So, you have finally decided to own a cherry shrimp aquarium with those colorful cherry shrimp, right? I must congrats you on taking such a marvelous decision of owning one of the most beautiful shrimp breeds at home.
But, here is a prime concern.
Before you went to get a pair or two of cherry shrimp actually, do you know how much cherry shrimp cost?
Well, it is essential because you would like to have enough budget for the shrimp species and also need to invest in the aquarium and other things too.
As a cherry shrimp owner for the last two years, I have researched on the same topic to find that an average cherry shrimp will cost you around 2$ to 3.5$. The price varies according to the cherry shrimp grade, purchasing procedure and sudden up or down in demand.
But the most considerable price variation comes from the cherry shrimp grading.
So, for your convenience, I have accumulated all the information and putting them under the following sections.
Factors Determining How much Do Cherry Shrimp Cost
Many major and minor factors play a crucial role in determining the cost of your favorite cherry shrimp. While the small elements are avoidable, you can’t but help giving importance to the major ones. These factors are:
- Cherry shrimp grade and types
- Breeding
- Type of purchase you will make
Cherry Shrimp Types, Grades, and Costing:
Cherry shrimps are classified or graded according to their color depth and presence of redness in their body. As far as the grading and classification go, you can find at least 7 variations of cherry shrimp grading in the market.
But before we move on to see the grading of cherry shrimp, we need to clear out a few confusions at first.
- The redder, the better: When shrimps are graded, almost everyone ranks them according to the color presentation they have. Deep coloration means higher quality. And in the case of cherry shrimp, the grading color is red. It means that with a higher presence of redness, the cherry shrimp quality will increase. Also, the depth of redness increases quality.
- Male vs. female: There is a massive difference between female and male cherry shrimp when it comes to color representation and appearance. Females have a deeper redness and so, undoubtedly graded higher than the male ones. Also, females are larger than their male counterparts. So, when it comes to grading and quality, male cherry shrimp stays far away back from the female.
Now, focusing on these two factors, let’s see the cherry shrimp grading and cost.
A regular cherry shrimp:
The ordinary cherry shrimp, as you might guess, have a very poor coloration and have almost no presence of redness on them. You won’t find any red patches on its body. Henceforth, in the majority of cases, the cherry shrimp has a transparent appearance with a few rare red spots.
On average, an ordinary cherry shrimp costs approximately $2.5 to $3.
Sakura:
Compared to the regular cherry shrimps, Sakura cherry shrimps have a slightly higher presence of redness in its body. However, its body is still opaque or non-transparent.
It will cost you around 3$ to 3.5$.
Higher grade Sakura:
As you can guess, it has a higher presence of redness compared to the regular Sakura grade cherry shrimp. You can also observe a small orange tint in its body, and the shrimp will turn into entirely red at this grading stage.
This higher grading of cherry shrimp will cost between 3$ to 4$.
Red fire:
The next one of cherry shrimp grading in our list is the ‘fire red.’ It has an entirely red physique. Also, the red coloration is vibrant and very intense.
What’s more, the female has more redness and vibrancy compared to the male counterparts.
A single piece of red fire will cost you $3.5 to $6.
Painted fire red:
The higher-grade cherry shrimp has an exclusively red vibrant color that attracts everyone’s attraction almost immediately. Also, the red vibrancy standouts in every aquarium background and substrate, and so, people have a craving for it.
Nonetheless, the painted fire red shrimp is so rare that you might get one piece of it at the cost of $5.00 to $8.00.
What’s interesting is that the painted fire red has no transparency at all and looks like a fire ball.
Bloody Mary:
As the name suggests, the bloody Mary has a redness close to human blood, and it is intensely vibrant and attractive. What’s make the Bloody Mary so popular that it carries a few patches of transparency despite having such a high amount of redness.
Taiwan introduced the rare grading of cherry shrimp only a few years back, and since then, it has surged the red cherry shrimp market.
A single piece will cost you as much as $7.00.
Kanoko:
Kanoko is a Japanese word that means baby deer. And likewise, the baby deer, a Kanoko shrimp, also have black patches among its red colors. And Kanoko also has the deepest red coloration on its body that looks intriguing.
