Shrimp are friends, not food!

When we think of shrimps the first thing that comes to mind is a delicious meal paired with your favorite drink. Bucket Shrimps, unlimited shrimp with other kinds of seafood. What doesn’t normally come to mind is that shrimp similar to dogs can be pets! That’s right, Pets. From the freshwater Bamboo Shrimp to the Red Cherry Shrimp, they are pleasing to the eye, especially for aquarium lovers.

The Shrimp Keeping hobby has grown a lot in recent years as they are easy to keep and maintain, given the right parameters needed with the type of species you want to keep. They adapt so well that they are known to tolerate fluctuations in temperature and environment. Here are examples of the little creatures I’ve been talking about.

Picture by Faucon (WikiCommons)

This little beauty is the Bamboo Shrimp also referred as a Wood Shrimp. They are brownish red in color and can grow up to 5 inches. Females usually have smaller front legs but are bigger in size than males, this makes it useful to know if ever you plan to breed them.

Bamboo Shrimp are known for being filter feeders, they filter out food or nutrients suspended in water. 

This is one of our favorites! The Red Cherry Shrimp, this species is the easiest to keep and maintain as pets, it’s also the most common type of pet shrimp. Females normally have a brighter color than the males and have a rounder mid-section, they sometimes can be larger too! Talk about females being the dominant gender!

This pretty little thing is called the Snowball Shrimp, it gets its name from the eggs it produces that looks similar to snow balls. This type of shrimp is a shrimp you would like to have If you are a beginner, they are easy to take care of and given the right parameters within your aquarium, they will breed with ease!

Blue Pearl Shrimp by DirkBlankenHaus (WikiCommons)

This is the distant cousin of the Snow Ball Shrimp, the only difference is that this species has been selectively bred from Snow Ball Shrimp with a slight tint of blue, they were bred throughout the years to the point where it developed dark blue colors and red stripes along its back to the tail. This species has the same requirements for caring as the Snow Ball Shrimp with maintained water temperature and planted aquarium.

There are a lot more species of Fresh Water Shrimp that can be kept as pets, most of them are grazing shrimp that enjoy feeding on algae that keep your tank clean. What more do I need to say? They are low maintenance and they keep their home clean!

You can even add them to a community aquarium, just make sure the fish you add is the small peaceful kind that doesn’t have an appetite for Shrimp!

Both Expert and Beginner aquarium hobbyists would recommend having freshwater shrimps as pets! Shrimps add a variety of color is entertaining to watch. So what are you waiting for? Go get a Pet Shrimp now!