10+ Ideal Tank Mates For Cherry Shrimp [Chart, Picture, Risk]

Cherry shrimps are very delicate creatures. As they are very small, they are practically defenseless against any prey. That’s why it is extremely important to choose ideal tank mates for cherry shrimp. Even if your adult cherry shrimps seem to be safe with a group of tank mates, the shrimplets might not be. So, give full attention to this article.

The ideal tank mates for cherry shrimp include:

• Snails
• Otocinclus Catfish
• Corydoras Catfish
• Small-sized tetras
• Small-sized rasboras
• White Mountain Cloud Minnows
• Any fish that is not aggressive, temperamental, territorial or large enough to gulp down the whole shrimp at a single try

When choosing tank mates for cherry shrimps, you need to look at a few different factors of the tank mate. I’ll explain everything you need to know in the rest of the article.

What’s The Most Popular Tank Mate For Cherry Shrimps? My Study

I asked in 3 popular shrimp groups about their opinion on what’s the most popular tank mate for cherry shrimps. Here’s what the post looked like:

I have got a whole array of answers. For convenience, I’ve aggregated the answers on a sheet and made a chart. I know it seems nerdy, but a very quick way to understand what tank mates are really recommended by cherry shrimp owners.

Here’s the chart:

From the chart, you can see that the most popular and recommended tank mate for cherry shrimps is…. cherry shrimps!

Yes, cherry shrimps live the best when they are in a community with other cherry shrimps.

The second and third popular options are Otocinclus and Snails, respectively.

Discover more cool facts about Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina) with this detailed post! Do Cherry Shrimps Eat Brown Algae?

Ideal Tank Mates For Cherry Shrimp Tank

There are only a few ideal tank mates for a cherry shrimp tank. I’ll try to list them out here one by one.

Keep in mind that, cherry shrimps are never 100% safe with any of the tank mates. That’s why you’ll always need lots of plants, moss and hiding places in the tank for your shrimp’s safety.

Tank Mate	Care Level	Behavior	Remarks
Snails	Minimum	Peaceful	Ideal for cherry shrimps. Helps establish a healthy ecosystem but can breed rapidly. Keeping assassin snails can help control the population.
Otocinclus (Otos)	Low	Peaceful	Algae feeders, do not compete with shrimps for food. Need a 20-gallon tank and good water quality.
Small Tetras	Low	Relatively Peaceful	Hardy, schooling fish that live in the mid to upper tank levels, leaving shrimps undisturbed.
Small Rasboras	Moderate	Mind their own business	Small schooling fish that stay in mid to top portions of the tank, generally peaceful with shrimps.
Small Plecos (e.g., Bristlenose)	Moderate	Peaceful	Bristlenose plecos are ideal for shrimp tanks; peaceful and do not compete for food.
Corydoras Catfish	Low to Moderate	Peaceful	Bottom dwellers and scavengers, similar to shrimps, usually peaceful with them.
Small Guppies	Low	Medium Peaceful	Can be slightly aggressive; needs lots of plants and hiding spots for shrimps to ensure their safety.
White Mountain Cloud Minnows	Low	Peaceful	Peaceful schooling fish, stay in the mid to upper levels, prefer slightly colder water.

Snails

Care Level: Minimum

Temperature: 70 to 80 degrees fahrenheit

pH: 7.0 to 7.5

Remarks: Ideal for cherry shrimps. Peaceful and establishes a healthy ecosystem with the shrimp.

Snails are the very most ideal tank mates for cherry shrimps. They are small, peaceful, mind their own business the whole day and establishes a healthy eco-system in the shrimp tank.

Algaes are mainly kept in the tank as a clean-up crew. They eat leftover foods, debris and some are very good algae eaters.

Some of the snails that are ideal for cherry shrimps are:

• Gold Mystery Snail
• Malaysian Trumpet Snail
• Nerite Snails
• Assassin Snail
• bumblebee snails, etc.

Snails are extremely easy to care for. They basically need nothing. They won’t require any extra special food or specific water parameters. They’ll live by doing their own business peacefully.

However, one disadvantage of having snails is, they can breed and populate very fast. Soon you may find your tank is filled with snails. One way to keep the population in check is by keeping assassin snails in the tank. They can feed on snail babies and keep the number of snails low.

Want to dive deeper into Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina)? This article has all the answers! Do Cherry Shrimps Eat Black Beard Algae?

