FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
The shrimp you are buying are born and bred in the United States of America, in the State of Indiana.
We do not sell imported animals and never will.
We do not sell imported animals and never will.
Known popularly as Cherry Shrimp, they now come in many varieties of red, blue, yellow, green, orange, brown, black, clear, and an increasing number of combinations.
Red Cherry Shrimp, RCS for short, may also simply be referred to as Cherry Shrimp. You will hear the other colors called "Yellow Cherry Shrimp," "Yellow Neos," etc.
Formerly classified as Neocaridina heteropoda and Neocaridina denticulata sinensis, the community has finally settled on Neocaridina davidi. We hope.
They are a freshwater high-order shrimp that carry their eggs, which hatch into miniature copies of the adults. There is no larval stage.
Red Cherry Shrimp, RCS for short, may also simply be referred to as Cherry Shrimp. You will hear the other colors called "Yellow Cherry Shrimp," "Yellow Neos," etc.
Formerly classified as Neocaridina heteropoda and Neocaridina denticulata sinensis, the community has finally settled on Neocaridina davidi. We hope.
They are a freshwater high-order shrimp that carry their eggs, which hatch into miniature copies of the adults. There is no larval stage.
High-Grade Cherry Shrimp famous for their deep red coloration and shining carapaces which make them appear to be swimming gemstones, these bright red shrimp are known widely as "Bloody Mary" shrimp (we did not pick the name).
Bloody Mary Shrimp are just another color variety of Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) and will happily breed with Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi var. Red).
Bloody Mary Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi var. Bloody Mary) were bred from Neocaridina davidi var. Chocolate (var. Wild, var. Brown, var. Neglected Tank of Mixed Color Shrimp).
Brown shrimp are all the colors mashed together. Occasionally, brown shrimp have young who are missing one or more colors. Like artists mixing colors on their pallete, breeders have added and subtracted colors to produce the many color varieties of Neocaridina we enjoy today.
The Bloody Mary Shrimp bloodline is just as stable as the Red Cherry Shrimp bloodline. Same amount of culls regardless of variety, 1% - 5% in our experience.
In Nature, no matter how stable the line, accidents happen. In all color varieties of shrimp, or any other animal, good animal husbandry must be practiced to maintain the quality of the line.
In a small tank with a few dozen shrimp you may never see it happen but Bloody Mary culls can be dull red, blue, red/blue rili, brown, or clear.
It takes a lot of neglect over years to degrade your high-grade shrimp into a bunch of dull shrimp, so don't stress about it. If you see any shrimp you don't want just pull them out every couple of months. If it is really cool looking, keep it, you might have the next big thing.
Bloody Mary Shrimp are just another color variety of Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) and will happily breed with Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi var. Red).
Bloody Mary Shrimp (Neocaridina davidi var. Bloody Mary) were bred from Neocaridina davidi var. Chocolate (var. Wild, var. Brown, var. Neglected Tank of Mixed Color Shrimp).
Brown shrimp are all the colors mashed together. Occasionally, brown shrimp have young who are missing one or more colors. Like artists mixing colors on their pallete, breeders have added and subtracted colors to produce the many color varieties of Neocaridina we enjoy today.
The Bloody Mary Shrimp bloodline is just as stable as the Red Cherry Shrimp bloodline. Same amount of culls regardless of variety, 1% - 5% in our experience.
In Nature, no matter how stable the line, accidents happen. In all color varieties of shrimp, or any other animal, good animal husbandry must be practiced to maintain the quality of the line.
In a small tank with a few dozen shrimp you may never see it happen but Bloody Mary culls can be dull red, blue, red/blue rili, brown, or clear.
It takes a lot of neglect over years to degrade your high-grade shrimp into a bunch of dull shrimp, so don't stress about it. If you see any shrimp you don't want just pull them out every couple of months. If it is really cool looking, keep it, you might have the next big thing.
Our neocaridina shrimp are raised in the hard groundwater of Indiana.
This data has been gathered through our personal experience.
Water testing for
Shrimp are very sensitive animals and require the same level of care and attention to detail that you would give to any other pet.
Instead of brushing fur you will be testing and changing water.
