Here you will learn all about taking care of red fire shrimp. If you want to add some color and life to your aquarium, these cute little crustaceans are the best choice. Known for their striking red coloration and engaging behavior, red fire shrimp make fantastic additions to freshwater tanks.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned aquarist, taking care of these delightful creatures is a breeze. With a little knowledge and loving care, you can make a great home for these beautiful aquatic animals that shows off their beauty and charm.
Here we go! Get ready for an exciting journey into the world of red fire shrimp care!
Saltwater Fire Shrimp (Lysmata debelius) are very popular with aquarium owners because of their beautiful color and interesting way of cleaning themselves. They live in the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, where the water is between 65 and 100 feet deep. Fire Shrimp are natives of places like Indonesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka.
These cute fish are also called Blood Red Fire Shrimp or Cherry Red Shrimp. They don’t need much care and aren’t very aggressive, so they get along well with many other saltwater fish. They grow only a few inches long but have long white antennae that make them look much longer.
Note from the author: Fire shrimp are known to be cleaner shrimp, so they won’t have any trouble eating parasites, leftover food, and other unpleasant tank waste. They will even eat Aiptasia, which are tiny sea anemones that can attack and kill other small tank fish.
Night is when fire shrimp are most active. During the day, they like to hide under rocks or ledges. You can get them to come out earlier by changing when they eat, but these crustaceans are usually quiet and shy.
These shrimp do well in standard marine conditions. Because this species lives close to the equator in the wild, you need to keep the water in your tank warm. While they’ll thrive in small tanks, it’s important never to add Fire Shrimp as an aquarium’s first inhabitants. New Tank Syndrome can have a disastrous effect on their health and further offset ammonia levels.
The adult Fire Shrimp is usually a deep red color that makes it one of the most colorful invertebrates, even more so than the coral reef.
As a decapod crustacean, Fire Shrimp have 10 legs attached to their thorax. The first five swimming appendages are paddle-shaped while the sixth has a fan-shaped tail.
These shrimp often have several white dots decorating their shells. Their legs as well as their antennae are long and white. What a Fire Shrimp is sex can change the shape of its belly and the length of its antennae in small ways. Females have curved undersides while males have straighter stomachs and longer antennae.
These shrimp can live for two to three years if they are kept in a tank and given the right care. Out in the wild, a Fire Shrimp has an average lifespan of about 2 years.
It takes Fire Shrimp up to two months to go through all six stages of development after they hatch. Their nutrition and climate are vital to the speed of their growth.
Fire Shrimp will grow to an average size of 2 inches. The size of your females will also fluctuate during the egg-laying process. The female Fire Shrimp will keep her eggs on the bottom of her tail for about two weeks after making an egg saddle and molting.
Author Note: When these shrimp need to grow, they molt their shells in the tank and eat the food that’s inside them. That’s like always carrying a backup full of snacks!.
With their brilliant red coloring and active cleaning behaviors, fire shrimp are a popular choice for adding color and utility to marine aquariums. But keeping these shrimp healthy requires meeting their dietary needs. So what do fire shrimp eat?
Overview of Fire Shrimp Diet
In the wild fire shrimp are opportunistic omnivores that feed on a variety of meaty foods. Their diet includes
- Detritus
- Aufwuchs
- Copepods
- Amphipods
- Zooplankton
- Phytoplankton
- Parasites
- Leftover fish food
- Debris
Fire shrimp will scavenge the substrate and rocks for bits of edible matter. Their role as a cleaner shrimp means they eagerly consume parasites, dead tissue and other material on fish.
In captivity, fire shrimp adapt well to tanks and retain their varied diet But relying solely on opportunistic feeding is not enough Their diet should be supplemented to keep them healthy.
Best Foods for Fire Shrimp
The most convenient foods for fire shrimp are sinking pellets or flakes made for invertebrates. These meet their nutritional needs. Some top options include:
- Hikari Crab Cuisine – sinking sticks with algae, shrimp, krill, and spinach
- Omega One Super Color – protein-packed sinking shrimp pellets
- New Life Spectrum Marine – sinking formula with Antarctic krill
- API Bottom Feeder Food – made for shrimp and bottom dwellers
You can also feed small pieces of frozen or freeze-dried foods like:
- Mysis shrimp
- Krill
- Brine shrimp
- Bloodworms
- Daphnia
- Copepods
Only feed what they’ll eat in a few minutes 1-2 times weekly. Uneaten frozen foods quickly foul water.
