Blue Cherry Shrimp Care Guide For Beginners [Updated]

Blue cherry shrimp is a breathtakingly beautiful blue-bodied shrimp that can bring a new dimension to your tank. But, you need to know all conditions and requirements to keep pet blue cherry shrimp healthy and fit. So, you must require an updated foolproof blue cherry shrimp care guide whether you are a beginner or an expert.

In this article, I’ve penned down the blue cherry shrimp overview, habitat setup, feeding guide, breeding care, maintenance, etc. Thus, this article will help you get enlightened about all aspects of bringing up blue cherry shrimp.

So, I will urge you to go through this article if you want to take the best care of cherry blue shrimp.

Are Blue Cherry Shrimp Easy To Keep?

No matter, whether you are a beginner or an experienced owner, you can always pick blue cherry shrimp to add to your tank. These vibrantly colorful blue cherry shrimp are one of the easiest to keep shrimps.

Because of being scavengers, there is not much hassle about the blue cherry shrimp diet. Besides, these shrimps are pretty easy to breed.

You only need to take a bit more attention to maintaining the water quality of the tank. In addition, blue cherry shrimp can tolerate temperature changes too. So, you can keep these hardy shrimp as pets without many hardships.

Overview Of Blue Cherry Shrimp

Before going into the details of the blue cherry shrimp care guide, let’s take a quick look at the overview of blue cherry shrimp first.  

Are Blue Shrimps Hardy?

Blue shrimp are hardy creatures that can tolerate the sudden or slight inconvenience of the tank.

Although these shrimp are sensitive to water quality and temperature, these crustaceans do not instantly die. So, you can fix the changes by having some time on your hands to save your blue cherry shrimp.

Are Blue Shrimp Easy To Care For?

Blue shrimp are one of the easiest-to-care pets. I urge you to go through the following care guide to get a detailed idea.

Housing setup: How Do You Set Up A Blue Cherry Shrimp Tank?

Since blue cherry shrimp are hardy, their housing setup is also simple and easy. I’ve made a small list of essential things to set up a blue cherry shrimp tank. These are-

1. A tank of 3-10 gallon
2. Tank lid
3. Substrate
4. Water conditioner
5. Water test kits
6. Sponge filter
7. LED light
8. Driftwood
9. Heater
10. Thermometer
11. Moss
12. Live plants

1. Choosing Tank: What Size Tank Do Blue Cherry Shrimp Need?

The very first thing you need to do is to choose a tank of the right size. Although you can keep your shrimp in a small or large tank, you should prioritize a bigger tank. So, you can choose a tank of 10L-20L capacity.

Some owners keep blue cherry shrimp in a tank of 3-5 gallons. But, you can consider a 10-gallon tank as a standard size for keeping blue cherry shrimp. If you keep a group of around 10 shrimp, a 20-gallon tank will be suitable.

It will provide ample space for your shrimp to move around. Besides, the water parameters will also remain stable when the water volume is high in the larger tank.

If you want a suitable tank for your blue cherry shrimp, I’ll recommend Aqueon 10 Gal Black Aquarium.

2. Adding Substrates

Although there are no obligations in adding substrate to the shrimp tank, a bare-bottom tank doesn’t make the tank naturalistic. Besides, you must require the substrate to keep plants in your blue cherry shrimp tank.

Since blue cherry shrimp include in Neocaridina species, you should prefer an inert substrate over an active substrate. These substrates won’t change the pH of the tank water.

Besides, there are several options as substrates. Such as eco-complete aquarium substrate, filter sand, biofilm, etc. Otherwise, you can choose java moss which may turn into a thick carpet at the bottom of your blue cherry shrimp tank.

In addition, you can check out CaribSea Eco-Complete 20-pound planted aquarium. Otherwise, you can pay a visit to this article- what is the best substrate for cherry shrimp?

3. Décor and Plants

To add a naturalistic vibe, you should add some décor to the tank of blue cherry shrimp. Also, such décor items may release tannins in the water that is beneficial to shrimp. Hence, you should add Indian Almond leaves, cholla wood, etc.