It is not a big deal once you get in the habit.
| Our Water Parameters | |
|---|---|
|
dGHDegree of General Hardness
|
18 |
|
dKHDegree of Carbonate Hardness
|
15 |
|
TDSTotal Dissolved Solids
|
400 - 500 |
|
NO3Nitrate
|
5 - 20 |
|
NO2Nitrite
|
0 |
|
NH3Ammonia
|
0 |
| ℉ | 70 - 86 |
| ℃ | 21 - 30 |
| Neocaridina Keeping | |
|---|---|
|
dGHDegree of General Hardness
|
5 - 30 |
|
dKHDegree of Carbonate Hardness
|
4+ |
|
TDSTotal Dissolved Solids
|
150+ |
|
NO3Nitrate
|
0 - 20 |
|
NO2Nitrite
|
0 |
|
NH3Ammonia
|
0 |
| ℉ | 50 - 86 |
| ℃ | 10 - 30 |
| Neocaridina Breeding | |
|---|---|
|
dGHDegree of General Hardness
|
10 - 20 |
|
dKHDegree of Carbonate Hardness
|
4+ |
|
TDSTotal Dissolved Solids
|
400+ |
|
NO3Nitrate
|
0 - 20 |
|
NO2Nitrite
|
0 |
|
NH3Ammonia
|
0 |
| ℉ | 70 - 86 |
| ℃ | 21 - 30 |
This data has been gathered through our personal experience.
Water testing for
GHGeneral Hardness
,
KHCarbonate Hardness
,
NO3Nitrate
,
NO2Nitrite
, and
NH3Ammonia
is mandatory for shrimp keeping, like taking a dog or cat to the vet.Shrimp are very sensitive animals and require the same level of care and attention to detail that you would give to any other pet.
Instead of brushing fur you will be testing and changing water.
It is not a big deal once you get in the habit.
When a customer tells us they used to keep shrimp just fine and now they are having problems, it is often because their city previously used chlorine to disinfect the water and switched to chloramine.
Not every brand/type of dechlorinator is effective at treating water with chloramine in it.
Even if you use a dechlorinator that will split chloramine, it leaves the ammonia behind. Shrimp are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite.
Water changes with city water full of chloramine (or ammonia split from chloramine) can poison the shrimp with chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, or all three.
We recommend a 10% weekly water change, dripped in over several hours.
A cheap way to drip in water is a gallon jug and some airline tubing. Use an air valve to start a drip no faster than 1 drop/sec.
This gives your bacteria and plants time to sort out the ammonia and nitrite for you.
We recommend a hydrosulfite salt-based dechlorinator, which will temporarily bind the ammonia split from choloramine. Use a double dose.
For testing your aquarium water and your tap water, we recommend acquiring quality drop tests instead of paper strips. Get yourself a cheap test tube rack and a 5ml dropper to make life easier.
Use cold water from the tap only, hot water can leach copper from the pipes. Dechlorinate the water and let it sit until it comes up to room temperature, then drip it in.
Once you get settled into the new water change routine and have some solid tank/tap water parameter data, you will be ready to reassess the readiness of your tank for shrimp.
Not every brand/type of dechlorinator is effective at treating water with chloramine in it.
Even if you use a dechlorinator that will split chloramine, it leaves the ammonia behind. Shrimp are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite.
Water changes with city water full of chloramine (or ammonia split from chloramine) can poison the shrimp with chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, or all three.
We recommend a 10% weekly water change, dripped in over several hours.
A cheap way to drip in water is a gallon jug and some airline tubing. Use an air valve to start a drip no faster than 1 drop/sec.
This gives your bacteria and plants time to sort out the ammonia and nitrite for you.
We recommend a hydrosulfite salt-based dechlorinator, which will temporarily bind the ammonia split from choloramine. Use a double dose.
For testing your aquarium water and your tap water, we recommend acquiring quality drop tests instead of paper strips. Get yourself a cheap test tube rack and a 5ml dropper to make life easier.
Use cold water from the tap only, hot water can leach copper from the pipes. Dechlorinate the water and let it sit until it comes up to room temperature, then drip it in.
Once you get settled into the new water change routine and have some solid tank/tap water parameter data, you will be ready to reassess the readiness of your tank for shrimp.
Shrimp can be kept in a very wide variety of water parameters and only seem fussy if you are trying to breed them.
It is not necessary to breed these animals to enjoy them.
Most customers are not interested in having an aquarium filled with nothing but hundreds of shrimp.
With plenty of cover, shrimp do very well in community tanks.
Neocaridina shrimp can live for a couple of years at average house/office temperatures.
It is not necessary to breed these animals to enjoy them.
