Neocaridina Shrimps, or Cherry Shrimps, have specific needs when it comes to the water flow. You can check out this guide at Aquarium Blueprints to find out how fast the current should be for your shrimp tank.
Quick Summary
If your Neocaridina Shrimps can’t seem to swim past a current and/or struggling with the water flow in your aquarium, then we recommend that you reduce the pump rate of your filter as well as the air flow rate of your air stone to be as low as possible.
With minimal water movement, your Cheery Shrimps should have an easier time navigating the tank waters. Furthermore, you will still get benefits of having a weaker flow, which includes water oxygenation and temperature regulation.
What are the benefits of water flow for Cherry Shrimps?
Having a water flow have several benefits for Neocaridina Shrimps, one of which is that it will help oxygenate the tank water. Water movement at the top of the tank will help get oxygen into your aquarium. Like a majority of living creatures, shrimps need oxygen to survive.
Having a water flow will also help regulate the temperature of your aquarium, especially if you put a heater next to the source of the water flow.
If you have a filter, then the water being pumped will also keep your tank clean as detritus and particles will get captured by mechanical filtration.
What are the disadvantages of water flow for Cherry Shrimps?
There are some disadvantages when it comes to having water flow in your shrimp tank.
The biggest issue is that juveniles, and even adult shrimps, could easily be sucked into the intake of a filter.
A high flow will also cause a lot of stress for your Cherry Shrimps as they will have a hard time trying to swim against the current or even hold on to a surface. If you have a pregnant female, then she may end up having a hard time fanning her eggs or holding on to them.
How strong should the water flow be for Neocaridina Shrimps
To determine how strong should the water flow be for your aquarium, we recommend that you closely observe your Neocaridina Shrimps and look for the following signs of trouble:
- Shrimps aren’t able to swim past the water current
- Shrimps getting knock around near the source of the water flow
- Shrimps getting sucked into the filter
- Dropped shrimp eggs
If you see any of the aforementioned events, then we recommend that you slow down the water flow as much as possible.
With most aquarium filters, you should be to adjust the pump rate.
If you have a sponge filter and/or air stone, then you can use an air valve to restrict the amount of air passing through. By slowing the air rate, the sponge filter and/or air stone shouldn’t cause any strong water currents in your shrimp tank.
Although you can try removing the filter and/or air stone from the tank, we suggest keeping them around as having water movement, even with a weak current, has a lot of benefits for your Neocaridina Shrimps as we previously stated.