13 Different Cherry Shrimp Types: More Than Just Red!

Do you know cherry shrimps can be of different types? I have already explained different grades of cherry shrimps. However, in this article, I’ll discuss what are the different types of cherry shrimps that you can keep in your aquarium.

Some of these types are mostly available in the fish stores, whereas some are extremely rare. If you are a beginner, the names can get confusing sometimes and you may face a hard time distinguishing between two different types.

Don’t worry. I faced that too! With time and experience, you’ll eventually get good at identifying different types of the cherry shrimps.

Let’s start with the most common one: Red Cherry Shrimp!

Red Cherry Shrimp

Red cherry shrimps are probably the most common freshwater dwarf shrimp species that are kept in the aquarium. Since they are very easy to care for, most beginners start their shrimp keeping journey with red cherry shrimps.

Red cherry shrimps don’t require very large tank. A 5 gallon tank should be suffice to keep a colony of 10 red cherry shrimps. As they are a type of neocaridina shrimps, they are not that much picky about water parameters.

However, if you want to breed them successfully, you should aim for the water parameter ranges mentioned above.

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Red cherry shrimps do fine in a wide range of temperatures. However, the most ideal range for them is between 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. I have seen they breed most successfully in this temperature range.

As for keeping red cherry shrimps, you should keep it like any other cherry shrimps. For more details, check out my huge guide on how to setup a cherry shrimp tank.

Red cherry shrimps require plenty of hiding places, plants, and moss in their tank. It is required for them to feel safe in the tank. The more plants you can provide, the better they will be. You can check out my recommendation on the best plants and moss for cherry shrimps.

Like any other freshwater dwarf shrimp, it is not recommended to keep red cherry shrimps with other tank mates. Red cherry shrimps are very peaceful in nature. But they often fall prey to other hungry fishes. Even a school of tetra or barn can be deadly for the red cherry shrimp babies. So, I will recommend keeping them in a ‘Shrimp Only’ tank. However, if you do want to keep some tank mates, check out my article on ideal tank mates for cherry shrimp.

Red cherry shrimps can be graded depending on their color. The most popular grades are:

• Normal red cherry shrimp
• Sakura red cherry shrimp
• Fire red shrimp
• Painted red shrimp
• Bloody mary shrimp
• Kanoko shrimp etc.

If you want to know details about each of the grades, check out my article on cherry shrimp grading.

Breeding red cherry shrimps is extremely easy. If you ensure the basic things they require, they’ll breed like crazy. They just need good quality food, ideal water parameters and lots of plants in the tank for breeding. For successful breeding, you can check out my guide on how to breed cherry shrimps.

Feeding red cherry shrimps isn’t hard either. They mostly live on algae and biofilm which naturally develop in the tank. I also feed them a good commercial shrimp food 2-3 times a week. Here you can check out my detailed cherry shrimp feeding guide.

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Yellow Cherry Shrimp

Like red cherry shrimps, yellow cherry shrimps are also very easy to care for. They don’t need much care. Their preferred water parameters are almost similar to the red cherry shrimps. They don’t need any special substrate to live. I’ll suggest keeping them in a 5 gallon tank at least.

For filtration, you can either use a sponge or a matten filter. I love matten filters in my shrimp tank. They work just awesome. Click here to know more about filtration for cherry shrimps.

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Like red cherry shrimps, the yellow ones don’t do well with tank mates either. They prefer to live in a shrimp only tank. However, you can keep some snails if you want. My favorite snail to keep in a shrimp tank is Malaysian Trumpet Snail.

For successful breeding, keep lots of plants, moss, driftwood or Indian Almond Leaves in the tank. Cherry shrimps, whatever the type is, need these items in their tank. They ensure a healthy environment for the yellow cherry shrimps.

Diet is similar to the red cherry shrimps. They mainly live on algae and biofilm. You can feed them a good commercial shrimp food 2-3 times a week. I also offer my shrimps blanched vegetable once or twice a month to spice up their diet.

For breeding, you don’t need to do much. Just provide the yellow cherry shrimps enough moss, plants, good quality food and ideal water parameters, they’ll breed like crazy!

Blue Dream Shrimp

As the name suggests, blue dream shrimps are famous for their stunning blue color. Like the other ones, they are also very easy to care for. Blue dream shrimps are very much appreciated for bringing a striking color to the aquarium. They stand out perfectly against a dark substrate.

Blue dream shrimps are very low demanding. They scavenge a lot. They mainly live on biofilm and algae. However, to maintain the color, you can feed them a good commercial shrimp food like Bacter AE.