Most customers are not interested in having an aquarium filled with nothing but hundreds of shrimp.
With plenty of cover, shrimp do very well in community tanks.
Neocaridina shrimp can live for a couple of years at average house/office temperatures.
| Neocaridina Keeping | |
|---|---|
|
dGHDegree of General Hardness
|
5 - 30 |
|
dKHDegree of Carbonate Hardness
|
4+ |
|
TDSTotal Dissolved Solids
|
150+ |
|
NO3Nitrate
|
0 - 20 |
|
NO2Nitrite
|
0 |
|
NH3Ammonia
|
0 |
| ℉ | 50 - 86 |
| ℃ | 10 - 30 |
Water stability is the most important aspect of breeding shrimp.
Rapid fluctuations in water parameters will cause females to drop their eggs and can even kill shrimp.
Water changes should be done regularly and gradually, at least weekly.
A continuous drip system or automatic water change system is highly recommended.
The same effect can be had cheaply with weekly water changes using an airline siphon and a gallon jug.
It can be a messy hassle, kind of like brushing a furry pet, but the thrill of having your own aquatic world can't be beat.
Rapid fluctuations in water parameters will cause females to drop their eggs and can even kill shrimp.
Water changes should be done regularly and gradually, at least weekly.
A continuous drip system or automatic water change system is highly recommended.
The same effect can be had cheaply with weekly water changes using an airline siphon and a gallon jug.
It can be a messy hassle, kind of like brushing a furry pet, but the thrill of having your own aquatic world can't be beat.
| Neocaridina Breeding | |
|---|---|
|
dGHDegree of General Hardness
|
10 - 20 |
|
dKHDegree of Carbonate Hardness
|
4+ |
|
TDSTotal Dissolved Solids
|
400+ |
|
NO3Nitrate
|
0 - 20 |
|
NO2Nitrite
|
0 |
|
NH3Ammonia
|
0 |
| ℉ | 70 - 86 |
| ℃ | 21 - 30 |
For our shrimp (USA bred, farm direct, indoor facility), we recommend letting the water temperatures equalize and then releasing the bag directly into your tank, it is the least stressful for the shrimp.
The drip method often ends up being more stress for the shrimp than it is worth, in our opinion.
If the bag is very cold or warm, put it back into the insulation it came with and let it gradually come to room temperature.
Float the bag in your aquarium for at least 30 minutes to equalize the temperature.
If it is a breather bag, place the bag in a container and float the container in your aquarium.
Open the bag and gently release the entire contents into your aquarium.
You will get all the micro flora/fauna that our shrimp benefit from (worst case, rarely, some java moss or red ramshorn snails. We use/like both).
We breed thousands of shrimp in our tanks so there is no need to be terrified of what is in our water, you will be fine.
For other sellers' shrimp (almost always imports), we recommend using a bucket/net and empty their bag into the net. Discard all of their water and then rinse the animals with water from your tank and discard that water too. Then place the net/shrimp into your quarantine tank and let them swim out. Remove and discard all molts for at least 30 days.
The drip method often ends up being more stress for the shrimp than it is worth, in our opinion.
If the bag is very cold or warm, put it back into the insulation it came with and let it gradually come to room temperature.
Float the bag in your aquarium for at least 30 minutes to equalize the temperature.
If it is a breather bag, place the bag in a container and float the container in your aquarium.
Open the bag and gently release the entire contents into your aquarium.
You will get all the micro flora/fauna that our shrimp benefit from (worst case, rarely, some java moss or red ramshorn snails. We use/like both).
We breed thousands of shrimp in our tanks so there is no need to be terrified of what is in our water, you will be fine.
For other sellers' shrimp (almost always imports), we recommend using a bucket/net and empty their bag into the net. Discard all of their water and then rinse the animals with water from your tank and discard that water too. Then place the net/shrimp into your quarantine tank and let them swim out. Remove and discard all molts for at least 30 days.
Shrimp are omnivores, which means they will eat anything they can get their little claws on.
Zooplankton are a big part of their diet and, in a healthy aquarium, you will see them grazing surfaces and feeding mid-water on seed shrimp and any other miniscule lifeform they can catch.
In a community tank we do not recommend feeding your shrimp at all, it will not be necessary.
A shrimp-only tank can be fed everyday if they are actually consuming all of what you put in.
