Can Red Cherry Shrimp Breed With Yellow Shrimp?

Written by Noa in Cherry Shrimps

Shrimp are a popular addition to aquarium tanks, mostly because their fun color patterns provide a relaxing view and add a bit of vibrance to interior spaces. Given that both red and yellow shrimp belong to the same family, you might get curious about breeding them to create unique hybrids. But is that even possible?

Red cherry shrimp can breed with yellow shrimp to distinct colors. However, red cherry-yellow shrimp crossbreeds tend to lose the color characteristics of both species with each generation. Eventually, they turn into brown, natural-colored shrimp. 

This article will cover the specifics of cross-breeding cherry red shrimp and yellow shrimp. It’ll also explain why cross-breeding the two shrimp species might create an undesired result and provide a few breeding tips for shrimp. 

Can Red Cherry Shrimp Breed With Yellow Shrimp
Can Red Cherry Shrimp Breed With Yellow Shrimp?

What is Red Cherry Shrimp?

Red cherry shrimp are a species of shrimp that belong to the Neocaridina heteropoda family. They’re naturally found in Taiwan and have been selectively bred to have specific shades of the color red. Some have only specks or dots of red coloring, while others are red from head to tail.

Red cherry shrimp are convenient to care for in terms of water temperature, tank requirements, and feeding habits, making them an excellent pet option for beginning aquarists. Their varying grades of red coloring make breeding them a fun challenge for both beginner and expert shrimp breeders.  

What is Yellow Shrimp?

Yellow shrimp are another species of shrimp that belong to the Neocaridina heteropoda family. This shrimp species has been selectively bred to produce offspring of a specific color: bright yellow.

Their distinct color and similar characteristics to those of the red cherry shrimp make them another popular choice among aquarist enthusiasts and shrimp breeders. 

Breeding Habits of Red Cherry Shrimp and Yellow Shrimp

Both red cherry shrimp and yellow shrimp breed quickly and plentifully. Given the proper conditions, they’ll reproduce frequently, producing anywhere between 20 and 30 offsprings.

Red cherry shrimp and yellow shrimp need specific water temperature, pH levels, and regular feeding to induce breeding. Inducing breeding takes between 3-5 months. Once they’ve bred, the female will carry her eggs for approximately 30 days.

Yellow shrimp are remarkably adaptable and could be kept comfortably in the same tank conditions as red cherry shrimp. However, due to their selective color breeding, inducing breeding between yellow shrimp and red cherry shrimp may ruin color variation in the offspring. 

Selective Breeding For Red Cherry and Yellow Shrimp

Breeders have selectively bred both these shrimp species to produce offspring of specific colors. Red cherry shrimp have been bred to reproduce offspring that, over generations, have resulted in varying shades and patterns of red.

Selective breeding works by purposefully breeding an organism with a particular dominant gene. In the case of red and yellow shrimp, each has been coupled accordingly so that future generations produce offspring with various shades of red or yellow.

Selectively breeding shrimp causes recessive color genes to die out. That means each subsequent generation of offspring is less and less likely to be born with an undesired color.

What Will Happen If I Cross-Breed Red Cherry Shrimp and Yellow Shrimp?

If you cross-breed red and yellow shrimp, there will be no harm to the shrimp in terms of their health. However, doing that will erase the progress of selective breeding by allowing recessive genes to come back into play. 

For example, when bred with a yellow shrimp, red cherry shrimp would then be born with a dominant red gene and a yellow recessive gene. This makes it so that future generations of offspring have the chance of being born with a different color variation, not just red or yellow. 

While it’s possible that cross-breeding could result in a unique red and yellow shrimp, this is very unlikely. As red and yellow shrimp are bred together again and again, the offspring’s DNA racks up more recessive genes than dominant ones. This means that future offspring will be more likely to turn back to a more natural brown or transparent color, as they usually are in the wild.

Experts don’t recommend cross-breeding red cherry shrimp and yellow shrimp due to the role of dominant and recessive genes in selective breeding. Instead, red cherry and yellow shrimp should be kept separately and bred according to their specific species’ breeding guidelines. 

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, red cherry and yellow shrimp are very similar because they come from the same family. They can live in similar conditions and reproduce relatively quickly and easily. However, despite their similarities, they have been selectively bred to be either red or yellow. 

Cross-breeding these two species would only result in a digression of progress in terms of selective breeding. As more recessive genes are introduced into their DNA through cross-breeding, the red and yellow shrimp offspring would return to their natural brown or clear coloring. Therefore, it’s not recommended to cross-breed red cherry shrimp and yellow shrimp. 

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