For variety, add a reef roid or coral food containing plankton, which fire shrimp will pick at for the microalgae and zooplankton.
How to Feed Fire Shrimp
Fire shrimp are shy, stealthy eaters. They’ll forage along the substrate and rocks for food scraps. Getting them to accept foods directly takes some finesse:
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Target feed sinking foods. Use a pipette or turkey baster to concentrate feed near their hiding spots and on the substrate where they’ll find it.
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Presoak flake and freeze dried foods. Soaking makes foods sink faster so shrimp can access them more easily on the bottom.
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Feed at night. Fire shrimp are most active after lights out. Take advantage of their nocturnal habits by feeding later in the evening. Use a red LED flashlight to monitor their response.
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Use feeding dishes. Place sinking pellets or freeze dried items in a shallow dish in their preferred areas to corral food.
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Remove uneaten food. Clear away excess within an hour before it fouls water. Fire shrimp rarely overeat.
How Often to Feed Fire Shrimp
For captive fire shrimp, target feeding a small amount of specialty food 1-2 times per week in addition to their opportunistic grazing. The frequency depends on:
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Number of shrimp – More shrimp need more frequent specialty feeds. Adjust amounts accordingly.
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Presence of fish – In tanks with well-fed fish, shrimp can pick at leftovers, allowing less frequent specialty feeding.
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Tank size – Shrimp in smaller tanks have less room to forage naturally. Supplement more often in pico tanks.
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Overall diet – Shrimp readily accepting prepared foods likely need less frequent feedings than those who ignore them.
Observe shrimp response to fine tune the ideal feeding frequency and amount. Signs of underfeeding include picking at coral or loss of color intensity. Overfeeding risks water fouling.
What Do Fire Shrimp Eat in the Wild?
Fire shrimp are found in the tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. There, they exhibit flexible eating habits and scavenge for a variety of edible material.
Detritus
Detritus refers to decaying organic matter like plant and animal remains. Fire shrimp pick through sediments eating decomposing bits of debris.
Aufwuchs
Aufwuchs is a mix of tiny organisms like microalgae, bacteria, protozoa, and microinvertebrates that coat surfaces in the ocean. Fire shrimp graze on these organisms growing on rocks and coral rubble.
Copepods
Copepods are small crustaceans that are abundant in plankton. Fire shrimp will opportunistically feed on copepods present in the water column.
Amphipods
Amphipods are another type of tiny crustacean found in ocean sediments and attached to marine plants and animals. Fire shrimp eat them while scavenging.
Zooplankton
Zooplankton is a broad term for microscopic marine animals like protozoa, larvae, and small crustaceans. Fire shrimp will consume zooplankton floating by or settled in the substrate.
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton refers to microscopic marine algae. Fire shrimp supplement their diet by grazing on phytoplankton present in the water and sediments.
Parasites
As cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp seek out and eat parasites like isopods, cymothoa, and gnathiids on fish. This cleans the host fish.
Leftover Fish Food
Fire shrimp opportunistically scavenge any excess food discarded by reef fish, helping keep the substrate clean.
In aquariums, fire shrimp adapt their flexible wild diet to tank life. By offering a variety of meaty foods, you can replicate their diverse natural diet. This keeps them thriving.
Breeding Fire Shrimp
Fire shrimp breed as follows:
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They are hermaphroditic, acting as male then developing female organs as they mature.
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A mating pair will form with one shrimp fertilizing the other, then switching roles at the next molting.
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After mating, the female carries eggs under her tail for 2-3 weeks until they hatch.
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Larvae go through 6 planktonic stages over 2-3 months before settling in the substrate.
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Providing fine planktonic foods can help larvae survive to adulthood.
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Move berried females to a separate tank until larvae are released to prevent adults eating the babies.
With their varied appetites and scavenging behaviors, fire shrimp are not difficult to feed in aquariums. Offering a rotating diet of sinking crustacean foods, marine flakes, frozen items, and plankton provides ideal nutrition. Their role as cleaner shrimp means they’ll help keep your tank clean while thriving on most meaty foods. Follow these simple tips to satisfy the hearty appetites of these lively shrimp.