Be wary of water quality and adjust water change frequency as determined by rising
Also keep an eye on KH, which is consumed by biological processes, and replenish via water changes as necessary.
Most quality shrimp-specific foods, or herbivore fish food will work fine for your shrimp;
We make our own food to avoid additives such as Ethoxyquin.
You can find lots of great DIY fish food recipes on the net.
Zooplankton are a big part of their diet and, in a healthy aquarium, you will see them grazing surfaces and feeding mid-water on seed shrimp and any other miniscule lifeform they can catch.
In a community tank we do not recommend feeding your shrimp at all, it will not be necessary.
A shrimp-only tank can be fed everyday if they are actually consuming all of what you put in.
Be wary of water quality and adjust water change frequency as determined by rising
NO3Nitrate
.Also keep an eye on KH, which is consumed by biological processes, and replenish via water changes as necessary.
Most quality shrimp-specific foods, or herbivore fish food will work fine for your shrimp;
caveat emptorbuyer beware
, of course.We make our own food to avoid additives such as Ethoxyquin.
You can find lots of great DIY fish food recipes on the net.
Any size tank can work, but larger tanks are easier to keep stable.
Substrate can be anything inert such as silica playsand, lava rock, or marbles.
Get two sponge filters driven by air or powerhead. Clean one of them every 2 - 4 weeks, alternating between them.
Find some dry hardwood and toss it in, as much as you like. It doesn't have to be driftwood.
Drill holes in the wood to make it sink faster and give shrimp a place to hide.
Light colored hardwoods like birch and maple will have less noticable tannin leeching.
Tannin leeching doesn't really matter in the long run, water changes will remove all tannin in several months.
Plants can be added from the start, we recommend Java Moss.
Pond, Bladder, or Ramshorn snails can be added immediately and are highly recommended.
Wait at least 3 months before adding shrimp.
If you are the impatient type please buy shrimp from someone else.
Substrate can be anything inert such as silica playsand, lava rock, or marbles.
Get two sponge filters driven by air or powerhead. Clean one of them every 2 - 4 weeks, alternating between them.
Find some dry hardwood and toss it in, as much as you like. It doesn't have to be driftwood.
Drill holes in the wood to make it sink faster and give shrimp a place to hide.
Light colored hardwoods like birch and maple will have less noticable tannin leeching.
Tannin leeching doesn't really matter in the long run, water changes will remove all tannin in several months.
Plants can be added from the start, we recommend Java Moss.
Pond, Bladder, or Ramshorn snails can be added immediately and are highly recommended.
Wait at least 3 months before adding shrimp.
If you are the impatient type please buy shrimp from someone else.
We recommend that you establish your shrimp colony first, and then slowly add small fish. Have a plan to rehome fish that damage your shrimp colony.
Any fish with a mouth too small to swallow a 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) shrimp should be fine if the shrimp have enough places to hide like lots of Java Moss, Caves, etc.
Adult shrimp are usually 1 to 1.6 inches (2.5 - 4 cm).
Here are a few common fish suitable for our hard water shrimp:
Many Rasboras and Tetras are small enough but are not recommended for the hard water that our Neocaridina are raised in.
*All fish will eat baby shrimp, most will eat wounded or dying adult shrimp.
Any fish with a mouth too small to swallow a 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) shrimp should be fine if the shrimp have enough places to hide like lots of Java Moss, Caves, etc.
Adult shrimp are usually 1 to 1.6 inches (2.5 - 4 cm).
Here are a few common fish suitable for our hard water shrimp:
| Shrimp-safe* Fish | |
|---|---|
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
| White Cloud Mountain Minnow | Tanichthys albonubes |
| Endlers | Poecilia wingei |
| Least Killifish | Heterandria formosa |
| Guppies | Poecilia reticulata |
| Bristlenose Catfish | Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus |
| Red-tailed Black Shark | Epalzeorhynchos bicolor |
Many Rasboras and Tetras are small enough but are not recommended for the hard water that our Neocaridina are raised in.
*All fish will eat baby shrimp, most will eat wounded or dying adult shrimp.
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We always have the best deals around, even without a discount code, so no worries if you can't be bothered.
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We always have the best deals around, even without a discount code, so no worries if you can't be bothered.
Recommend us on Facebook for a 10% Discount Code (sent automatically in about 5 minutes). A Like or Follow will not generate the automated response.
Discounts are applied at Checkout: Click "Show order summary" to expand and enter your discount code.