Red Red Cherry
Shrimp Breeding
Red Red Cherry Shrimp are one of the
simplest animals to breed in the aquarium. There are 3
main things to be concerned with when attempting to breed
Red Red Cherry Shrimp, inducing breeding, breeding /
carrying of eggs, and raising the young. If all 3
variables are taken care of Red Red Cherry Shrimp will
breed in an aquarium and their population will grow
rapidly.
Inducing Red Red Cherry Shrimp to breed only requires a
sexed pair of shrimp, stable water parameters, and a food
source. Male Red Red Cherry Shrimp are smaller and less
colorful than the females. Females often have a yellow
“saddle” that is the eggs developing in her ovaries.
When Red Red Cherry Shrimp are juveniles it is nearly
impossible to determine their sex. Another sexual
difference that is less obvious is females have a rounder
and longer tail section. This sexual difference can be
used to determine the sex of less colorful females, such
as wild colored.
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red female Red Red Cherry Shrimp carrying eggs. |
Berried
Adult Female. Noticed the green eggs.
Egg color does not affect the color of the hatch. |
Water parameters should be kept extremely stable and
with in acceptable ranges. The pH of the aquarium water
should be with in 6.5-8.0. The temperature should be kept
between 70-80°F. Water hardness is not important as long
as it is not at either extreme, soft or hard.
When breeding, Red Red Cherry Shrimp need a consistent
food source. If the shrimp population of an aquarium is
small to moderate, often times the naturally occurring
algae is an adequate food source. If supplemental feeding
becomes necessary blanched vegetables and prepared fish
foods are also good food sources.
Once a female and male are sexual mature (4-6 months old)
and the above-mentioned requirements are met, they will
breed. Breeding occurs right after a female molts. She
will then hide and release pheromones and the male will
find her and breed with her. After breeding the female
will carry the fertilized eggs under her tail until they
hatch.
Molting is the process of shedding the exoskeleton of a
Red Red Cherry Shrimp (and other invertebrates). This
allows the shrimp to grow in size and re-grow a new
exoskeleton. During this period, the female shrimp is very
vulnerable and she will hide in what ever space she can
find that makes her feel safe.
While hiding, the female Red Red Cherry Shrimp will
release pheromones (sexual hormones) into the water
notifying the male she is ready to breed. This pheromone
causes the male to search for the female and often times
the male will be observed swimming threw the water column
while searching. This behavior is in direct contrast to
their normal lifestyle of living on the substrate or
plants / decorations.
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A female and male
Red Red Cherry Shrimp.
Top: Female Bottom:
Male
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When the male finds the female they will breed. The
male will deposit his sperm in the female. Once the sperm
is deposited the female will pass her eggs threw the sperm
on their way to the underside of her tail. The eggs are
constantly fanned by the female’s pleopods (swimming
legs) to keep them oxygenated and clean. The fertilized
eggs will remain under the females tail until they hatch.
Once the eggs hatch, the juvenile young are tiny replicas
of their adult counterparts. They have no larval stages
like most saltwater and many freshwater shrimp have. The
young shrimp will eat the same foods that adults do. They
will use their claws on their front legs to rip off small
edible chunks of the foods.
When raising young shrimp it is important that there are
no predators in the tank. Very few, if any, fish can
resist taking a small shrimp as a midday snack. If
breeding shrimp are in a tank with predators the only way
to ensure young shrimp will grow is to provide plenty of
hiding spaces, but even this will not guarantee success.
Including live Java Moss, Christmas Moss, or any other
extremely slow growing aquatic plant in a shrimp tank will
help increase the speed the young will grow. These slow
growing plants harbor micofauna and other food sources for
young shrimp. While not required for successful breeding,
these slow growing plants will lead to faster growing,
healthier shrimp.
As long as the 3 main variable in breeding shrimp are
understood, inducing breeding, breeding / carrying of
eggs, and raising the young, breeding Red Red Cherry
Shrimp can be very easy and rewarding.
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