The Kanoko cherry shrimp is the rarest among all the shrimp breeds and so, naturally, costly.
To speak the truth, one piece of Kanoko will cost you $9 to $10.
Now that we have come to know the seven most popular variations of the cherry shrimp, here is a quick summary of the grading.
| Grades | Coloration | Expense |
| Regular cherry shrimp | A few patches of red only | $2.5 to $3.00 |
| Sakura | Slightly red | $3.00 to $3.5. |
| Higher Grade Sakura | Deep red | $3.00 to $4.00. |
| Red Fire | Completely red | $3.5 to $6.00 |
| Painted Red Fire | Deep and vibrant red | $5.00 to $8.00. |
| Bloody Mary | Intense red with semi-transparent shells | $7.00 to $8.00. |
| Kanoko | Darkest red with black patches | $9.00 to $10.00. |
Where Can You Get Cherry Shrimps?
When it comes to purchasing a cherry shrimp for your aquarium, there are two alternatives left for you. These are:
- Local fish store
- Online fish store
Now let’s have a more in-depth look at both of the fish store facilities along with their advantages and disadvantages.
Local fish store
Around the USA and Europe, you should find the cherry shrimp breeds almost in every local aqua fish store. The bigger the shop is, the more chance of getting a higher quality grade of cherry shrimps. You can also check out the large retail shops that sell pet products around the world.
Petsmart and Petco are the two mentionable retail shops where you can get the most grades of cherry shrimp. These shops are reliable, and so, you can trust on the cherry shrimp quality bought from them.
Advantages:
- The chance of getting higher-quality grade cherry shrimp is high.
- You can physically test the health and quality of the cherry shrimp before purchasing.
- The cherry shrimp will have a higher survival rate.
Disadvantages:
- You might not get all the cherry shrimp grades in a retail shop.
Online fish store:
If you dislike going to shop for the cherry shrimp purchase or don’t have a trustworthy retail aqua fish shop nearby, you can get the shrimp from the online anyway. Also, these days prefer online shopping, mainly because of the hassle-free experience it brings to the shopper.
Some of the most notable online shops that sell cherry shrimps are –
Personally, I am a big fan of Flip Aquatics. Initially started by Robert Lupton, it has now grown to become one of the largest and most trustworthy shrimp and aqua fish online stores across the USA.
Advantages:
- You get a vast collection (probably all) of cherry shrimp grades.
- Hassle-free shopping experience.
- You get the shrimp shipped directly to your home.
Disadvantages:
- You can’t check the shrimp physically.
- Sometimes longer shipping time reduces the shrimp survival rate.
What to Look For When Buying a Cherry Shrimp:
When you are all set to purchase the cherry shrimp, there are few things you need to consider to make a successful purchase. These considerations are:
- Always focus on getting active and healthy shrimp. The lethargic shrimps might be sick, or there’s something wrong with it.
- Check for the shrimp well-being. The good idea is to check the shrimp tank mate’s health. If you observe any tank mates unhealthily or sick, don’t purchase from the tank.
- To know the cherry shrimp health, get those that are gazing the algae on the tank wall actively.
- You need to purchase a group of cherry shrimp, preferably 10-12, at least. It is crucial since cherry shrimps are a highly social creature.
- When you are purchasing online, check for the seller accountability and the buyer’s review. Also, check for the shipping period.
Once you make these considerations and make your purchase accordingly, the chances are high that you will get a lively group of cherry shrimp grades with higher-quality too.
The Bottom Line
I sincerely aspire that by this time, you have a clear idea about how much do a cherry shrimp cost. Well, here’s a quick recap-
You will need around $25 to $50 initially to invest in the cherry shrimp purchase for the first time, given the fact that you will be purchasing a group comprising 10-12.
The higher the grade will be, the purchasing expense will rise accordingly.
You can get the cherry shrimp either from a nearby fish store or online. Also, make sure you are ardently buying from a reputed shop.
Before I sign-off, I wish your cherry shrimp keeping journey kicks off with an awesome blast.
