggressive in any way, shape, or form, and are generally fry safe. However, their babies are scarcely more than a few millimeters in length, and there are not any fish that are 100% “shrimplet safe”.

from – BYA