Do Cherry Shrimp Need RO Water? What Kind of Water Do They Need?

So for my cherry shrimp care guide here I want this to be as simple as possible. I want to keep it basic and dummy-proof because that’s how I am. Let’s talk about the purest of basics – aquarium tank size, live plants, water parameters, and if you need a reverse osmosis unit for a cherry shrimp tank.

What substrate is best for cherry shrimp?

The next topic is aquarium substrate, this is your tank lining gravel, sand stratum, there are so many different things you can line the bottom of your tank with. So what is the best for cherry shrimp? The answer is really simple, basically whatever you want.

This isn’t a huge deal as long as it is an inert substance, and it’s not going to leach out anything into your water. Sand works great as you can see in the picture below, the tank has a sand bed, that’s perfect.

what is the smallest tank you should keep cherry shrimp in? I would say a 10-gallon aquarium.

Do cherry shrimp need a heater in the tank?

Let’s talk about the water temperature. The cool thing about cherry shrimp is they can withstand colder temperatures than a lot of the generic tropical fish.

Anything between 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit is going to be ideal. The thing with shrimp is the warmer the water temperature, they’re more they’re going to breathe, and the less they’re going to live.

So what a lot of people do actually is just leave their cherry shrimp aquarium the water temperature of the room temperature. You know, because, on average, your room temperature is right around that level.

Do cherry shrimp need live plants?

Next, I want to talk about plants and decorations because I feel like this is a huge deal. I really want to urge you to do a planted aquarium with your cherry shrimp, and that’s because shrimp in general just do so much better in a live planted tank.

I’m gonna beg you to spend a couple of extra bucks and get a decent planted tank LED light because it’s really gonna make your cherry shrimp take flourish. And what happens is when the live plants flourish, so do the shrimp. They like to go hand in hand.

Alright so let’s recap some of the pure basics I talked about. Tank size, I said a 10-gallon minimum. Water temperature I said you did not need a heater and you can do it, room temperature. The substrate, I said you can use whatever you wanted. I urge you to do live plants and get decent LED lights for that.

Do I need a RO unit for my cherry shrimp tank?

Now let’s talk about a little of the more in-depth stuff that is a little more complicated when it comes to cherry shrimp. Water parameters, this is what people get afraid of when talking about shrimp. “Oh man, do I need a crazy RO unit?”. A lot of the other people talk about how scary it is, “Do I need reverse osmosis water?”.

That is not the case with cherry shrimp, these things are super tough, I promise you, the biggest weakness that shrimp have is changes in the water parameters, like swings in water temperature, nitrate swings, you know things that change fast.

So what you’re going to want to watch out for is just don’t let things like that happen. Do 10 – 20% water changes, acclimate them very slowly when introducing them into your aquarium.

Also, the best type of filter to use with cherry shrimp is a sponge filter, because if you use a hanger on the back filter, sometimes shrimp actually gets sucked into the intake because they are such a small size.

What cherry shrimp eat in a planted tank?

They do make specific foods for cherry shrimp but in general what they feed on is algae, microorganisms that grow on driftwood, it’s a huge deal that you actually throw some water in there because they like to chew on it, and those microorganisms that grow on there – algae is also great.

Do not be afraid to let your tank grow algae, because these shrimp feed on it. They are constantly nibbling on just microorganisms, algae, and this is awesome.

The cool thing about shrimp tanks is you just need to let like nature take its course. And I don’t do water changes on my shrimp tanks for probably months and months. Just because you have live plants, the shrimp have very little bio-load, and that’s why they’re just magnificent tanks to keep.

Can I add fish to a cherry shrimp aquarium?

For cherry shrimp tank mates, you got to be careful, because fish do eat the little shrimp when they have babies. And the idea here is to breed these shrimp, so we don’t want that.

I usually keep shrimp only tanks, but some fish do work, small guppies bristlenose plecos, there are a handful of tank mates to keep a cherry shrimp. But I personally don’t keep up with anything.