Otocinclus

Care Level: low

Size: Not more than 2 inches

Behavior: Peaceful

Temperature: 70 to 80 degrees fahrenheit

pH: 6.0 to 7.5

Otocinclus catfish, commonly known as Otos, is a type of algae-feeding schooling fish. As they feed on algae, they won’t compete over food with your cherry shrimps.

As a schooling fish, Otos prefer their own companion only. So, they won’t bother the cherry shrimps. I have been keeping otos for many years now. Till now, I’ve never seen them show aggressive behavior towards the tank mates.

For keeping otos, you should get at least a 20 gallon tank. Also, they don’t do well in poor water quality. If you can meet these criteria, otos will be a perfect addition to your cherry shrimp tank.

Small Tetras

Care Level: Low

Maximum Size: less than 2.5 inches

Temperature: 68 to 80 degrees fahrenheit

pH: around 7.0

Behavior: relatively peaceful

Tetras are ideal for beginners. Like the rasboras, they are very hardy schooling fishes. Not only tetras are easy to care for, they look extremely beautiful too.

Similar to the rasboras, tetras live in the mid to upper range of the aquarium, leaving the bottom dwellers and shrimps peacefully. However, they need at least a group of 15 members to thrive. Schools with fewer members can make the tetras vulnerable and stressful.

My favorite tetras for a shrimp tank will be:

• Neon Tetra
• Ember Tetra

Tetras are a lot hardier than the rasboras. They don’t have much demand. A 10-gallon started tank will be enough for a small school of tetras. However, if you can get a bigger tank, that will be much better.

Small Rasboras

Care Level: Moderate

Maximum Size: Reaches about 2 inches

Temperature: 72 to 82 degrees fahrenheit

pH: 6.0 to 7.5

Behavior: Mind their own business

Rasboras are generally schooling fish. They don’t tend to grow very large. The larger ones don’t cross 4 inches.

For cherry shrimps, you need to choose the ones that stay relatively small. Smaller rasboras won’t try to compete with the shrimps over food or anything.

Some of the good choices will be:

• Harlequin Rasbora
• Phoenix Rasbora, etc.

Rasboras should be kept in groups of at least 8-10 members. They are known for their schooling.

Rasboras live in the mid to top portion of the tank. So, they generally don’t go below and try to nip the cherry shrimps. I have seen the smaller rasboras are particularly more peaceful than their larger counterparts.

Rasboras need a little bit of care, good vegetation, clean water and large open space for schooling.

Explore the fascinating world of Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina)—this post has everything you need! Do Cherry Shrimp Eat Hair Algae?

Small Plecos

Care Level: Moderate

Temperature: 72 to 78 degrees fahrenheit

Maximum Size: depends on the species

pH: 5.5 to 7.6

When choosing plecos, you need to be aware of the species. Some plecos can grow up to even 12 inches long. Obviously for cherry shrimps, you’ll need the ones that stay small.

I prefer bristlenose plecos for my cherry shrimp tank. They are very peaceful, don’t fight over food and mind their own business.

Corydoras Catfish

Care Level: low to moderate

Maximum Size: not more than a couple of inches

Temperature: about 70 to 78 degrees fahrenheit

Behavior: Peaceful

pH: 7.0 to 7.8

Corydoras Catfishes are commonly known as Cory Cats. Like otos, they are also very peaceful schooling fish.

Cory Cats are very much similar to cherry shrimps. Both are bottom dwellers as well as scavengers. Though both of them share the same space, I haven’t seen them fighting over anything at all. Cory Cats mind their own business and prefer their own company.

Cory cats are extremely easy to care for. They don’t need much care. However, the tank needs to be clean. Otherwise, they can catch various diseases.

Small Guppies

Care Level: Low

Temperature: 74 to 82 degrees fahrenheit

Maximum Size: smaller than 2.5 inches

pH: 6.8 to 7.8

Behavior: Medium Peaceful

Guppies are not very peaceful like the other schooling fishes mentioned here. They tend to be a bit aggressive towards the small fishes. However, some of the smaller size guppies can live with shrimps.

But you’ll have to maintain caution. There need to be lots of plants, moss and hiding places for the shrimps. Also, do feed your guppies regularly so they don’t feel encouraged to hunt down the shrimps.

Guppies are very easy to care for don’t require much special attention other than regular feeding.

White Mountain Cloud Minnows

Care Level: low

pH: 6.5 to 8.0

Temperature: 64 to 72 degrees fahrenheit

Maximum Size: not more than 1.5 inches

Behavior: Peaceful

White Mountain Cloud Minnows are a lot like neon tetras in terms of appearance.

