Cherry shrimp for the aquarium. What to feed shrimp shrimp

With crustaceans, which can be kept in aquariums, we have met relatively recently, in the last fifteen years. Someone could dispute, say, even Zolotnitsky in the "Amateur Aquarium" described shrimp from the distant Amazon, and in the 1970s, another author, MD Makhlin, discussed their relatives living in Lake Khanka. But few saw the crustaceans. And we did not have to speak about mass character. Who could have thought that there was such a tiny shrimp of cherries? The most popular crustaceans of those times were except that daphnia and cyclops.

The first cherries

"Heaven cracks were thrown out" two decades ago, when animals from Asia suddenly began to appear on Russian aquarium markets. With the fish we used to be in the market were creatures, unprecedented hitherto: newts, frogs, blue Cuban and red Floridian crayfish. And behind them to the aquarists "arrived" and shrimp neokaridiny and shrimp cherry, which caused a furore, hitherto unprecedented. That's about the last and will talk today.

Description

Shrimp cherries, also called "Cherry" (Red Cherry, Fire Red), refers to dwarf shrimp. These unusual creatures came to us from Vietnam. Shrimp cherries are changeable. The color of crustaceans is affected by feeding, and age, and power of light, and the presence of shelters, and temperature, and, of course, heredity. The saturation of color is very influenced by the color of the medium in which the cherry shrimp lives. If, for example, to attach to it some bright fish (for example, guppies), it will necessarily react with the change of color. Moreover, this can be both intensification of brightness and tarnishing. The crustacean is really tiny, a maximum of 1.5 cm in length (very rarely - more), with a massive head and small claws.

Sex differences

Actually, there are no difficulties. Female larger, with a darker color. The underbelly is curved, while in the male the shrimp is elongated. Keep the shrimp-cherries in the aquarium very short and the discrimination of the sexes for you will not be difficult.

Female have a "saddle", in which they wear ripening eggs. It is located at the very top of the shell (near the head). Saddles of many females are yellow. Some of them are green. This is due to heredity - in the natural (wild) conditions of Neocardina Heteropoda, they are almost emerald. The presence of the saddle indicates a readiness for reproduction (fertilization).

Caviar in cherries is usually yellow, although a greenish shade is permissible. With green saddle the roe will be green. The color of tiny embryos does not matter. Male shrimps are quicker, smaller, lighter. On their backs - strips, on the body and sides - the carp.

Conditions of existence

These shrimps (aquarium cherries) are rather unpretentious and, without a doubt, can be recommended to even novice, inexperienced aquarists. They are willing to be content with small amounts of housing provided. They, for example, perfectly feel and successfully reproduce themselves even in twenty-gallon aquariums. With a thick planting in the filtration is not necessary. Especially shrimp cherries like Javanese moss and floating plants.

Desirable temperature +18 ... + 25 ° С, рН - up to 7,5. Quite sensitive to copper, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates. Cherry can tolerate short-term swings from 15 to 30 degrees. However, prolonged maintenance under such conditions will lead to their imminent death, so it is better to adhere to the average indicators. Actually, the room temperature for them is quite suitable.

Once a week, it is desirable to replace the third part of the water. Full update is not desirable.

Feeding

How to feed shrimp shrimps? They are omnivorous. Shrimp will gladly eat any food. Do not disdain the corpses of their relatives, snails and fish. In addition, cherries like to eat detritus and algae overgrowths. In aquariums, where there are fish and live algae, shrimps can not be fed at all - they are fed on their own. How? Eating the same feed that you will feed the fish. Optimum fit so-called flaky food, which are enriched with spirulina, contain carotenoids and astaxanthin. Pills for catfish will do. Overfeeding is undesirable.

There is an opinion that these crustaceans gradually destroy algae (nymphs, beards). The question is controversial. I must say that if the cherry and eats plantations, it is not too readily. True nitcatka, which had to fight continuously, will really disappear. But the cessation of growth of this species of algae can be explained, rather, by the lack of peace - the shrimps are quite active and constantly trampled on the tender green. They, like chickens and geese, released into the garden with grass, will turn it into a platform without a single blade of grass.
In connection with a faster metabolism, cherries are often eaten, albeit small. Of course, do not wake up at night to feed them again. But here to lower a slice of marrow, carrot or a pear slice, tied to a line, it is desirable. You can also feed them before bedtime with "live dust", which they adore. But dry food, perhaps, should be limited. Enriched with protein, in large quantities, it can even hurt. In addition to frozen on the eve of bloodworms, daphnia and artemia are quite suitable for feeding and such blanks from the freezer, as, for example, pepper (Bulgarian), eggplant, parsley. However, before this vegetables are cut very finely with a knife.

Will and leaves of willow, oak, maple. True, feed them after a week of drying and grinding (grinding).

Reproduction

Cultivation of shrimp shrimps is easy. The main rule is not to interfere with her. For this, you may have to remove fish from the aquarium.

First, the eggs are hatched under the shell (we already wrote about this earlier). A bright spot appears on the back. Over time, the eggs "move" under the tail, where a couple of weeks develop (sometimes longer). The samochka all this time takes care of the eggs, regularly shaking them.

The end of the term can be determined from the black eyes of the toddlers. The birth is approaching ... Shrimp are born small, about 3 mm, but already fully formed and able to feed like adults.

Under suitable conditions (clean water, not too dense initial population), the reproduction speed of these crustaceans is impressive. Perhaps, the shrimp of cherries can be compared in this case with fruit flies, which from one pair can give many thousands of offspring. At one time, the shrimp brings relatively few young (about a dozen on average), but an impressive number of spawning: discarded babies, which in a couple of months will become sexually mature, almost immediately replaced by a new caviar.

Cherry shrimp neighbors (compatibility with fish and other crustaceans)

Cherry shrimp is quite peaceful. But if it is planned to settle it in a common aquarium, then it is worthwhile to think about neighbors and possible consequences immediately. Who can these crustaceans live with? All non-aggressive fish will become excellent neighbors. It can be both swordsmen, and gourami, and guppies, and catfishes, and barbs, and the Tayeries, and megalechis. The following can be added: corridor (all species), serpenticobitis singularum, white-fruited ornament, dwarf baptism, sapphire tetra, multicolor pitsilla, pristella, afioharaks (all species), melanotenia, cherry, erythrosonus, neuron (all species), Honeysuckle (all kinds) and others.

Crustaceans can also be kept with more aggressive fish, but then shrimp will be much smaller, as maintaining a constant vigilance will take away the forces that are needed for reproduction.

With other shrimp, cherries live well. Although there is a possibility that larger ones will take away food from smaller ones. By the way, the fight for eating shrimp is a common thing. However, before tearing off the barbels and claws, it does not reach. Usually the "sharing of property" ends with a joint meal.

Reproduction rate

The main plus (and at the same time a drawback) is the speed of reproduction and vitality of these crustaceans. After six months, the bottom of the aquarium will seem red and constantly moving. It is extremely difficult to harvest shrimp-cherries manually. It is not always possible to do this after a complete restart of the aquarium. Aquarists say that it does not always save even a thorough washing of each shelter and each piece of seaweed. And after such measures, as it turns out, two or three pairs of crustaceans will still remain. And again reproduction begins.

Color fastening

Cherry shrimp, as is known, was artificially derived, its ancestors were transparent. In aquariums, these crustaceans gradually return to the wild color. It turns out that in order to maintain brightness, strict control is required and catching poorly pigmented individuals (which is again extremely difficult) and constant updating, that is, the "fresh blood" population.