Neocaridina Heteropoda var. Red aka Red Cherry Shrimp make a lovely little clean up crew for unwanted algae that is bound to grow in a planted tank.
Why I love this pet: The Red Cherry Shrimp are non-aggressive and act as a good clean up crew for the tank. They thrive in planted tanks and are active throughout the day, which is great for when you're trying to show off your tank (*whispers* but for some reason they hide when my sister Karen comes to see the tank. She's scary to them).They are "clean" pets and can live in small tanks, perfect for a 7.5 gal tank like mine. Their red coloration stands out in a green planted tank and really adds a little flare to the overall look.
Red Cherry Shrimp originate from Taiwan and are easy to take care of. Neocaridina Heteropoda come in a variety of colors ranging from greens to browns, but the red variety is the most popular.
I purchased 5 shrimp from Tong's Tropical Fish Store in Fountain Valley, CA and acclimated them to the tank's water as soon as I got home. These shrimp are pretty hardy considering I left them in the trunk of my car during a hot California day to go for a quick grocery shopping trip. The shrimp acclimated nicely, and I left them alone to enjoy the planted tank. Coming home I spotted a baby! Babies are always a good sign that the tank is well balanced. It is hard to spot the baby shrimp, but I have seen it in the tank from time to time. See how tiny the baby is? (look right).
I have had a small issue of my shrimp getting sucked into the filter. On the first day, all but 1 shrimp "disappeared" from the tank. It turned out the filter sucked them up. They all survived, but I had to figure out a way to fix this issue. At first I put a sponge in the intake valve, but that was preventing my filter from taking in larger debris. So I fashioned some fabric mesh to the intake valve instead. This allows for the debris to be sucked in without having the shrimp get sucked in with it! All 5 shrimp are still alive and grazing.
Why I love this pet: The Red Cherry Shrimp are non-aggressive and act as a good clean up crew for the tank. They thrive in planted tanks and are active throughout the day, which is great for when you're trying to show off your tank (*whispers* but for some reason they hide when my sister Karen comes to see the tank. She's scary to them).They are "clean" pets and can live in small tanks, perfect for a 7.5 gal tank like mine. Their red coloration stands out in a green planted tank and really adds a little flare to the overall look.
I have had a small issue of my shrimp getting sucked into the filter. On the first day, all but 1 shrimp "disappeared" from the tank. It turned out the filter sucked them up. They all survived, but I had to figure out a way to fix this issue. At first I put a sponge in the intake valve, but that was preventing my filter from taking in larger debris. So I fashioned some fabric mesh to the intake valve instead. This allows for the debris to be sucked in without having the shrimp get sucked in with it! All 5 shrimp are still alive and grazing.
The baby shrimp is so cute!
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