What fish can live with cherry shrimp peacefully? This must be a burning question to many fish breeding enthusiasts.
You can hardly delve into the aquarists’ world without not getting acquainted with the cherry shrimps – one of the most prevalent preferred shrimp for freshwater aquariums ever.
Yet, due to their small size and lenient instinct, this creature is very likely to be under the threat of several bigger predators.
That is why we come up with the top 10 amiable tank mates to help you go down the line much more easily. Read on to learn further!
Cherry shrimp. Source: Wikipedia
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What Fish Can Live With Cherry Shrimp? Top 10 To Consider
#1. Neon Tetras
Neon Tetras are indeed among the least aggressive and docile fish. With a maximum size of 1 inch (2.5cm), these fishes are pretty tiny compared to others.
Along with their small volume, Neon Tetras’ jaws, although modest, have been quite well-developed to let them consume food floating past in the water.
Due to their small size, neon tetras thrive in tiny or nano tank configurations, where we will keep our Red Cherry Shrimp perfectly.
#2. White Mountain Cloud Minnows
In terms of looks, Cloud White Mountain Minnows resemble neon tetras quite a bit.
The fish reside in the middle to upper reaches of the aquarium and are vastly calm, schooling creatures. As a result, they will have no urge to bother the shrimp, which are bottom dwellers.
Minnow schools require a minimum of six members, so you may want to increase your number of purchases once deciding to get them.
Also, minnows liking cooler water is another thing to bear in mind. Aside from that, they are generally quite simple to look after while in your tank.
Cloud White Mountain Minnows. Source: Flickr
#3. Dwarf Gourami
Numerous internet publications and videos assert that dwarf gourami can be over-aggressive and will consume red cherry shrimp. However, according to our research, this is untrue.
As long as you keep Red Cherry Shrimp and Dwarf Gourami in the right aquarium set up, they will get along unexpectedly well.
Red Cherry Shrimp spend the bulk of their time at the bottom of the aquarium, so-called the bottom third. Meanwhile, Dwarf Gouramis spend most of theirs at the surface, so-called the top third of the aquarium.
As a matter of fact, they will normally be separated from each other. With plants seeded inside, your Red Cherry Shrimp even gains plenty of shields to scare no more in front of the opponents.
Live plants also offer the natural biofilm that Red Cherry Shrimp love to devour ample growth room.
#4. Fancy Guppy
Guppies are attractive fish with a wide range of patterns and hues.
As for this species, we could explain why it is inoffensive to the Cherry Shrimp using the exact same reason, just like the above circumstance.
They would not notice the cherry shrimp because they often swim close to the top of the tank. Moreover, guppies are also a fantastic fish choice for anybody looking to decorate their cherry shrimp aquarium with color and elegance.
#5. Male Betta Fish (B. Splendens)
Male Betta fish are weighed down in the water by their long, flowing fins. They are thus not very quick or agile swimmers.
If there are rooms for live plants to grow so your cherry shrimp can hide itself, bettas can be kept alongside cherry shrimps.
In the event that your betta fish decides to hunt the cherry shrimp, the cherry shrimp will be able to rapidly find cover because bettas will find it difficult to swim amid the plants.
#6. Bristlenose Plecos (Ancistrus sp.)
The common pleco, a well-known suckermouth fish, is a lesser species of the Plecostomus family called the bristle nose. They eat algae and don’t perform much swimming, preferring to chew on anything in the tank’s vicinity.
Due to that, cherry shrimp can be effectively kept with young bristle nose plecos, but you should be mindful that adult ones can be attracted by the shrimp.
Remember to keep the bristle nose pleco from spotting the shrimp by making a number of caves and hiding places for them. Just like that, you are completely fine to go!
#7. Clown Pleco
With one little exception, clown plecos are another excellent choice for a shrimp aquarium.
Since they are omnivores, they do consume live things. This has led to some online conjecture regarding whether or not they could try to pick off a shrimp here and there if given a chance.
But we lean to the advocate side, as we have tried to raise them together and our clown pleco never chases the little crustacean.
#8. Hatchetfish
Another excellent alternative to answer the question, what fish will not eat cherry shrimp is hatchet fish.
In addition to having an odd appearance, they mostly only reside at the aquarium’s top and only eat from the surface. They really risk starvation if the food descends too rapidly for them to consume since they rely on floating food.
This means that you can reasonably expect them to avoid attacking any of your shrimp.
#9. Otocinclus Catfish
The safest fish for a shrimp tank yet to come are definitely Otocinclus. Since they are good-mannered herbivores, there will not be a single thing in your tank annoyed by them.
Especially, there shouldn’t be a problem with conflicting water quality demands between these two species as they both like the same water temperature and pH levels.
So in case, you have a tank of at least 10 gallons in size, wait for no more but let’s spice up your aquarium with these two species together.
Otocinclus. Source: Flickr
#10. Albino Corydoras
Red Cherry Shrimp actually hit it off pretty well with Corydoras in aquariums.
The cheerful, serene, and incredibly hardy Albino Corydoras is the colorless variety of the Bronze Corydoras, Corydoras Aeneus.
This fish is a great option because of its resilience, especially for novice fish keepers. The majority of the Albino Corydoras’ time is spent swimming along the seafloor in search of food.
Albino Corydoras can eat only the tiniest Red Cherry shrimp due to their mouth’s downward tilt.
The main issue with having Corydoras and Red Cherry Shrimp together is that both fish species desire to feed from the tank’s bottom. That is why it will be important for you to feed them decently so the Corydoras do not outcompete the Red Cherry Shrimp for food.
Albino Corydoras
How To Successfully Keep Cherry Shrimp With Tank Mates?
Sherry shrimp coexisting placatingly with other companions may sound unfeasible at first because many fish would only view them under the eyes of predators.
Nevertheless, saying so doesn’t mean there is no way for you to operate a peace-loving yet ravishing aquarium. From top to bottom, this post has already aimed to help you out of such trouble!
As such, aside from reaching the above creatures as solutions, you can also afford shrimp tunnels, which are the ideal type of refuge for cherry shrimp, although they are not fish.
A little secret on the side: The best defense against predators will be to create as many plants as possible at the bottom of the aquarium since they won’t be able to see through the vegetation!
The Bottom Line
Owing to their vibrant colors and simplicity of reproduction, cherry shrimp breeding is indeed an ideal hobby worth giving a shot at.
We hope that through this article regarding what fish can live with cherry shrimp, you will be able to appreciate this species in a better environment. See then!