They are peaceful, schooling fish that live in the mid to upper range of the aquarium. So, they won’t bother the bottom dwellers, which are the shrimps. Minnows need at least 6 members for their school. The more, the better.

Minnows prefer a slightly colder water temperature. Other than that, they are relatively pretty easy to take care of.

Want to dive deeper into Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina)? This article has all the answers! 5 Homemade Cherry Shrimp Food Recipes For Beginners

13 Different Cherry Shrimp Types: Infographic

What Should You Consider Before Choosing Tank Mates For Cherry Shrimp?

Several hobbyists love to keep different pets together. But, you can’t add all types of livings to cohabit in the tank of your cherry shrimp.

If you want to bring tank mates for your cherry shrimp, you should consider a few things at the beginning. Let’s check out the following points.

1. Size

Before adding new tank mates, the very first thing to notice is their size. Generally, the bigger fish tend to gulp down the shrimp that can fit in their mouth. So, you should choose fish that are smaller than your cherry shrimp.

2. Compatibility

Another significant factor to consider is their compatibility. You might know that the temperament of cherry shrimp is timid and peaceful. So, when you add aggressive fish to the shrimp tank, these fish may tear up your shrimp.

If the aggressive tank mates can’t eat your shrimp, their territory will keep the cherry shrimp constantly stressed. Hence, you must choose compatible tank mates for your cherry shrimp.

3. Tank Requirements

The tank requirements of cherry shrimp and their tank mates should be similar. We can take the temperature requirement, for example. The ideal temperature for cherry shrimp remains between 58-76 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you bring such tank mates of shrimp that require more or less temperature, that tank mate won’t thrive well with cherry shrimp. To keep both pets healthy, you should ensure whether they share similar requirements or not.

4. Food Habits

Make sure that your cherry shrimp isn’t in the food chain of the chosen tank mate. Moreover, these cherry shrimp are bottom feeders.

If you bring another bottom feeder into the tank, your cherry shrimp may remain hungry. In addition, the diet of your chosen tank mate should be as same as the diet of your shrimp.

You can click here if you don’t know about the cherry shrimp diet.

Hungry for knowledge about Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina)? We’ve got you covered in this article. How Do Cherry Shrimp Eat?

5. Considering The Presence Of Shrimp Fry

If you have shrimp fries in your tank, you should not include any tank mates of shrimp. In most cases, the shrimp tank mates gobble up the shrimp fry as the fry fits into their mouths smoothly.

6. Tank Size

The number of shrimp tank mates should depend upon the tank size of your cherry shrimp. Also, if the tank size is small, you should not add bigger fish.

You can also check out this article to know details about the cherry shrimp habitat setup.

7. Care Guide

The last thing that you should know beforehand is the care guide of your chosen tank mates. The care guide should be easy and similar to cherry shrimp.

If you’re a beginner, you should go through this write-up: cherry shrimp care guide for beginners.

Tank Mates To Avoid For Cherry Shrimp Tank

In this section, I’ll write about the tank mates you must avoid and why you should avoid them. I’ll present the whole information in a table so that you can easily understand. First, let me tell you the most important thing when it comes to choosing tank mate for a shrimp tank:

If a fish is large enough to gulp down the whole shrimp in a single instance, then it should be avoided at all cost.

Here are the tank mates you need to avoid for a shrimp tank:

Tank Mates	Why You Should Avoid
Mollie & Swordtails	Both of these can get considerably bigger and more aggressive for the little shrimps.
Angelfish	A rule of thumb is, the more decorative and large a fish is, the more it is to nip the little fishes. Angelfish is known for its nipping behavior.
Turtles	I don’t think it needs much explaining. Even medium-sized fishes are not safe from turtles, let alone tiny cherry shrimps.
Axolotl	Axolotls get considerably bigger and can try to eat the shrimps or hunt them down.
Goldfish	Goldfishes are very much territorial and known for their aggressive behavior towards smaller tank mates.
Gourami	Same as goldfish. They can get larger and more territorial with time which is a potential threat for cherry shrimps.
Oscar	Oscars are very aggressive and temperamental. They are suitable for only a few tank mates.
African cichlids	Same as Oscar. African cichlids are known for their aggressive, temperamental and territorial behavior. These should NEVER be your cherry shrimp’s tank mates.
Betta Fish	Though betta fish have amazing beauty, they are not very good with roommates. Bettas like to live alone, except for only the time when they breed.
Arowana	Well, it doesn’t need any explaining why you shouldn’t keep arowanas with shrimps. Shrimps are actually foods for arowanas in the wild.
Discus	Like the Angelfishes, Discus is a very decorative fish with a highly territorial behavior. They don’t do well with smaller tank mates that are ideal for nipping.

