Amano shrimp and Cherry shrimp
Can these two share a tank? The assessment below is derived from stored behavioural and environmental traits, not from a compatibility chart.
Usually works. Minor points to watch are listed below.
- Minimum volume
- 55 L
- Minimum length
- 75 cm
- Factors considered
- 6
Concerns
Both species occupy the bottom of the tank, so allow for the shared space when judging the footprint.
Derived from: zone and traits.activity on both records
Why it can work
- Temperature requirements overlap comfortably at 18–27 °C, with room for both animals to sit inside their preferred range.
- pH requirements overlap at 6.5–8.
- Hardness requirements overlap at 6–15 °dGH.
- Amano shrimp needs a group of at least 5. Kept in smaller numbers it is not simply lonely — shoaling species held below their threshold show chronic stress behaviour, colour loss and, in several species, increased aggression towards tankmates.
- Cherry shrimp needs a group of at least 10. Kept in smaller numbers it is not simply lonely — shoaling species held below their threshold show chronic stress behaviour, colour loss and, in several species, increased aggression towards tankmates.
Conditions
Most interesting pairings are conditional on something. These are the things the keeper can actually change.
- At least 5 Amano shrimp, counted as one group
- At least 10 Cherry shrimp, counted as one group
Derived, or documented?
These are different claims and are shown separately. The verdict above is derived from stored traits — arithmetic on AquariumHQ's own records. Whether the pairing is actually reported to work is a separate question, and for most pairs the honest answer is that we hold nothing.
Environmental compatibility
Derived from stored traits
Temperature, pH, hardness, size and behavioural traits compared between the two records. Sound as far as it goes, and it is not evidence that the pairing works.
Behavioural evidence
Widely reported in practice
Reported consistently across aquarium practice without a single citable source. Treated as real but not as measurement.
AquariumHQ's overall position
A common and generally successful mixed-shrimp arrangement whose main effect is on feeding rather than safety. The cherry colony recruits more slowly with Amanos present and it is not clear how much of that is predation and how much is competition.
What would change it: Feeding in more than one place. Most of what looks like aggression here is one animal reaching the food first.
Factor by factor
- Size difference and food competitionReported
An Amano at 4–5 cm is roughly twice a cherry shrimp's length and considerably more assertive at food. Reports of Amanos taking and holding food while cherries wait are consistent; reports of them killing healthy adults are not.
- Predation on shrimpletsReported
Occasionally reported and hard to distinguish from scavenging on already-dead shrimplets. AquariumHQ does not regard this as established either way.
- No hybridisationReported
Caridina multidentata and Neocaridina davidi do not interbreed. Worth stating because several other Caridina and Neocaridina combinations do, and the trade's naming makes it hard to tell which is which.
| Depends on | How much |
|---|---|
| Tank size and dimensions | minor |
| Life stage | minor |
| The individual animal | minor |
How good is the overlap?
Whether two ranges intersect is a necessary condition, not evidence. What matters is WHERE the shared band sits: an overlap at the top of one animal's range and the bottom of the other's is a forced compromise however wide it looks, and it is the case a simple intersection test cannot see.
| Dimension | Assessment | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Comfortable for both | The shared band 18–27 °C sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| pH | Comfortable for both | The shared band 6.5–8 pH sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| Hardness | Comfortable for both | The shared band 6–15 °dGH sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
Factor by factor
Every factor states what it rests on. Most are derived from the traits stored on both records — sound arithmetic on AquariumHQ's own data, and not a report about how the pairing actually goes. Where a factor says 'not known', the data is missing and saying so matters, because a missing factor and a favourable one look identical once both are absent.
