Cherry Shrimp - Sexing & Breeding

Sexing

Male shrimp are a less intense red, being mostly clear with red spots on them. Females are bright red. As the females mature, you may notice a yellow patch in the neck area – these are the ovaries.

Breeding
As long as you have both males and females in your tank, and no predators, you shouldn’t have problems breeding these shrimp.

Once a female is mature, she will begin producing eggs. A male will sense this, and deposit a sperm packet on the female to fertilize the eggs. If there is no male present, the unfertilized eggs will be dropped within a few days.

The female carries fertilized eggs for around 22 to 28 days, after which she releases them as fully formed babies. You will see the female carrying the yellow eggs in her swim bladder, and aerating them occasionally. Extreme stress can cause the female to drop her eggs. A first-time mother will also sometimes drop her eggs.

A female will produce somewhere between 10 and 20 babies, usually. The babies are about 1mm long, and look like miniature versions of the parents. The babies are usually almost clear when released, and take on a reddish color within a few days.

It’s a good idea to put a sponge or mesh covering over the intake of a power/hang on back filter to stop the babies from being sucked up into the filter. Even if they are sucked up, they often survive.