If you are trying to set up a Cherry Shrimp tank, then you can check out this guide at Aquarium Blueprints to see what necessary equipment that you should be using.
Sand
While the Neocaridina species should do well with a vast majority of substrate types, we recommend using sand. By doing so, you don’t have to worry about accidentally scratching your tank when you put them in. Not to mention that food won’t easily sink down below the sand.
We recommend that you add at least 2 inches of substrate to the aquarium as you will be able to cultivate nitrate-consuming bacterial colonies by doing so.
Sponge Filter
The best filter type for shrimps is Sponge Filters. By using these, you don’t have to worry about your pet inverts getting sucked into the canister or hang-on-back filter.
The Cherry Shrimps also have extremely low bio loads. Therefore, you should have more than enough surface area on the sponge, as well as substrate, to keep the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates at safe levels one your aquarium has been fully cycled.
For our shrimp tank, we used the AQUANEAT Bio Sponge Filter. You can find out more about this product with this review article.
Live Plants
While not completely necessary, live plants will help consume ammonia and keep the nitrate concentration low.
For your aquarium, we used Java Fern and Java Moss. Both of these plants do not require any dedicated lighting fixture or additional fertilizers. So, if you are looking for low maintenance plants that you can set and forget for your shrimp tank, then we recommend adding these two.
Heater
When it comes to health and breeding, we found that our Red Cherry Shrimps do best between a temperature range of 68°F to 79°F (or 20°C to 26°C).
At lower than 68°F (or 20°C), your pets may not be as active or reproduce. At higher than 79°F (or 26°C), the shrimps may get burn out faster, leading to a shorter lifespan.
For our aquarium, we kept the temperature in the low 70s in Fahrenheit.
Food
When it comes to food, we suggest that you use Bacter AE, which is designed to add biofilm if your tank. Your shrimps will love picking through this biofilm for food in between meals.
When we were having trouble keeping our colony alive, this product helped significantly.
When it comes to other foods, make sure that the meals contain vital minerals like calcium for your shrimps.
Top
One last essential item we recommend getting is the top for your tank. This will prevent the shrimps from jumping or crawling right out of the tank.
Furthermore, a top cover will help stop any insects from laying eggs in the tank. If these eggs hatch, then the larvae should end up attacking your shrimps.
Last but not least, a top will help keep your tank temperature warm as it will trap the heat from dispersing into the air.