Nano Fish That May Eat Cherry Shrimp

In this section, we’ll look at some of the nano fishes that can be potentially harmful to your cherry shrimps. As these fishes are small like your shrimps, you might think they will be okay as a tank mate.

However, these nano fishes can be quite aggressive and temperamental. That’s why you shouldn’t keep them in a cherry shrimp tank. From the list, some can potentially live with your shrimps, but you’ll have to keep a lot of hiding places, plants, and mosses inside the tank for your cherry shrimps.

Here are the nano fishes that may eat cherry shrimp:

frequently Asked questions

Do Cherry Shrimp Need Tank Mates?

Cherry shrimp are extremely peaceful pets that can live alone. But, these crustaceans do well in groups, according to many experienced owners. So, cherry shrimp need tank mates to thrive well in captivity.

The docile temperament of cherry shrimp makes them friendly toward their tank mates. But, you need to choose their tank mates of the same temperament. Although you can keep single shrimp, you should not keep your cherry shrimp alone in a tank.

How Many Cherry Shrimp Can Live Together?

If you want to keep multiple cherry shrimp together, you should keep a minimum of 10 cherry shrimp together. You can keep 3-5 cherry shrimp per gallon. Keeping a colony of cherry shrimp reduces the aggressive behavior of these shrimp.

Cherry shrimps are very social. They love to live in groups. You should never keep them lonely. I always recommend getting at least a group of 10 cherry shrimps.

If the cherry shrimps have a large group, they’ll feel relatively safer, and less vulnerable. Also, a large group of cherry shrimps ensures a higher survival rate.

If you plan to have tank mates in your shrimp tank, ensure there are at least enough cherry shrimps in the tank first. Make sure the number of cherry shrimps always stays higher than the number of other tank mates.

What Other Shrimps Can Live With Cherry Shrimps?

Cherry shrimps can pretty much live with any other shrimp, whether it is cardina or neocardinas. However, I’ll not recommend keeping Amano shrimps with cherry shrimps. Amanos can be a bit mean towards other shrimps. They also steal food.

Can Cherry Shrimp Live With Blue Rams?

Blue rams are eye-catchy colored fish that anybody wants to keep in their aquarium. But, when you plan to keep cherry shrimp with blue rams, it might be a horrible thought.

The blue rams can grow up to almost 2-2.5 inches. On the other hand, cherry shrimp can be as big as 1.5 inches. So, keeping rams with cherry shrimp will not be a good idea if you want to keep your pet cherry shrimp alive.

If the tank is bigger, the cherry shrimp may be able to escape by hiding themselves from the blue ram. The blue ram may not be a threat to the adult cherry shrimp. If your shrimp is smaller than the blue rams, it may become the lunch of these rams.

Will Mollies Eat Cherry Shrimp?

Before keeping mollies with cherry shrimp, you should know that mollies can eat cherry shrimp.

Although mollies are peaceful, these fish get territorial in the presence of the small and shy living. If you make these two creatures coexist in a tank, mollies may assume cherry shrimp as a part of their diet.

However, these mollies are famous as fin nippers. So, when you keep cherry shrimp with mollies, these mollies may tear up the shrimp.

Can Cherry Shrimp Live With Betta?

It depends on the personality of your betta fish to keep with cherry shrimp. In addition, cherry shrimp are much smaller than the betta.

Although the temperament of cherry shrimp and betta are opposite, you can keep cherry shrimp with a betta. These territorial-natured betta fish can live peacefully with cherry shrimp as long as you feed both of them well. Make sure that your betta does not remain hungry to gobble up the cherry shrimp.

Generally, the male betta fish tend to remain highly aggressive. On the other hand, the temperament of female betta is pretty docile towards other fish or shrimp.

But, these fighting fish still show aggression irrespective of being male or female. Hence, the experienced owners usually suggest choosing a female betta in terms of keeping it with your cherry shrimp.

When you compare the size, these betta fish are almost double in size of the cherry shrimp. The cherry shrimp grow up to 1.5 inches whereas the adult betta reaches up to 3 inches. So, it’s their instinct to swallow the babies of cherry shrimp.

For this reason, I don’t recommend keeping baby cherry shrimp and betta in the same tank. If you want to cohabit the adult cherry shrimp and betta together, you can keep one betta with 10 cherry shrimp. Also, make sure to provide lots of hideouts for cherry shrimp in the tank.