Not only for color, they are very effective for keeping the tank clean too. Moreover, blue dream shrimps don’t require specific water parameters for thriving. They can withstand a wide range of water parameters as well as temperature.

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Breeding is also very easy. Just give them high-quality food, lots of plants and moss, fresh and clean environment. Soon you’ll see many baby blue shrimps roaming around in the tank.

Many people often wonder and ask me how blue dream shrimp were first bred. They are a result of selective breeding of the red cherry shrimp. Blue dream shrimps were directly bred from another popular cherry shrimp type, Blue Velvet Shrimp. This direct breeding line gives blue dream shrimps their dark & rich blue color.

Sexing blue dream shrimps is similar to any other type of cherry shrimps. The female ones are typically larger when they are sexually matured. The females also have a larger tail and form a saddle inside the body. The saddle stores the eggs before they are fertilized. Check out my guide to know more about how to identify the gender of cherry shrimps.

If you want to breed blue dream shrimps, I’ll suggest to start with at least 10 shrimps. This ensures a good male to female ratio in the shrimp colony for breeding. Keep the shrimps in a 10 gallon tank so that you won’t have to upgrade the tank immediately even if the blue dream shrimps have lots of babies.

When the female blue dream shrimps develop unfertilized eggs, they molt and release a type of pheromone which makes the male ones crazy for breeding and fertilizing the eggs. Once fertilized, the eggs take about 2 weeks to gestate.

Blue dream shrimps are perfect for keeping whether you are a beginner or advanced shrimp keeper. The only problem is, they are not readily available in all the fish stores like red cherry shrimps.

You can check out the online shrimp websites to see if they have these shrimps in their collection.

Black Rose Shrimp

Do you want a black color shrimp that is as gorgeous as Black King Kong Caridinia var. but easy to care for like a cherry shrimp? Well, presenting the Black Rose Shrimp.

This is shrimp is a great choice for those who want something exceptional in their shrimp tank. Something that can make others keep looking at their shrimp tank for hours without blinking! Yes, black rose shrimps are that gorgeous and probably one of my most favorite types of cherry shrimps.

They are very easy to care for like any other cherry shrimps. Keep them in a 10 gallon tank at least. For filtration, you can choose either sponge or matten filter. I’ll obviously recommend a matten filter as I love those.

Black rose shrimps are not very picky about their water parameters. Just try to keep the parameters within their ideal range. Also, they can withstand a wide range of temperature.

These shrimps will appreciate a heavily planted tank with lots of moss, moss balls and plants. This also encourages them to breed more. You can also find caves in the fish stores that work great as hiding places.

If you really want, you can keep small schooling fishes with black rose shrimps. As black rose shrimps breed pretty quickly, you won’t be missing anything even if some of the fries end up in the bellies of other tank mates. However, if you want to breed black rose shrimps seriously, just keep them in a shrimp-only tank.

The diet for black rose shrimps is easy and straightforward. They love biofilm in their tank. Also, black rose shrimps feed on some types of soft algae. For keeping the color gorgeous, you can feed them Bacter AE 2-3 times a week. Black rose shrimps can benefit from a calcium-rich diet.

Breeding black rose shrimps is just as straightforward as breeding any other cherry shrimps. However, due to the solid black color, the saddle of the females is not visible. So, you won’t notice the eggs until they are fertilized and moved towards the belly. The fertilized eggs take about 30 days for hatching.

For breeding purposes, keep at least 10 black rose shrimps in the colony. This will ensure a good male-to-female ratio.

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Snowball Shrimp

Snowball shrimp is the white variance of the neocaridina Palmata. It was first selectively bred in Germany. This type is widely appreciated for its snow-white color and low demanding nature. Snowball shrimps are just as easy to care for as any cherry shrimps.

Do you know why these shrimps are called Snowballs? Because their eggs are pure white just like snowballs!

I have already specified the water parameters for snowball shrimps. Frankly, they can live in a wide range of water parameters. Even they can withstand a large range of temperature. However, for breeding purposes, try to aim for the ideal range as specified above.

Not only for great looks, you can keep these shrimps for their algae-eating abilities too. Many shrimp keepers have said their tank got cleaned just after a couple of months of keeping snowball shrimps. Along with algae, you should also feed a supplementary food like Bacter AE for keeping the color top-notch.

If you want to buy the best-quality Snowball Shrimp at the most cost-effective price, check them out. I have found them to be one of the best aquarium shrimp suppliers in the States! Both their shipping policy and Live Arrival Guarantee are awesome for fish keepers like us!