Frequency of Entities:
fire shrimp: 27
shrimp: 19
food: 17
eat: 8
diet: 7
feeding: 7
frozen: 4
phytoplankton: 4
zooplankton: 4
copepod: 3
amphipod: 3
parasite: 3
debris: 2
flake: 2
pellet: 2
leftover: 2
fish: 2
decay: 1
detritus: 1
aufwuchs: 1
sediment: 1
microalgae: 1
bacteria: 1
protozoa: 1
microinvertebrate: 1
rubble: 1
graze: 1
column: 1
larvae: 1
crustacean: 1
brine: 1
bloodworm: 1
daphnia: 1
krill: 1
mysis: 1
soak: 1
foul: 1
coral: 1
pick: 1
LED: 1
dish: 1
uneaten: 1
overeat: 1
response: 1
sign: 1
berried: 1
hatch: 1
settle: 1
planktonic: 2
maturity: 1
fertilize: 1
rotate: 1
hearty: 1
lively: 1
shy: 1
stealthy: 1
nocturnal: 1
forage: 1
adapt: 1
flexible: 1
scavenge: 2
supplement: 1
thrive: 1
sinking: 3
Red Fire Shrimp Care
Fire Shrimp will thrive in both small and large tank set-ups. Like other shrimps, they’re incredibly sensitive to metals like copper. Before adding shrimp, you must fully cycle your tank to make sure the nitrate and ammonia levels are stable.
There might be a little current, but it should be light enough for the Fire Shrimp to be able to glide along the bottom of the tank.
The minimum tank size for a Fire Shrimp is 10 gallons (check our 4 Best 10-Gallon Saltwater Tanks). However, they’re often better suited to larger 30-gallon tanks that give them room to avoid other inhabitants. They need structures like caves, ledges and rocks where they can hide.
It’s better to get a bigger tank if you want to take good care of more than one Fire Shrimp. Unless you’re attempting to breed your shrimp, it’s best to keep them separated to avoid aggressive interactions.
Water temperature: 72°F to 78°F
pH levels: 8.1 to 8.4
Water hardness: 8 to 12 dKH
Specific gravity: 1.023 to 1.025 sg
Since Fire Shrimp spend most of their time on the tank’s bottom, it’s helpful to give them things to climb. Live rocks, coral and logs will keep them entertained. The substrate should be fine-grained and soft to avoid damaging the shrimp’s antennae.
Consider setting up a “cleaning station” for the shrimp where fish can swim up and be cleaned. The shrimp will consider this overhang or cave its territory. When a fish arrives, it will pick away any parasites, dead scales or grime from the fish’s skin.
Standard aquarium lighting is adequate for Fire Shrimp. They’re sensitive to bright lights and will often only look for food once it’s dark. Using dimmer tank lights can encourage this nocturnal species to be more active during the day.
In order to keep the level of dissolved organics low in your Fire Shrimp aquarium, you should regularly filter out waste and siphon off the substrate. Approximately 25% to 30% of the water should be regularly changed every two to four weeks. This timeframe can vary depending on your tank’s bioload. The more fish in the tank, the more often the water will need changing.
Author Note: Use a water conditioner to neutralize the chlorine before changing out the water. It is also suggested that the water be checked at least once a week to spot any bacterial problems early.
The tank should be fully cycled and completely free of nitrite and ammonia before adding any Fire Shrimp. Invertebrates tend to be more sensitive to dissolved nitrogenous waste. Most aquarium fish can handle levels between 20 and 40 parts per million (ppm), but Fire Shrimp should not be exposed to this much nitrates.
Fire shrimp are one of the hardier types of invertebrates, but they can’t live in water that has a lot of metals in it. Medications that target parasitic invertebrates often contain excessive copper, which can be deadly. When dealing with a disease outbreak, treat the infected fish in a separate quarantine tank.
Are Red Fire Shrimps Reef-Safe?
Fire Shrimps are usually considered reef-safe with a few stipulations. They don’t often pick at common tank corals or anemones, unlike their popular Peppermint Shrimp cousins. However, Fire Shrimp have been found to occasionally nibble at stony corals and zoanthids.
To protect your reef tank, you should make sure your scavenger shrimp aren’t going hungry. If they’re not finding enough leftover bits, they’ll likely turn toward eating your prized coral.