Can Neon Tetras Live With Cherry Shrimp?

If you wonder about keeping neon tetras with cherry shrimp, the short answer must be a yes! You can cohabit neon tetras with cherry shrimp.

Neon tetras and cherry shrimp are almost similar in size. Moreover, these neon tetras are as docile as cherry shrimp.

Also, if you keep neon tetras in the tank of cherry shrimp, you will not need to worry about different maintenance. After all, the requirements and ideal parameters are the same for both cherry shrimp and neon tetras. So, you can keep them happily together.

But, you should not plan to breed cherry shrimp while having neon tetras on the tank. There might cause such unfortunate events as swallowing up the cherry shrimp fry by the tetras.

Will Guppies Eat Cherry Shrimp?

Cherry shrimp are on the list of the food chain of guppies. If the cherry shrimp are smaller than the guppies, these guppies will eat the cherry shrimp.

So, if you keep guppies and cherry shrimp together, these guppies will surely gobble up the cherry shrimp fry. You have to place guppies in the tank of adult cherry shrimp.

But, the bigger guppies can be a threat to cherry shrimp. Although you can keep them together, your cherry shrimp might remain under stress all the time.

However, you should take some precautions for cohabitating cherry shrimp with guppies. The number of guppies should be lower than the cherry shrimp. Besides, you have to provide proper coverage with hiding spots for your cherry shrimp.

Will Dwarf Gourami Eat Cherry Shrimp?

When you buy dwarf gourami, the shopkeepers might convince you by saying that these are peaceful fish. But, you shouldn’t get fooled by believing this theory. Not all dwarf gourami is friendly. Some of these can become territorial when they reach full maturity.

Some dwarf gourami can become bullies to cherry shrimp as these shrimp are pretty small and docile. In worse cases, the dwarf gourami will eat your pet cherry shrimp. Yet, many hobbyists and pet lovers successfully keep dwarf gourami and cherry shrimp together.

These dwarf gouramis are naturally aggressive. So, it’s their common instinct to gulp down the cherry shrimp when these shrimp fit in their mouth.

Hence, I recommend not to keep dwarf gourami and cherry shrimp together. If you are obliged to cohabit with them, you should follow the trick of arranging a tank with lots of hiding spots and plants.

Can Cherry Shrimp Live With Cory Catfish?

The short answer is a yes! Cherry shrimp can share their tank with cory catfish.

The temperament of cherry shrimp and cory catfish match each other. Besides, they share similar water conditions. Although cory catfish may eat one or two baby shrimp accidentally, your shrimp population will increase in such cohabited tank.

Will Platys Eat Cherry Shrimp?

In the list of incompatible tank mates, you must include platys. If cherry shrimp fit in the mouth, platys may gobble up these cherry shrimp. When platys can’t eat cherry shrimp directly, these fish start harassing the shrimp to death.

Can Cherry Shrimp Live With African Dwarf Frogs?

When it comes to keeping the cherry shrimp with African dwarf frogs, you should consider the shrimp size. Since African dwarf frogs are fully aquatic, you won’t have to worry about matching their tank requirements with the shrimp.

Cherry shrimp can live with African dwarf frogs. But, these omnivores frogs may gobble up the shrimp that fit in their mouth. So, you can not keep baby or juvenile cherry shrimp with African dwarf frogs.

Can Red Cherry Shrimp Live With Danios?

The adult red-cherry shrimp can be kept with danios. If your red cherry shrimp is smaller than the danios, these fish may hurt the shrimp. Also, the small red cherry shrimp may go into the stomach of danios.

Since the red cherry shrimp swim faster than the danios, these shrimp may escape from the prey of danios. But, these shrimp will remain under stress if you cohabit them together.

Will Zebra Fish Eat Cherry Shrimp?

There remains much debate about keeping zebra fish with cherry shrimp. Zebrafish will eat cherry shrimp if these shrimp are smaller than the fish.

If you are keen to keep them together, you should provide plenty of hiding spaces. Besides, you should keep the plant covers for your shrimp. Also, you must ensure keeping zebra fish well-fed so these fish do not prey on cherry shrimp.

Can You Keep Cherry Shrimp With Cardinal Tetras?

Since cardinal tetras are peaceful and timid, pet lovers want to cohabit cherry shrimp with cardinal tetras. Their requirements are also pretty similar. So, you can keep these two livings together. But, you should not add cardinal tetras in the tank if there are shrimp fries.