Amano Shrimp vs. Cherry Shrimp: Which Belongs in Your Tank?

Shrimp are some of the best cleanup crew a planted or river tank can have. The two you'll see most often are Amano shrimp and cherry shrimp. They look a little alike from across the room, but they're very different animals.

Amano shrimp (Caridina multidentata)

• Size: larger, often up to about 2 inches.
• Look: clear-gray with dotted or dashed lines down the sides.
• Algae eating: famous for it. They pick at hair algae, biofilm and leftover food constantly. Many aquarists consider them the best shrimp algae eaters.
• Breeding: they won't breed in a normal freshwater tank. Their larvae need brackish (slightly salty) water to develop, so the population stays the size you buy.
• Temperament: bold and busy, sometimes grabby at feeding time.

Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi)

• Size: small, roughly an inch.
• Look: bright red in the best grades; also bred in blue, yellow, orange, green and more.
• Algae eating: good grazers of biofilm and soft algae, but less of a heavy algae crew than Amanos.
• Breeding: they breed readily in freshwater. The babies are tiny copies of the adults. Start with ten and you can have a colony of hundreds.
• Temperament: peaceful and easy.

Water and care

Both want clean, stable, well-cycled water with no copper (many fish medicines contain it, and it's deadly to shrimp). Add them only to an established tank. See how to cycle a new aquarium. Cherry shrimp do well in a wide range of temperatures; both handle the cooler, flowing water of many river tanks.

Tank mates

Shrimp get eaten by anything with a big enough mouth. Small peaceful fish (rasboras, White Cloud minnows, small danios) and hillstream loaches are usually fine with adults; babies are snacks for nearly everyone. Lots of plants and moss give them cover. Skip them in tanks with big cichlids or crayfish. Assassin snails can go after very small shrimp too; see assassin snails.

Which one?

• Algae problem, no breeding wanted: Amanos.
• Color and a self-sustaining colony: cherry shrimp.
• Both: they get along fine together.

Feed lightly, keep the water stable, and either one will earn its spot.

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