| Factor | Basis | Finding |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | Derived from stored traits | Comfortable for both. The shared band 18–27 °C sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| pH | Derived from stored traits | Comfortable for both. The shared band 6.5–8 pH sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| Hardness | Derived from stored traits | Comfortable for both. The shared band 6–15 °dGH sits centrally in both ranges, with room to drift. |
| Body size | Derived from stored traits | Adult sizes are comparable at about 5 cm and 4 cm, so neither is a mouthful for the other. |
| Predation | Evidence-backed | Highest predation risk in either direction is "none". Reported: Occasionally reported and hard to distinguish from scavenging on already-dead shrimplets. AquariumHQ does not regard this as established either way. |
| Territoriality | Derived from stored traits | Neither animal holds a territory. |
| Breeding aggression | Derived from stored traits | Neither becomes notably more aggressive while spawning. |
| Fin-nipping | Derived from stored traits | No nipper-and-target combination between these two. |
| Aggression | Derived from stored traits | Strongest intraspecific aggression across the pair is "none". It bears on the pairing because a fish under pressure from its own kind redirects. |
| Social requirements | Derived from stored traits | Amano shrimp needs at least 5; Cherry shrimp needs at least 10. A shoaling species held below its threshold shows chronic stress and, in several species, increased aggression towards tankmates. |
| Group-size dependency | Derived from stored traits | The outcome depends on group size as much as on the pairing: under-grouped shoalers nip more and hide more. |
| Tank zone | Derived from stored traits | Both occupy the bottom of the tank, so the shared space is under pressure. |
| Activity level | Derived from stored traits | Activity levels are compatible. |
| Food competition | Evidence-backed | Different feeding strategies, so direct competition is limited. Reported: An Amano at 4–5 cm is roughly twice a cherry shrimp's length and considerably more assertive at food. Reports of Amanos taking and holding food while cherries wait are consistent; reports of them killing healthy adults are not. |
| Risk to shrimp and snails | Derived from stored traits | Highest risk either animal poses to dwarf shrimp or snails is "none". |
| Effect on plants | Derived from stored traits | Neither animal damages planting. |
| Tank dimensions | Derived from stored traits | The more demanding of the two needs at least 40 L and 45 cm of length before anything else is in the tank. Volume alone does not describe a home for a fish that swims in straight lines. |
| Life stage | Evidence-backed | Life-stage dependency: minor. See the documented record. |
| Individual variation | Evidence-backed | Individual variation: minor. |
Environmental overlap
| Parameter | Shared range | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 18–27 °C | Aim for the middle of the shared band. |
| pH | 6.5–8 | Stability matters more than the exact figure. |
| Hardness | 6–15 °dGH | Check your source water before committing. |
What this assessment cannot tell you
- Individual temperament varies, particularly in cichlids and in bettas, and can override a favourable verdict for Amano shrimp or Cherry shrimp.
- The assessment is for the pair in isolation. A third species can change the outcome in either direction.
- Both animals are assessed at adult size, not at the size they are sold.
- A verdict is a statement about probability, not a guarantee.
Where the two water bands meet
Derived from the ranges AquariumHQ publishes for each species. The compatibility engine reads the same numbers; this is what they look like drawn on one axis.
Temperature (°C)
Scale: 0 to 36 °C.
pH (pH)
Scale: 4 to 9.5 pH.
Hardness (°dGH)
Scale: 0 to 30 °dGH.
Why the bands sit where they do
The overlap above is arithmetic. This is where the two numbers came from — the kind of water each animal is recorded from, and how much room that leaves.
Both animals come from subtropical stream, which is why the bands below sit where they do.
Amano shrimp
Subtropical stream
100–500 µS/cm · moderate flow · near saturation oxygen
Cherry shrimp
Subtropical stream
100–500 µS/cm · moderate flow · near saturation oxygen
- TemperatureAmano shrimp 18–27°CCherry shrimp 18–27°C
Both inside their range from 18–27°C — 100% of the narrower animal’s range.
A wide window. Both animals are inside their own range across most of it, and the tank can be run without either sitting at an edge.
- pHAmano shrimp 6.5–8Cherry shrimp 6.5–8
Both inside their range from 6.5–8 — 100% of the narrower animal’s range.
A wide window. Both animals are inside their own range across most of it, and the tank can be run without either sitting at an edge.
- General hardnessAmano shrimp 4–18 dGHCherry shrimp 6–15 dGH
Both inside their range from 6–15 dGH — 100% of the narrower animal’s range.
A wide window. Both animals are inside their own range across most of it, and the tank can be run without either sitting at an edge.
Computed from the ranges AquariumHQ publishes for each species, each of which records what it rests on — a source value, a habitat inference, a physiological requirement or a trade convention. Most are habitat inferences, and the species pages say which.