Keeping freshwater shrimp

Freshwater shrimp are a hobby within the hobby: peaceful, endlessly busy, small enough for a nano tank, and genuinely useful as part of the cleanup crew. Some breed into a self-sustaining colony you can watch evolve; one is the best natural algae control there is. This spotlight covers the three shrimp worth starting with, the water they need, how moulting works, and the one mistake that can wipe out a tank overnight: copper.

Published 23 June 2026 · Last updated 23 June 2026 · 13 min read

Why keep freshwater shrimp

Shrimp earn their place several times over. They graze algae, biofilm, and leftover food all day as an active part of the cleanup crew, they take up almost no space so they suit the smallest tanks, and they are peaceful with everything (the danger always runs the other way). Cherry shrimp breed readily into a colony you can watch build and shift in colour over generations, which turns a tank into something that develops on its own. And they are simply absorbing to watch, which is why so many keepers end up with a tank devoted to them.

One deserves a special mention for algae: the amano shrimp is the standout grazer of hair and soft green algae, and a small group will keep a planted tank visibly cleaner. Our algae guide covers where shrimp fit into algae control, and it is worth stressing that shrimp are part of the answer, not a cure for an algae problem whose real cause is light and nutrients.

The three to know: cherry, amano, crystal

Dozens of shrimp are kept in the hobby, but three cover almost everyone's needs, and the differences between them matter, above all the water they want.

Cherry shrimp are where to start. A 3 cm dwarf shrimp in colour grades from pale pink to deep "fire" red, hardy, and entirely undemanding in the hard, alkaline water most of Australia has. A starting group of ten will breed without any intervention into dozens within a few months. If you have hard tap water, this is one of the easiest animals in the hobby.

Amano shrimp are the algae workhorse. Larger (around 5 cm) and translucent rather than colourful, they are the most effective algae-eating shrimp there is, made famous by the aquascaper Takashi Amano. Crucially, they cannot breed in fresh water (their larvae need brackish conditions), so they never overpopulate a tank; keepers run a small group of three to six for algae control rather than as a breeding colony.

Crystal red shrimp are the challenge. Jewel-like invertebrates banded in crisp white and red, selectively bred into grades whose price climbs with their patterning. They are an advanced animal for one reason: water. As Caridina, they need soft, acidic, stable conditions that most Australian tap water cannot provide untreated, which means RO water, a remineralising salt, and an active soil substrate. Get the water right and they are undemanding; get it wrong and they fade and fail.

Getting the water right

Water is the whole game with shrimp. They are more sensitive to it than most fish, and the wrong or unstable water is the single biggest reason a shrimp tank fails.

Match the shrimp to your water, not the other way round. Cherry shrimp and other Neocaridina thrive in hard, alkaline water, exactly what comes out of the tap across much of Australia. Crystal reds and other Caridina need the opposite: soft, acidic water, which most Australian tap water cannot provide untreated, so serious crystal keeping usually means RO water remineralised with a shrimp salt over an active, buffering soil. Read your water's hardness with the hardness converter, and our water parameters guide explains GH and KH in full.

Stability beats perfection. Shrimp tolerate a range, but they hate sudden change. Acclimate new shrimp slowly by dripping tank water into their bag over an hour, keep water changes small and temperature-matched, and avoid swinging parameters around.

Keep them on the cool side. Most shrimp prefer something close to room temperature, roughly 20 to 24°C. They dislike heat, which races their metabolism, shortens their lives, and holds less oxygen, and crystal reds in particular want the cooler end of that range.

Use a mature, cycled tank. Shrimp are very sensitive to ammonia and nitrite, and they graze the biofilm that only builds up in an established tank, so a tank that has been running quietly for a couple of months is far better for them than one that has only just finished cycling.

Moulting: how shrimp grow

Shrimp wear their skeleton on the outside, so the only way to grow is to shed the old one and harden a new, larger shell underneath. This is moulting, and it is one of the most normal and most misread things shrimp do.

Every few weeks a shrimp backs out of its old shell and leaves it behind, staying tucked away and vulnerable for a few hours until the new shell hardens. The discarded shell is translucent and perfectly shrimp-shaped, and it is the single most common cause of "my shrimp died!" alarm.

Successful moulting depends on minerals, above all calcium, which is why general hardness (GH) matters so much for shrimp. In water that is too soft or too low in minerals, a shrimp can struggle to harden its new shell and die part-way through, sometimes visible as an incomplete moult with a telltale white band where the old and new shells failed to separate. Hard-water cherry shrimp rarely have this trouble in Australian tap water; soft-water crystal keepers remineralise their RO water precisely so it still carries the minerals moulting needs.