I’ll strongly advise against overfeeding the shrimps. I feed supplementary food to my cherry shrimps 2-3 times a week. Even it is okay to skip feeding for a few days. Don’t worry about it. These shrimps can go on perfectly without feeding for a few days as the tank already has a ton of natural food for them: algae and biofilm.

Just like any other cherry shrimp types, snowball shrimps also breed pretty easily and quickly. From eggs to hatching, it takes about 45 days. You can easily tell when the eggs are close to hatching by identifying a set of eyes on the snow-white eggs.

Snowball shrimps are absolutely peaceful creatures. They are quite active too. If the shrimps feel safe, they’ll pass all-day grazing on the plants, moss, decorations, and leaves.

Copper is deadly for snowball shrimps, actually for any freshwater dwarf shrimp for that matter. Make sure copper doesn’t leach into the shrimp tank in any way.

Blue Pearl Shrimp

Blue Pearl shrimps are one of the newer additions to shrimp keeping world. Though this particular variant was first bred in Germany, blue pearl shrimps very quickly made their way to the USA for their stunning blue color. According to shrimp breeders, blue pearl shrimp is the first truly bred blue dwarf shrimp.

Blue pearl shrimps don’t need much to live. In fact, the care is pretty similar to any other type of cherry shrimps. Just ensure the basic things like ideal water parameters, fresh & clean water, lots of plants, high-quality food and your blue pearl shrimps will be happy to live and breed in the tank. Though blue pearl shrimps can withstand a wide range of parameters, you need to be consistent with it otherwise they can get stressed.

Blue pearl shrimps eat almost anything and they love to scavenge through the tank. They eat some types of algae and biofilm. However, you’ll need to feed other supplementary foods for proper growth. Like I’ve said earlier, I feed my shrimps Bacter AE for their proper growth and color. You can also feed the shrimps blanched vegetable once in a while to spice up their diet.

Breeding blue pearl shrimps doesn’t demand any extra care or setup. Just make sure the colony has a good male to female ratio and you’ll see lots of baby blue pearl shrimps in no time (Of course the setup needs to be right!).

They are very peaceful creatures. However, I won’t recommend keeping them with other tank mates as most fishes will try to nib the adults or have a go at the babies.

Baby pearl shrimps are not as common as red cherry shrimps. They are considered “prized shrimps” and you need to take proper care of them.

Green Jade Shrimp

The dark green color of Green Jade Shrimps makes them stand out in the dark substrate. They are relatively a new addition to the shrimp keeping world and I must say, they have already gone quite popular among the shrimp keepers.

Green Jade Shrimps are easy to care for like any other cherry shrimp. They are very active and love to scavenge the tank. These shrimps eat soft algae and biofilm. They thrive best in a heavily planted tank. Not only for color, you can keep these little buggers to keep your tank clean too!

Green Jade Shrimps are selective bred from the Red Cherry Shrimps line. The range of colors that shrimp breeders got were red -> brown -> blue -> yellow -> green.

The color Green Jade Shrimps can vary. Some shrimps have green stripes and spots over a translucent yellow body. Some shrimps have a varying pattern of bright green color. I have also seen Green Jade Shrimps that are dark as emerald.

Sexing green jade shrimps is like any other cherry shrimp. You’ll have to wait until they are sexually matured. The female ones are comparatively larger, form a saddle and have bigger tails. The bigger tail is helpful for fanning the eggs once they are fertilized and move towards the belly.

Green Jade Shrimps are pretty forgiving shrimps. You can keep them in a wide range of parameters. It doesn’t have to be the ones specified above. However, the thing you can’t allow is inconsistency. Shrimps suffer most due to inconsistent water parameters and get stressed easily.

Feeding them can be very straightforward. Just feed them a good shrimp food 2-3 times a week depending on the amount of algae and biofilm your tank has. The supplementary food can be algae wafer, Bacter AE, shrimp pellet, etc. The important thing here is to not overfeed the shrimps.

Overfeeding causes 90% of the problems that shrimp keepers face.

Breeding them is not rocket science either. Just ensure there are enough males and females in the colony. If you do everything right and the environment is perfect, you’ll see lots of baby green shrimps soon in the tank. The eggs need about 2 weeks to gestate.

You won’t need to offer anything extra for the fries. They’ll start to eat what the adults eat and get bigger very quickly.

