Red Cherry
Shrimp Information
The Red Cherry Shrimp, Neocaridina
heteropoda (formerly Neocaridina denticulata sinensis) ,
is a variant of the wild form of the Neocaridina
heteropoda. In the wild it exhibits a verity of colors
ranging from a clear brown to an almost blue color. The
Red variant is not found in the wild because it would be
easy prey for any invertebrate predator.
Native to Southeast Asia, mostly China, Taiwan and
Northern Vietnam, the Red Cherry Shrimp has slowly found
popularity in the aquarium trade over time. Sadly, in
Hawaii, many Red Cherry Shrimp have been introduced to the
wild waters and have built a sizeable population there. In
Hawaii Neocaridina heteropoda are considered pests.
Takashi Amano introduced the freshwater aquarium hobby to
dwarf shrimp in the mid 90’s. In his Natural Aquarium
book he discusses the benefits of an algae eating shrimp
in the aquarium and discusses in depth the Cardidina
japonica (Amano Shrimp). The Amano Shrimp became popular
in America following this book and in the early 2000’s
the Red Cherry Shrimp began to appear.
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| Amano
Shrimp with Red Cherry Shrimp |
Male
Red Cherry Shrimp |
Most Red Cherry Shrimp in The United
States are raised and sold or traded by aquarium hobbyist.
There are a few commercial sellers of Red Cherry Shrimp
and as the market for this shrimp grows the commercial
business will as well. A few local fish stores do offer
imported shrimp, but there are a few problems associated
with imported Red Cherry Shrimp.
Most imported Red Cherry Shrimp are females of unknown
age. Although ALL Red Cherry Shrimp are captive bred,
female shrimp are more colorful and larger, so exporters
only sell females. The females demand a higher selling
point due to size and color! It is near impossible to tell
the age of a full grown shrimp, and with the relatively
short life span of cherry red shrimp (about 1.5 years), it
is not recommended to buy imported Red Cherry Shrimp.
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