Sudden parameter changes, especially a large or cold water change, can trigger a bad moult, which is one more reason to keep water changes small, steady, and temperature-matched.

The copper warning

This is the mistake that catches people out, and it can kill an entire colony in hours. Copper is toxic to shrimp and to all invertebrates, even in trace amounts that are completely harmless to fish.

The usual sources to guard against:

• Fish medications. Many treatments for ich, velvet, and other parasites are copper-based and will kill every shrimp present. Treat affected fish in a separate hospital tank, never in the shrimp tank. See our diseases guide for safe treatment.
• Snail and pest treatments. Often copper-based for exactly the reason that makes them dangerous: they are designed to kill invertebrates.
• Plant fertilisers. Most are shrimp-safe at normal doses, but some carry trace copper, so check the label says shrimp-safe and never overdose.
• Plumbing. Old brass fittings and copper pipe can leach copper, especially into water that has sat in the pipes overnight. If you suspect copper plumbing, run the tap before filling.

Because shrimp are so sensitive, treat anything you add to the water as suspect until you have confirmed it is invertebrate-safe, and quarantine new plants, which can carry pesticide or copper residues, before they go in.

The right tank for shrimp

A shrimp tank is not complicated, but a few specifics turn a struggling tank into a thriving one.

• A gentle, shrimp-safe filter. A sponge filter is the classic choice: it cannot draw in shrimplets, and its surface grows the biofilm shrimp graze. If you run any other filter, fit a pre-filter sponge over the intake so babies are not sucked in.
• Plenty of plants and moss. Mosses such as Java moss are the heart of a shrimp tank: they trap the biofilm shrimp eat and give shrimplets and freshly moulted adults the cover they need to survive. Our planted tank basics guide covers easy choices.
• The right substrate. Hard-water cherry shrimp do well on an inert sand or gravel, while soft-water crystal reds need an active soil that buffers the water acidic. Our substrate guide matches substrate to shrimp type.
• Very little food. Shrimp graze almost constantly and need little extra: a small amount of shrimp food or a piece of blanched vegetable a couple of times a week is plenty. Overfeeding fouls the water and is a common way to crash a colony. A mature tank supplies most of what they eat.

Tankmates, or a tank of their own

The hard truth about shrimp is that almost everything wants to eat them. Adult shrimp are small and defenceless, and baby shrimp are tiny specks, so even fish sold as "shrimp-safe" will pick off shrimplets and the soft, freshly moulted adults.

For a breeding colony, keep a shrimp-only tank. A dedicated nano with just shrimp, plants, and perhaps a few nerite snails lets a colony build up and lets you actually watch the babies survive, which is most of the fun.

If you want fish too, go tiny and gentle, and accept fewer shrimp. The colony will stay smaller because the shrimplets get eaten, but reasonable companions are the smallest, calmest fish: chili rasboras, ember tetras, celestial pearl danios, and otocinclus. Heavy planting and moss are essential to give the babies cover.

Avoid anything that treats shrimp as food: most cichlids, loaches, gouramis, and any larger or boisterous fish. Bettas are a special case, some ignore shrimp while others hunt them relentlessly, so they are a gamble rather than a safe bet. When planning a community, run it through the stocking calculator and see our guide to stocking a community tank.

Shrimp in Australia

Australian keepers have it easy at one end of the shrimp world and demanding at the other.

Cherry shrimp are close to plug-and-play here. The hard, alkaline tap water of Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, and Perth is exactly what Neocaridina want, so in those regions a cherry colony needs nothing more than a dechlorinated (we like Seachem Prime), cycled, planted tank. Softer Melbourne water is a little less ideal for them but still perfectly workable. Our guide to Australian tap water covers the regional picture.

Crystal reds mean RO almost everywhere. Because most Australian tap water is too hard and alkaline for Caridina, keeping crystal reds seriously means buying or producing RO water, remineralising it with a shrimp salt, and running an active soil. That commitment is a large part of why crystals are an advanced animal in this country, while they would be simpler in a naturally soft-water region.

Watch for copper plumbing, which is present in some older Australian homes and can leach copper into standing water. If yours might, run the tap before filling the shrimp tank. And as with any aquarium animal, never release shrimp or tip tank water into a waterway. Cherry and amano shrimp are stocked in most aquarium shops; named cherry colour morphs and crystal grades come from specialist breeders and shrimp-keeping clubs.

See the full care sheets for the cherry, amano, and crystal red shrimp, and our guides on water parameters, aquarium algae, and substrate, or browse the species directory.