Besides, biofilm can grow over the surface area of those décors. Also, there grow microorganisms that are favorites to your blue cherry shrimp.

In addition, these décor items offer hiding places for your blue cherry shrimp too. Such as pacific driftwood, dragon stone, PVC shrimp shelter, caves, tunnels, etc.

Along with décor items, you should add live plants to the shrimp tank. There are several best plants for blue cherry shrimp. Such as java moss, java fern, water lettuce, dwarf lilies, water wisteria, Anubis nana petite, etc.

4. Blue Cherry Shrimp Tank Lighting

Your blue cherry shrimp do not have any special requirements for lighting. Since these shrimp tend to live in shady areas in the wild, you need not adjust much fancy lighting. But, it is essential for the plants and moss of the shrimp tank.

In addition, you have to maintain a day-night cycle for your shrimp by adjusting the lighting. Besides, lighting plays a huge role in the rate of shrimp reproduction, molting, growth, etc.

If you are confused about choosing a light for the shrimp tank, I’ll recommend Finnex planted tank light.

5. Heater

Blue cherry shrimp do not usually require a heater to survive. If the room temperature remains within 70-85 degrees Fahrenheit, you need not add any heater.

Otherwise, you must adjust a heater to keep the water warm in case of living in a cold country. In addition, you need to warm the tank water when you breed your blue cherry shrimp.

6. Adding A Tank Lid

After introducing blue cherry shrimp into the tank, you should cover the tank with a tank lid. It’ll reduce the evaporation of the tank water. Besides, your blue cherry shrimp will not be able to jump out of the tank.

Blue Cherry Shrimp Water Quality

You can add dechlorinated tap water for your blue cherry shrimp. Also, you can use completely distill reverse osmosis water (RO water) by adding shrimp mineral.

The most crucial part of keeping blue cherry shrimp as pets is to keep the water parameters right. A major change in the water quality can make your pet shrimp stressed and sick.

However, the water quality doesn’t remain the same as there will add shrimp waste, uneaten foods, etc.

You can also go through this article to know about the best filter for blue cherry shrimp.

In addition, you have to add a water filter to the shrimp tank to keep the water quality perfect. Among lots of filtration options, I recommend Matten Filter for your blue cherry shrimp.

If you want to check the water parameters correctly, you must keep a water test kit. For this, I recommend API Master Test Kit.

Tank parameters For Blue Cherry Shrimp

Generally, the experts consider blue cherry shrimp as hardy pets. But, these shrimp can be sensitive to changes in water parameters.

However, slight changes in water do not affect much on blue cherry shrimp much. Albeit, the changes in water quality make the blue cherry shrimp less active and stressed.

Hence, let’s check out the tank parameters for blue cherry shrimp in the following chart.

Diet: What Do Blue Cherry Shrimp Eat?

Since shrimp are natural scavengers, blue cherry shrimp do not have any special demand for food. In the wild, a big share of their diet comes from the algae and leftovers found at the bottom of their habitat. So, your pet blue cherry shrimp may depend largely on the moss, algae, biofilm, and other organic matter of the tank.

Being omnivores, blue cherry shrimp can consume both plant materials and meaty foods. I’ve made a small list of foods that you may feed to your blue cherry shrimp. These are-

• Algae
• Java fern
• Java moss
• Biofilm
• Zucchini
• Lettuce
• Detritus
• Daphnia 
• Shrimp flakes
• Algae flakes
• Cucumber
• Bloodworms
• Larvae of insects
• Spinach
• Spirulina (powder)
• Krill shrimp
• Brine shrimp
• Fish flakes
• Homemade fish food
• Smaller fish like betta fry, guppy fry, etc.

Click here to get enlightened more about cherry shrimp feeding and diet.

You should remember that these shrimp eat pretty little food. So, you must avoid giving much food in the shrimp tank. Such is because overfeeding can make your blue cherry shrimp sick.

Also, excess foods rise the nitrite level high in the tank. Thus, the tank water gets easily polluted. Besides, you should avoid commercial flakes that contain copper.

