Are you tired of having the same kind of shrimp in your tank? Now it’s time to change your tank with some freshwater shrimp that add more charm and uniqueness to your tank. In today’s article, we will cover some popular shrimp for freshwater. But before that, we will tell you something about shrimp.
What are freshwater shrimp?
Freshwater shrimp are one of the active freshwater species that belong to the family of Caridea. They are typically found in the warm-water areas of the Southern US, Mexico, and Central and South America.
Shrimp can be very colorful, with red being one of the most prominent colors. Because they are aquatic and live in a tank, they are very easy to maintain and can be part of a small-scale home system. They also have a much longer lifespan than many other common species of saltwater shrimp.
What are the good tank mates for shrimp?
Shrimp can be kept in most common tropical freshwater fish tanks, their secretive but not territorial nature makes them compatible with most other aquarium fish. One should try to use small, peaceful fish like tetras, barbs, and rasboras as tank mates.
Are shrimp good for aquariums?
Shrimp is the most tropical species that does not go after the other fish in the tank. They love to swim here and there and eat the food that is left behind. Another reason why you can put shrimp in the tank is the easy maintenance on the head. Moreover, the care considerations are not very complex as compared to other species.
Let’s move on to the popular shrimp that may be used in aquariums.
Types of freshwater shrimp
The shrimp are omnivores. They are found in different types of water and are known to live in freshwater and saltwater. More than six hundred shrimp creatures are found on earth. Aquarists can choose according to the taste and mind they want. Some different types of freshwater shrimp include:
- The Ghost Shrimp
- White Shrimp
- Blue-Eyed Shrimp
- Crystal Red Shrimp
- Glass Shrimp
- Red Devil Shrimp
- Red Cherry Shrimp
- Caridina Shrimp
- Golden Bee
- Amano Shrimp
- Malawa Shrimp
- Bumblebee Shrimp
- Grass Shrimp
These ornamental shrimp are also known as river shrimp and grow up to 4 inches. They are in red, pink, blue, and yellow colors, and are commonly used in aquariums.
5 most popular freshwater shrimp for a fish tank
It is important to research all the types of shrimp before you add them to the tank. Freshwater shrimp are different from saltwater ones and cannot be kept in saltwater tanks.
The five most popular shrimp are ghost shrimp, red cherry shrimp, crystal red shrimp, grass shrimp, and Amano shrimp.
1. Ghost Shrimp
Ghost shrimp are a unique type of shrimp species because of their transparent body. They are peaceful species and seem to be a great addition to the tank. Since they are not aggressive and breed easily when residing in a large group. They come in the size of 2 inches in length.
ghost shrimp
They are great scavengers and eat any kind of leftover food from the bottom of the tank, most of them eat algae, aquatic plants, larvae, and pellet foods. Since they are omnivores and like to eat a variety of food.
2. Red Cherry Shrimp
Red cherry shrimp are a beautiful species for aquariums, and they are popular and patterned. They belong to the group of ghost or glass shrimp. The female ones are bright red as compared to male shrimp.
They can go fast on the bottom of the aquarium and swim in the air with fins. They can be red, orange, or yellow. You may see them swimming upside down.
If we talk about the adults, they have a usual size of 1 to 1.25 inches. But females are larger than males.
Their diet consists of algae in the aquarium and leftover dried food from other fish in your tank. This makes them a great secondary food source for your fish. However, they need to be fed every day.
red cherry shrimp
3. Crystal Red Shrimp
Crystal red shrimp are awesome. They have a super bright red color, are easy to breed, and are great for the home aquarium.
They are the most popular color form of the Caridina species and are among some of the most beautiful freshwater shrimp species in existence. Their bright red bodies and black stripes on their legs give them a very striking appearance, which is why they are among the favorite shrimp to keep in aquariums.
Since they are omnivores and eat anything that comes near them. In aquariums, they would like to eat algae. You have to supply enough food frequently in case of a clean environment.
crystal red shrimp
4. Grass Shrimp
Grass shrimp is another type of shrimp for freshwater aquariums. They come in a transparent gray color with red, yellow, and blue spots on their back, and have a usual size of 1 to 2 inches in length. They clean the aquarium water by eating the leftovers and love eating the dead and decaying plants.
grass shrimp
5. Amano Shrimp
Amano shrimp is a type of shrimp that aquarists love to have in their tank. They are known because of their extravagant ability to eat many algae and dead plants. This will make your aquarium clean, and you have to spend less on water filters. They belong to the family of Atyidae and fund peaceful species. Their average size is about 2 inches and has a greyish body.
Amano shrimp
Some good ways to take care of your freshwater shrimp
No matter whether you are a beginner or an experienced hobbyist, taking care of shrimp is an important thing. Well, in this article, I would like to share some important tips to take care of your shrimp.
- If the water level of your aquarium is appropriate, the first thing is to set up a 20-50% water change weekly.
- Do remember to add some aquarium decorations for hiding and laying eggs.
- Make sure the water temperature is between 23-28℃. You can vary the temperature a few degrees for breeding purposes.
- Check the water chemistry once every month and add necessary chemicals as you need such as PH adjusters, dechlorinator, etc.
- In addition to clean water, shrimp also need plenty of oxygen in the water to survive. So make sure that you have enough air stones in the tank to ensure oxygen levels.
- To provide your shrimp with sufficient nutrition, you can feed them with fresh brine shrimp and frozen foods such as mosquito larvae and Tubifex worms.
- It’s best not to choose a small fish tank for keeping shrimp because when you keep a lot of shrimp in one tank, there will be more waste products, and it’s difficult to maintain the water quality.
- When you get your ornamental shrimp, choose a big tank to keep with other types of fish, if you want to keep more than 5 shrimp in one tank.
I’m sure you’ll enjoy your shrimp much more if you follow these ways to take care of them well.
Conclusion
In this article, we come up with information about freshwater shrimp. We have provided you with a brief overview of the ornamental shrimp, whether they are good for your aquarium or not. There are various types of shrimp you can choose for your aquariums. But we have listed the five most popular shrimp that would be a perfect match for you.
Moreover, we have covered some of the tank mates that are ideal for shrimp to keep them engaged in the tank. Last but not least, we provide you with some information on better care of your shrimp for their natural growth and long life by knowing the water parameters. We hope that you have enjoyed our article on popular freshwater shrimp for tanks.
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Wow~ Ralph Green our friend. Hope you will have a nice shrimp-keeping experience. And wish you the best for your effort.
Hygger Team