Blue Velvet Shrimp

Blue velvet shrimps are widely appreciated for their bright blue colors. They are just like red cherry shrimps, but blue in color. The care requirement, diet and breeding is almost same as red cherry shrimps.

I feel like I am repeating myself here. But the care and housing requirement is same for almost all cherry shrimp types. Just make sure you keep them in a 10 gallon tank at least. Keep lots of plants and moss in the plant to make the blue velvet shrimps feel safe.

The shrimps should be quite active in the tank and graze on algae & biofilm. However, you do need to offer a supplementary food 2 or 3 times a week. There is no need to feed them everyday. In fact, it is better to skip feeding for a few days so that there is no chance of overfeeding.

They’ll breed quite vigorously like any other cherry shrimps. You can keep some of the ‘safe’ tank mates with them if you want. But truth be told, no fish is absolutely shrimp safe. If you want to breed them seriously, keep them in a separate tank that is exclusive to them only.

I love the appearance of berried female blue velvet shrimps. When they are berried, the eggs get greenish/yellowish in color. They look quite aesthetic inside the blue body. The eggs can take about a month to hatch. The fries don’t need any special attention other than lots of moss and plants. Soon they’ll grow and start mating themselves.

If you want to buy the best-quality Blue Velvet Shrimp at the most cost-effective price, check them out. I have found them to be one of the best aquarium shrimp suppliers in the States! Both their shipping policy and Live Arrival Guarantee are awesome for fish keepers like us!

Orange Pumpkin Shrimp

As the name suggests, Orange pumpkin shrimps will bring a wonderful hint of orange color to your tank. If you want something that makes your planted tank pop without having to take extensive care of it, then orange pumpkin shrimps will be the right choice.

Like any other cherry shrimps, orange pumpkin shrimps don’t require much. Just keep them in a 10 gallon tank. For substrate, you can either go for a bare bottom tank or tank with filter pool sand. If you want a heavily planted tank, then I’ll suggest eco complete planted aquarium substrate. Here I’ve talked more about substrate for cherry shrimps. I’ll suggest something dark that really makes the color of these shrimps stand out!

For filtration, you can simply go for a sponge filter or a matten filter. Many shrimp keepers believe shrimps don’t need filtration if the tank is heavily planted. It cannot be further than the truth. Every shrimp tank needs a type of filtration.

These shrimps are not fussy about the water parameters. Just try to stay between the specified range. Also, try to make the parameters consistent. Sudden spike or drop of the parameters can really make these shrimps stressed.

If you want, you can keep some tank mates with these shrimps. However, keep in mind that the babies will not be safe from the tank mates, no matter how peaceful they are. I heard stories about otto trying to bite a shrimp too!

If you want to breed them seriously, then keep them in a shrimp only tank. You can have some snails. Snails like Malaysian Trumpet Snails create a better ecological balance in the tank.

Feeding is similar to any other cherry shrimp. Most of the time orange pumpkin shrimps will graze on algae and biofilm. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need anything else. I’ll recommend feeding them a good shrimp food 2-3 times a week depending on the amount of algae your tank has. Also, sometimes you can spice up the diet with blanched vegetables like cucumber, zucchini, spinach, etc.

As Orange Pumpkin Shrimps are not that much popular like their red cherry shrimp cousins, you might face a hard time finding these for sell. Even if you do, the color might not be that much exciting. I’ll suggest searching on the reputable online shrimp sites and check their collection from time to time.

If you want to buy the best-quality Orange Pumpkin Shrimp at the most cost-effective price, check them out. I have found them to be one of the best aquarium shrimp suppliers in the States! Both their shipping policy and Live Arrival Guarantee are awesome for fish keepers like us!

Red Onyx Shrimp

Red Onyx shrimps have a striking red color like high-grade red cherry shrimps. However, their body has black spots too. The black-red combination makes these shrimps extremely gorgeous.

You’ll be real lucky if you can find these shrimps for sell. They are very rare and most shrimp stores can’t keep them in their collection.

Taking care of them is just as straightforward like any other cherry shrimp. Just do everything you’ll do for a cherry shrimp. However, breeding them and keeping the same coloration can be a bit difficult unless you perform selective breeding.

They are good algae eaters and love to feed on biofilm. Keep in mind to offer a supplementary food few times a week. And I’ll suggest not keeping any tank mates with these gorgeous creatures.

Blue Diamond Shrimp

The origin story of Blue Diamond Shrimps is quite interesting. They were first bred from a strain of Chocolate Neo. Till now, their coloration hasn’t got super stable yet. You can find blotches of irregular color pattern on them. However, they are extremely easy to care for just like any cherry shrimp.