Tank Mate: What Can You Keep With Blue Shrimp?

Before adding tank mates, you must know about the temperament of your shrimp and the new pet that you want to add. These small crustaceans are peaceful and friendly. So, you can smoothly keep such tank mates that are peaceful in temperament.

In addition, the care level and tank conditions should be similar. You should also consider their size. Otherwise, either blue cherry shrimp or their tank mate may get threats from each other.

Some compatible tank mates for blue cherry shrimp are-

• Guppies
• Danios
• Asian stone catfish
• Ghost shrimp
• Bamboo shrimp
• Bristlenose pleco
• Bushynose plecos
• Amano shrimp
• Sulawesi snails
• Otocinclus
• Hillstream loach
• Small tetras
• Cory catfish
• Red nose shrimp
• Ram cichlids
• Mystery snails
• Rabbit snails
• Nerite snails
• Cherry shrimp
• Ramshorn snails
• Gourami
• Singapore flower shrimp
• Filter shrimp

You can also keep small fish with blue cherry shrimp. But, make sure that these do not remain in the food chain of another. Click here to get to know about more compatible tank mates for blue cherry shrimp.

Incompatible Tank Mates For Blue Cherry Shrimp

In addition, you must avoid choosing aggressive tank mates for blue cherry shrimp. There are several options that beginners choose mistakenly as the tank mates of shrimp.

Let’s check out such incompatible tank mates for blue cherry shrimp that should be avoided. Such as-

• Goldfish
• Barbs
• Catfish
• Bettas
• Crayfish
• Angelfish
• Discus
• Glo tetras
• Large plecos
• Large catfish
• Pacu

How Many Blue Shrimp Should Be Together?

You might know that shrimp are social creatures and do best in groups. Hence, you must not buy only one blue cherry shrimp while keeping it in captivity.

You can keep a minimum of 10 blue shrimp together in a tank. These shrimps become more active and playful when they hang around with the larger group.

So, you should add shrimp following the rule of keeping 2-5 shrimp per gallon.

If you keep less than 10 shrimp together, these small crustaceans will hide. Hence, to encourage their natural behavior, you should keep more than 10 blue shrimp together, depending on the tank size.

Can Blue Cherry Shrimp Live With Goldfish?

Goldfish is not a suitable option as a tank mate for blue cherry shrimp.

Also, goldfish tend to eat blue cherry shrimp whenever these fish spot the shrimp. Hence, you must not keep blue cherry shrimp with goldfish together. Instead of goldfish, you can choose nano fish like Neon, Ember Tetras, etc.     

Blue Cherry Shrimp Reproduction Care

While you need to maintain several things to breed other animals, breeding blue cherry shrimp is comparatively easy. These shrimps reproduce pretty fast under the required conditions.

There are a few things that you should consider to breed blue cherry shrimp. Let’s go through the following instructions.

1. Water Parameters

Keeping the water parameters correct is a crucial thing to breeding blue cherry shrimp. Generally, these hardy shrimp can tolerate little changes in water quality. But, when you’re breeding blue cherry shrimp, you must keep the water parameters constant.

The optimal conditions of tank water for breeding blue cherry shrimp are given below.

Also, you must be careful about keeping the KH of the water lower. In addition, these blue shrimp prefer soft water during their reproduction period. If these water parameters do not remain constant, the breeding of blue cherry shrimp will get slower or stop.

To achieve these parameters, you should add water from reliable sources. You can add reverse osmosis water, rainwater, tap water, or well water.

2. Temperature: What Temperature Do Blue Cherry Shrimp Breed?

According to the chart, the optimal temperature for blue cherry shrimp breeding ranges from 80-82 degrees Fahrenheit. The warm water makes the reproduction faster. Besides, if the temperature gets lower than this range, the breeding of blue shrimp may stop.

3. Filtration: Do You Need A Filter In Blue Cherry Shrimp Breeding Tank?

The filter is an essential part of shrimp tanks to keep the water clean by processing the toxins through the biological filtration system. All uneaten foods, shrimp poop, and other living stocks release ammonia which is fatal to your blue cherry shrimp. Hence, blue cherry shrimp must require a filter, even if it is a breeding tank.

