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Why Your Cherry Shrimp Are So Good At Hiding!

Cherry shrimp are one of the best options for a clean up crew in most aquariums due to their low price tag, low maintenance, and the sheer amount of detritus, algae, and discarded food that they eat.

This means that a huge number of people within the fish keeping community keep cherry shrimp in their aquarium but many people end up asking about why their cherry shrimp are hiding due to often finding it difficult to actually see their cherry shrimp.

Although cherry shrimp have a bright color that most people think will make it easy to see them, their small size makes it very easy for cherry shrimp to hide in most aquarium setups.

In planted tanks you will commonly notice your cherry shrimp are hiding amongst the plants but they will also hide in your tank decorations and accessories too, especially if you have larger fish in your aquarium.

In some situations, your cherry shrimp may not actually be hiding and their tank mates may be eating them with this being more common than most people think.

As we covered in our article going over keeping African Dwarf Frogs with shrimp, some of the larger potential tank mates such as African Dwarf Frogs or even Axolotls will try to eat your cherry shrimp but miss their strike on a regular basis meaning that it is usually the fish in your tank eating the cherry shrimp rather than one of the other tank mates.

Is It Normal For A Cherry Shrimp To Hide So Much?

It is normal for cherry shrimp to hide in aquariums due to it being part of their instinct in an attempt to try and avoid being eaten by their tank mates.

Most tank setups will have multiple spots where cherry shrimp can easily hide even if you initially didn’t think that your cherry shrimp would be able to hide in those areas in your tank.

If you keep bottom dwellers in your tank such as kuhli loaches with shrimp then some people do choose to put shrimp hiding places in their aquariums to make sure that there are plenty of places available for their cherry shrimp to hide to avoid being eaten.

The majority of those options are very budget friendly while making it quick and easy to help your cherry shrimp hide in the tank to feel safe and secure away from the potential predators in the aquarium.

Even smaller aquatic plant options such as Java Moss can be enough to help some species of shrimp hide away from their potential predators.

The problem with using Java Moss as a hiding place for cherry shrimp is that the bright color of the cherry shrimp contrasts highly with Java Moss making it easy for potential predators to see them and eat them.

Where Are My Cherry Shrimp Hiding In My Aquarium?

Cherry shrimp are much better at hiding than most people initially realize and they can turn anything from a small clump of aquatic plants to your aquarium filter into a hiding place and everything in between being fair game.

In some cases, cherry shrimp have been known to burrow into soft substrate, especially if they are able to get under a rock to offer additional protection.

If you do keep rock in your aquarium then some setups make it very easy for your cherry shrimp to hide within the rock helping to offer your cherry shrimp some protection from the fish in your tank.

Strangely enough, most fish hides can be a great place for cherry shrimp to hide even if there are fish hiding in there too due to the low light in most fish hides helping to hide your cherry shrimp.

Planted tanks are where we see most people asking if their cherry shrimp have disappeared or not due to there being so many hiding places available for the shrimp.

They can hide amongst the plants, burrow into their roots, hide in any rocks or pots you are using to anchor your plants as well as a number of other places.

This makes plants one of the better options available for most fish keepers to offer their cherry shrimp a nice hiding place where their cherry shrimp can easily hide.

Should I Take Steps To Stop My Cherry Shrimp From Hiding?

You should never take steps to avoid the cherry shrimp in your tank from hiding as the shrimp hide to feel safe from their tank mates.

TA lack of hiding spaces not only increase the stress in the shrimp but it can also result in the fish in your tank eating large amounts of your shrimp too.

As most people treat cherry shrimp as a working animal in their aquariums that are there to help control the build up of discarded food, detritus, and algae you want to keep as many of them alive as possible.

The more cherry shrimp that end up being eaten by the fish in your tank means the algae can quickly build up and you often have to purchase more cherry shrimp pumping your costs up.

If you are looking to use cherry shrimp as a display animal rather than a working animal in your tank then making a simple 1 gallon shrimp tank or a no filter shrimp tank is probably going to be the best option.

Although you should still add hiding places in those tanks, the shrimp will usually be out and about more often due to there being a lack of potential predators in the aquarium making it easier to see and watch your cherry shrimp.

Conclusion

That brings our article going over why your cherry shrimp is hiding so much in your aquarium to an end. It is totally normal for cherry shrimp to hide, especially in aquariums with plenty of potential predators but this works in your favor as the higher the survival rate of your cherry shrimp due to them hiding, the more algae gets eaten.