Shrimp keepers widely cherish these shrimps for their sapphire like appearance. These shrimps not only bring gorgeousness to the tank, they are also excellent clean-up crew. If the conditions are right, they’ll breed like crazy and soon you’ll have lots of baby blue shrimps jumping around the tank.

Blue Diamond Shrimps do extremely fine in a heavily planted tank. Like other cherry shrimps, they are not very picky about the water parameters. However, they need consistency in the temperature and water parameters. Sudden spike or downfall won’t bring any good to their health.

Blue diamond shrimps are getting more popularity each day for their awesome algae-control and waste-management capabilities. However, they are quite more expensive than regular red cherry shrimps. Even, a single pair can cost you more than $10.

So, be prepared to have a heavy wallet if you want a colony of Blue Diamond Shrimps.

Blue-Green Emerald Shrimp

This is one of the newest and rarest varieties of neocaridina davidi. This is the new green shrimp in town and shrimp keepers are going crazy over it. This variety boasts itself with a dark-green gorgeous coloration that stands out perfectly on a dark substrate. Most of the shrimps have a green-blue coloration, hence the name Blue-Green emerald.

Like any other cherry shrimp species, this gorgeous one is extremely easy to care for too! They are very hardy and can live in a wide range of water parameters.

Blue-Green emerald shrimps love to scavenge throughout the tank. A large portion of their diet forms with algae and biofilm. They’ll also benefit from a good quality commercial shrimp food. Feed the shrimps a supplemental food 2-3 times a week depending on the amount of algae the tank has.

Blue-Green emerald shrimps are absolutely peaceful. They are very active and scavenge throughout the tank all day long. So, you’ll always find them jumping around in the tank, going from leaf to leaf or scavenging the substrate. Though there are peaceful, I’ll advise against keeping them with other fishes.

Blue-Green emerald shrimps are very rare, they can be quite pricey. Last time I checked, a single piece can cost your around $10. You certainly don’t want such a prized shrimp to go inside other fish’s belly, right?

The last thing I want to say, don’t overfeed these shrimps. Most of the problems in the shrimp tank are caused due to overfeeding. Feed them in less amount, but higher-quality foods like Bacter AE.

Chocolate Shrimp

As the name suggests, these shrimps have a dark chocolate color and quite popular among the shrimp keeping community. If you have a light-color substrate in the tank, these shrimps will stand out perfectly.

Chocolate shrimps are very easy to care for. They are scavengers and love to scavenge throughout the whole day. The staple portion of their diet forms with algae and biofilm. They also need minerals and vitamins for proper growth. To ensure all the nutrients, I recommend feeding them a good quality shrimp food 2-3 times a week, preferably Bacter AE.

Don’t overfeed the shrimps at all. Also, you can spice up their diet by occasionally offering blanched vegetables. The vegetable can be anything including carrot, cucumber, zucchini, spinach, etc.

Chocolate shrimps can live and breed in wide range of parameters. However, they can’t endure sudden fluctuations of the water parameter. They are quite peaceful and can be an excellent tank mate for a community tank.

However, if you are serious about breeding chocolate shrimps, I will advise you to keep them in a tank exclusive to them only. You can keep some snails like Malaysian Trumpet Snails.

Chocolate shrimps are selectively bred from the Red Cherry Shrimps. These created awesome hues from deep red to dark chocolate. Due to the dark coloration, sometimes these shrimps are also called Black Cherry Shrimps. In some shrimps, there are brown stripes and spots over the translucent yellow body.

Sexing chocolate shrimps is similar to any other cherry shrimps. You’ll have to wait until they are sexually matured. The females are typically bigger, have larger tails and form a saddle inside their body. The saddle stores the eggs until they are fertilized.

If you want to breed Chocolate shrimps, keep a colony of at least 10. If everything is right and there are lots of plants & moss in the tank, the shrimps should start breeding very quickly. Once berried, the eggs take about 2 weeks to gestate. Once the fries hatch, they can take care of themselves instinctively.

Conclusion

So, these are the different types of cherry shrimps you can keep as pets. However, not all of them are readily available for sell like red cherry shrimps. So, you may need to look hard for the rare ones!

In this article, I tried to inspire you to become a better shrimp keeper and expand your horizon beyond red cherry shrimps. When we hear about cherry shrimps, most shrimp keepers only think about red cherry shrimps.

But there are many more types of cherry shrimps, and if you want, you can keep them too! I hope I got you enough inspired!

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