How Fast Do Cherry Shrimp Grow: An In-depth Overview

In recent days, cherry shrimp has become widespread and famous as an aquarium companion to most shrimp lovers. While most cherry shrimp owners pet the lovely looking and amicable dwarf shrimp for fun, some aim at making a profit with their breeding and sales.

Whatever may be the case, we keep facing questions on, “How fast do cherry shrimp grow?” Although there has been no scientific research on it, our study found the following answer-

A cherry shrimp attains its sexual maturity at the age of 120 days to 150 days. An adult cherry shrimp gains 2.60 grams of weight per week.

We can imagine that the answer might seem surprising to most people since cherry shrimp look growing much faster. Hence, in today’s piece of cherry shrimp write-up, we will discuss the growth rate of the species, factors affecting the growth, weight increase with the physical growth, and how to boost the growth rate.

Knowing these factors is crucial if you aim at making a profit form the cherry shrimp sale.

So, take some time and go through the sections below.

Why Is Cherry Shrimp Growth Rate Important?

Understanding the red cherry shrimp growth rat contributes to many benefits for shrimp owners. It is particularly critical of you are aiming at breeding the cherry shrimp for profitable business purposes.

Firstly, when you know the shrimp growth rate, you will realize when it transfers the larva and juveniles into a larger aquarium or tanks. Also, it will help you see the preparation time for shrimp breeding purposes.

Lastly, when you realize the physical growth of the cherry shrimps, you will be better prepared with their caring at various stages of their life-cycle. This realization will most likely enhance their lifespan and attain maturity a bit faster. Indeed, it is useful for commercial cherry shrimp breeding and rearing.

How Fast Do Cherry Shrimp Grow?

The red cherry shrimp growth rate is attributed to two variations. These two links the physical weight

of the shrimp and days required to achieve the optimal weight at a specified period. Again, we can divide these exponential growths of cherry shrimp into two phases-

• Days required in attaining sexual maturity: Experts opine that cherry shrimps likewise, most shrimp species start achieving adulthood at 25 grams. Until then, it goes through larva, post-larva, and juvenile periods. Also, the weight gain during the stage is sluggish.
• Growth rate after adulthood: Once the cherry shrimps achieve its adulthood, the weight gain procedure takes a leap. You will be overwhelmed to see how fast the shrimp is accumulating weight and transforming itself into a super-giant shrimp.

The entire growth rate of the two stages is described in the following sections.

Growth rate till adulthood:

The growing stage of cherry shrimp until adulthood happens in an exponential method. It means the growth rate, along with weight gain, is rapid and steady compared to the linear growth. It happens in three various stages.

At the first stage, the shrimp starts its life journey from the post-larva cycle. It usually begins with the shrimp birth and continues for the next 24-48 hours. The post-larva will be around 3-4 grams during this entire growing cycle.

The 2^nd cycle starts right when the shrimp achieves its larva stage and continues through the juvenile period until it becomes sexually active at adulthood. The larva stage may last from 2 days to the next 15 days, while the adolescent cycle continues up to 120 days. The cherry shrimp will transform itself from a 5gm tiny species to 25gm or more a young offspring.

Once the shrimp becomes an adult, you will see a striking difference in the weight gain of it. It starts achieving most of its weight after adulthood. However, females will grow bigger than their male counterparts.

Growth rate after adulthood:

The cherry shrimp growth rate after adulthood is linked with shrimp genetics and optimal conditions. While optimal conditions for shrimps refer to the highest and most suitable water parameters, genetics comes from the result of million years of evolution.

When kept under optimal water parameters and fed with high-nutrition, a cherry shrimp will grow 2.60 grams of weight with each week.  

However, I have seen adult shrimp weight gaining falling as low as 1 gram per week. It might be the reason for improper diet, inaccurate water conditions and keeping too many shrimps in a small tank. So, you should know the factors that might affect the cherry shrimp growth to control them and give the cherry shrimp a kick-off in the growing.

How Long Can a Cherry Shrimp Grow?

Let’s admit one vital thing first- cherry shrimps aren’t like the Blue Whale.

So, limit your expectation with the longest cherry shrimp.

To be honest, a fully grown male cherry shrimp won’t exceed 1.6 inches or 4 centimeters. However, there’re always some exceptions, and the same goes for the vibrant and captivating cherry shrimps as well.