In addition, you must remain concerned that the filter should not suck up your shrimps. It becomes concerning when you have baby shrimp in your breeding tank. So, you can choose a normal filter which should have 25-30 pores per inch.

Along with sponge filters, hang-on-back filters and canister filters are also popular among breeders. But, you should choose the filter carefully according to the size of your shrimp tank.

After several years of experience, I recommend Hikari Bacto-Surge High-Density Foam Filter.

4. Removing Fish

When you want to breed blue shrimp, you must remove all fish from the tank. Although you may add peaceful fish as tank mates, these fish will gobble up the baby shrimp.

You can also get more information about blue cherry shrimp reproduction care in this article: Cherry Shrimp Selective Breeding Guide For Beginners.

Will Blue Shrimp Breed With Cherry Shrimp?

Both blue shrimp and cherry shrimp are freshwater shrimp. Also, these shrimp belong to the same Atyidae family.

As both blue shrimp and cherry shrimp are Neocaridina shrimp, you can breed blue shrimp with cherry shrimp.

From the interbreeding between blue shrimp and cherry shrimp, you will achieve greenish brown colored shrimp offspring. If you want to get fascinating colored baby shrimp, you can interbreed between bloody mary cherry shrimp and blue dream shrimp.

Can You Mix Red And Blue Shrimp?

Interbreeding different colored shrimp has become popular among breeders. So, you can mix red and blue shrimp. Since both shrimp are species of Neocaridina, mixing these shrimps will not be a problem. Besides, you can keep them as tank mates. However, the offsprings will start to loose color if you interbreed.

Can Blue Shrimp Have Red Babies?

Generally, when you interbreed a blue and red shrimp, the offspring will have a brown color. But, your blue shrimp may produce red babies if they are line bred as Bloody Mary shrimp.

Maintenance Of Blue Cherry Shrimp

The maintenance of blue cherry shrimp is not too difficult. But, you should do regular maintenance to keep your blue cherry shrimp happy and healthy.

• You need to change the tank water regularly. A weekly 20-30% water change may remain sufficient for keeping your blue cherry shrimp happy.
• The hassle of cleaning the tank is less than that of the fish tank. You can clean the shrimp tank with a scrubber to remove the algae buildup.
• If there are other creatures in the shrimp tank, the number of waste produced will be more. So, you will need to
• You should not give excess foods which may turn into uneaten foods. If you provide sufficient food in the tank, the leftovers will be less. As a result, there will be less waste.
• Do not forget to clean the filter and the substrate on regular basis.
• Make sure that the filter is not too powerful to injure your pet shrimp.

How Long Do Blue Cherry Shrimp Live?

The lifespan of blue cherry shrimp depends upon several factors. Speaking about their average lifespan, blue cherry shrimp may accompany you for 1-2 years.

The living condition in captivity and the received care can affect how long these shrimp live. Besides, their longevity depends upon how well these shrimp are bred.

Common Possible Diseases Of A Blue Cherry Shrimp

Some common diseases may be deadly to pet blue cherry shrimp. These are-

• Leeches
• White Feces disease
• Muscular necrosis
• Vorticella
• Shell disease
• Dragonfly nymphs
• Luminous vibriosis
• Scutariella Japonica
• Fungal infections
• White spot disease
• Bacterial infections
• Black gill disease
• Filamentous bacterial disease
• Heptopancreatic microsporidiosis
• Parasitic dinoflagellates

For detailed information about their diseases, you can go through this writeup- Cherry Shrimp Diseases & How To Treat Them?

How Much Do Blue Cherry Shrimp Sell For?

Generally, the average price of blue cherry shrimp is $1-$3. If you buy over 20 shrimp, it can cost around $13.

Final Words

Keeping blue cherry shrimp as pets is no trouble for both beginners and experts. I hope this article gave a broad idea about the complete care guide for blue cherry shrimp. So, you should follow these guidelines to keep this wonderful shrimp fit.