Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp in Plant Jar with Babies

I turned an old cookie jar into a desktop aquarium, complete with live plants, olive and horned nerite snails, and Cherry Shrimp. I light the jar using a plain LED desk lamp on a timer. A few days ago, I noticed several super tiny shrimplets zooming around!!

Neocaridina davidi Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp

Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp

Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp in my plant jar.

Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp photobombing a great shot of an Olive Nerite.

Neocaridina davidi, formerly heteropoda, is a strikingly beautiful little freshwater shrimp that we’ve had for several years now.  Females are fat and bright red… males are smaller and less brightly colored.

Nerite Snails

Zebra Nerite

Tiger Nerite

Sakura Red Cherry Shrimp photobombing a great shot of an Olive Nerite.

Olive Nerite

Horned Nerite

Nerite snails are actually a saltwater snail that adapts very well to fresh water, though they will not reproduce in fresh water (they do lay eggs, which don’t hatch). They are voracious algae eaters, and tanks with enough of them will stay sparkling clear. While assassin snails will usually leave them alone (preferring easier prey), they will gang up on a nerite if they are very hungry, or if the nerite is weak or dying (usually from starvation). It is important (assassin snails or not) to make sure the nerites get enough to eat… if the glass stays crystal clear at all times, it’s a good idea to supplement their diet with algae wafers, though they will forage on any uneaten food in the tank. While nerites can live with assassin snails under the right conditions, they cannot live with snail-eating fish like loaches. Olive nerites are probably the most common nerite available to aquarists, and they behave themselves very well… some of the larger nerites, like Zebras, will occasionally try to go on vacation outside the tank, so a tight-fitting lid is recommended. If you do find one on the floor, don’t assume it’s dead. Nerites can live for quite a long time out of water if their trap is closed tightly. Pop him back in his tank, or if you’re anxious about possibly polluting your tank with a dead snail, put him in a bucket of tank water and watch… as long as his trap is there and closed, or if he’s moving around, you can assume he’s alive. Dead snails lose their trap door and rot pretty quickly.

Scarlet Badis (Dario dario)

Scarlet Badis (Dario dario)

Scarlet Badis (Dario dario)

Scarlet Badis (Dario dario)

Moved my two little Scarlet Badis into my 5 gallon planted Eclipse tank last night. I’m hoping the few cherry shrimp I have in there will produce enough babies to provide a snack for them once in a while. Even so, they’ll still get baby brine shrimp and frozen daphnia… so far the only things I’ve ever seen them eat. Other tank mates include snails… horned, zebra, olive and onion nerites as well as some uninvited MTS.