For instance, the most jumbo cherry shrimp I came to see was in California. My friend Peter used to own the beautiful little (?) giant that grew to overwhelmingly 1.77 inches. Astounding!

How Does Cherry Shrimp Grow?

Now that you know how fast cherry shrimp grow, you might be wondering how does the cherry shrimp growing takes place?

I guess you are eager to know it, right? So, here I go-

A cherry shrimp, likewise, any shrimps grow from a post-larva state to the fully grown parent through a process called molting.

For those who don’t know about molting, we have got it for them. Molting is the straightforward method to shed of the older exoskeleton of a shrimp and brace the new shrimp. As the shrimp shed off its earlier hard shell, it grows bigger and larger.

Ideal Water Parameters for Cherry Shrimp Growth:

When you own cherry shrimp and want them to grow and thrive in the tank, you must keep the tank parameters at the optimal state. Also, it will reduce the sorrow sight of seeing your favorite shrimp dead and floating within the tank.

The suitable parameters to cherry shrimp are:

You should check the water parameters once in a month to ensure the smooth and expected growth of your favorite cherry shrimps. It is crucial if you are breeding them to make a profit. However, we recommend you to use proper cherry shrimp lighting and heater to maintain the optimal temperature and light hours.

Also, you can use canister filters to keep the TDS, GH, and KH levels within the optimal condition.

Various Ways To Boost Cherry Shrimp Growth Rate

Breeders, especially professional farmers, want to increase the shrimp growth rate so that they can sell these species quickly to make a profit. There are several methods that you can take to boost the shrimp growth rate.

But the best you can do is to opt for a comprehensive method that accumulates all the ways described below. It will make sure that your shrimp enjoys a smooth growth without being intimidated and be happy.

Proper and nutritious food:

The best way to increase the natural growth rate of shrimps is to provide them with a proper diet. It should consist of protein and carbonate items. While protein is essential for growth, carbonate items offer strength to the exoskeleton.

While young or in a juvenile state, shrimps will live mostly on biofilms and algae grown within the tank. However, once they grow up, you may supply them with regular food. These may include-

• Flake foods
• Hikari Crab and Lobster Bites
• Pears
• Spinach
• Cucumbers
• Shrimp food supplements

Water management:

The proper and adequate water management within the shrimp aquarium is essential for their health as well as satisfactory growth. Water management includes providing an adequate amount of water for the shrimps.

It also includes ensuring algae and biofilms, which are a natural food source of cherry shrimps. Next, you need to ensure that the aquarium has proper biological filtration. Furthermore, you may use a quality filter to make sure that the water remains free of harmful elements such as ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

You should use a good filter for the purpose.

Aeration:

Even if you have a small tank for cherry shrimps or fishes, always opt for the right aeration mechanism within the container. Aeration process intensifies the oxygen level within the water that helps the shrimp breath smoothly and with less stress.

An increasing level of oxygen within the tank will thus boost the shrimp growth rate. Also, proper aeration helps you to maintain the tank environment and ensures even distribution of nutrition all across the tank water.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. How long does a cherry shrimp take to grow?

There are several phases of the cherry shrimp growing cycle. However, it will attain the sexual maturity between 4 months to 6 months, depending on the water parameters and non-controllable external affairs.

2. How long does a cherry shrimp live?

Cherry shrimps have a relatively pleasing life cycle. These species will leave about one year to two years with the right aquarium maintenance. However, if you bring a larger cherry shrimp from the shop, it is less likely to survive 2-years in the tank. It happens because larger shrimps mean these are older too.

Final Words

The cherry shrimp has become a staple for every aquarium during the last few years. Naturally, shrimp owners want their species to grow faster since it ensures the shrimp to come up with its full array of vibrant colors.

Although the cherry shrimp growth rate doesn’t follow a linear cycle, here’s what we have picked up during the article writing.

Shrimps grow faster during the post-larva, larva, and juvenile stages. Once they become adults, the growth rate becomes slower, and finally, after attaining maturity and gaining the right weight, their physical growth stops.

Their adulthood comes within 4-months to 5-months, and at this stage, you need to take extra care of their tank condition and diet.

Once you maintain everything with care, you can expect a smooth growth of the species and grow larger than the average-sized shrimps.