Fire Red Cherry Neocaridina are a premium colour morph renowned for their striking, vibrant colouration. In the grading scale, a "Fire Red" is a significant step above standard Cherry and Sakura shrimp. While a Sakura might still show minor translucent patches, a true Fire Red is defined by a completely solid, opaque red body and carapace, with only slight colour breaks on the legs distinguishing them from the Painted grade. These shrimp are famously hardy and peaceful, acting as a tireless natural clean-up crew that grazes on biofilm and algae to keep your plants and substrate pristine.

Every shrimp is home-bred and raised in our natural planted ecosystems in Chester to ensure they are healthy and perfectly acclimated to UK conditions. Our Fire Reds are selectively bred for superior colour density and strong genetics, providing a robust alternative to mass-imported stock. Raised through a meticulous maturation process in tanks scaped with premium Tropica plants and maintained with Hygger filtration, they arrive at your door at the absolute peak of their vitality and ready to thrive in your planted aquarium.

This listing is for ten, twenty or thirty Fire Red Neocaridina. Each shrimp is hand-picked from our final 60-litre maturation ecosystems to ensure it meets our strict standards for solid red coverage across the main body. By selecting individuals that have matured in our established habitats, we ensure you receive healthy, active shrimp that are at their peak of colour, displaying the bright, opaque red shell that defines the true Fire Red grade.

Beginner Care and Helpful Information

Size and Lifespan
Adult Fire Red Neocaridina typically grow to a maximum size of 2.5cm to 3cm, with females generally being larger and more intensely coloured than males. In a stable environment, they have a lifespan of approximately 1 to 2 years. They are social creatures and thrive best when kept in a shrimp colony of at least 10 individuals.

Behaviour and Compatibility
These shrimp are completely peaceful and spend their entire day scavenging for food. They are safe to keep with other Neocaridina colour lines, though they will interbreed. For community setups, they should only be kept with small, "shrimp-safe" nano fish such as Endlers, Neon Tetras, or Otocinclus. Larger fish will view them as food, so plenty of aquarium moss and hiding places are essential for shrimplet survival.

Molting and Growth
As shrimp grow, they must shed their old exoskeleton in a process called molting. You may see "empty shells" in the tank that look like ghost shrimp; do not remove these, as the shrimp will eat them to reclaim essential minerals. During and after a molt, shrimp are vulnerable and will hide for a few days until their new shell hardens. Ensuring your GH and KH levels are within the recommended range is vital for successful molting.

Feeding and Nutrition
To maintain their deep red pigment and shell health, we recommend a varied diet. While they graze naturally on biofilm, you should supplement with high-quality shrimp pellets, mineral solids, and the occasional blanched vegetable like spinach or courgette. Adding natural aquarium botanicals like Catappa leaves or alder cones to the tank provides extra grazing surfaces and essential tannins that support their immune system.

Acclimation
When your shrimp arrive, drip acclimation is the safest method to introduce them to your tank. Because they are sensitive to sudden changes in water chemistry, slowly adding your tank water to their transport water over 60–90 minutes ensures they adjust without shock. Avoid using any copper-based medications or fertilisers in the tank, as copper is lethal to invertebrates.

Recommended Water Parameters

• pH: 6.5 – 8.0
• Temperature: 18°C – 26°C
• GH: 6 – 12 dGH
• KH: 2 – 10 dKH
• TDS: 150 – 300