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Freshwater aquarium shrimp

Freshwater shrimp divide into a few honest tiers: hardy Neocaridina like cherry shrimp that thrive in ordinary tap water and breed readily, the larger Amano and bamboo shrimp whose larvae need saltwater and so never overpopulate, and the soft-water Caridina show shrimp that demand remineralized RO water and a dedicated tank. All of them are molting animals, which makes stable water chemistry — especially GH — matter more than any single parameter. Pick the tier that matches your water before you pick a color.

5 species match, 1 in stock at AquaticMotiv

The species, easiest first

  1. 1Amano Shrimp

    Amano Shrimp

    Caridina multidentata
    • Easy
    • Shrimp
    • Max 2"
    • Algae eater

    Amanos are the best algae-eating shrimp in the hobby, full stop — a squad of them will mow down hair and thread algae that nothing else touches, and Takashi Amano popularized them for exactly that reason.

    $24.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  2. 2Cherry Shrimp

    Cherry Shrimp

    Neocaridina davidi
    • Easy
    • Shrimp
    • Max 1.5"
    • Algae eater

    Cherry shrimp are the gateway invertebrate: hardy in ordinary tap-water parameters, constantly grazing biofilm and algae, and able to turn ten shrimp into a few hundred within a year in a stable, predator-free tank.

    $24.99 In stockCare profile →
  3. 3

    Ghost Shrimp

    Palaemonetes paludosus
    • Easy
    • Shrimp
    • Max 2"
    • Scavenger

    Ghost shrimp are cheap, transparent scavengers sold mostly as feeders, which is the honest context for their care: they arrive in rough shape from crowded feeder tanks, and losing a few in the first week is normal even when you do everything right.

    Care profile →
  4. 4Bamboo Shrimp

    Bamboo Shrimp

    Atyopsis moluccensis
    • Medium
    • Shrimp
    • Max 3"
    • Filter feeder

    Bamboo shrimp eat with four feather-like fans, parking in the filter current and combing food particles out of the water — which means they need two things most tanks lack: strong flow and water with something in it.

    $11.99 Out of stockCare profile →
  5. 5Crystal Red Shrimp

    Crystal Red Shrimp

    Caridina cantonensis
    • Advanced
    • Shrimp
    • Max 1.2"
    • Showpiece

    Crystal reds are the show-bench shrimp: candy-striped, selectively bred, and unforgiving of the hard alkaline tap water that cherry shrimp shrug off.

    $29.99 Out of stockCare profile →

Planting the same tank?

Most of these species do their best work in a planted tank. Browse the plant database, or let the finder rank every plant against your exact setup.

Browse the plant database →Open the plant finder →

Frequently asked questions

What is the easiest aquarium shrimp for a beginner?

Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi). They tolerate the widest parameter range of any dwarf shrimp, breed in plain freshwater without help, and a starter group of ten becomes a self-sustaining colony within months in a stable, predator-free tank.

Why do shrimp die when they molt?

Failed molts almost always trace to water chemistry — GH too low to build a proper new shell, or a sudden large water change that triggered a premature molt. Keep GH in the species' range, change water in small regular amounts, and leave shed shells in the tank for the shrimp to recycle.

Can shrimp live with fish?

Adults of the larger species (Amano, bamboo, ghost) coexist with most community fish; dwarf shrimp adults survive alongside small peaceful fish if the tank has moss and cover. Shrimplets are food to anything with a mouth, so a colony only grows where dense planting tips the odds — or where fish are absent.

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