The Red Cherry Shrimp is undoubtedly the most popular shrimp in the hobby due to the relatively easy ability to breed as well as their ability to live in many different water parameters. Most shrimp hobbyists start out with this species because of it easy requirements and to also learn about dwarf shrimp in general. Once acquiring experience in the hobby through keeping the Red Cherry Shrimp most hobbyists move on to the more difficult species like Tiger Shrimp and Crystal Red Shrimp. Other names for this species is Cherry Shrimp, Cherry Red Shrimp and the acronym R.C.S. means simply Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS).

Water Parameters
The Red Cherry Shrimp can be housed in many different water parameters. I have kept them in a pH range from 6.0 to 8.0, soft and hard water, temperatures from 72F to 84F and in many different soils like ADA Aquasoil and normal gravel. It is common knowledge that the Red Cherry Shrimp can live in almost any freshwater aquarium given that the tank is habitable and does not contain predators of course. Some have even reported putting them in ponds and in filterless tanks which I dont recommend however. In other words, the Red Cherry Shrimp is the hardiest shrimp in the freshwater aquarium shrimp hobby.

Feeding
The Red Cherry Shrimp is also easy as they accept virtually any kind of shrimp/fish food. They eat anything from blanched spinach, zucchini, algae wafers, shrimp pellets, fish flakes, bloodworms, and more. Red Cherry Shrimp are not picky eaters whatsoever. Feeding time is a good indicator of health and also if your Red Cherry Shrimp are breeding well. If a Red Cherry Shrimp colony is healthy then it will rush towards the food and jump all over each other in an attempt to grab a bite to eat, almost like ants. If they swarm the food that is a great sign, and of course if you see babies that is a sign that things are doing very well. Unenthusiastic feeding and constant hiding of the Red Cherry Shrimp is a good indicator that things are not good. Feeding is best done once a day. Only feed an amount of food that the shrimp can finish within 2-3 hours maximum. It is not good to feed in excess and have food sitting for too long. Overfeeding is a known cause of death and can also cause water quality issues. Remember that shrimp are scavengers in the wild. They will eat whatever they find and are not used to a constant food source 24/7. Not feeding for one or two days is fine and will not harm this species at all. Sometimes I will not feed for a couple of days in order to let the shrimp cleanse their systems and keep the water clean at the same time.