🧳Transporting a Cherry shrimp: bagging, acclimatisation, moving

Cherry shrimp : Transport in a bag with a strand of moss to cling to; it travels very well. One-hour drip acclimation is mandatory, as parameter shocks trigger fatal molts.

In short: 2 to 3 cm as an adult, 20 L minimum for a colony of 10, water between 18 and 25 °C. A peaceful, gregarious invertebrate that grazes the decor in a colony and is kept ten or more strong. Copper is lethal to it even in tiny doses: ban any fertilizer or medication containing it, and acclimate it drip by drip.

Bringing home or moving a Cherry shrimp

A 3 cm Cherry shrimp travels in a double bag — one-third water, two-thirds air — inside a cool box or opaque bag: darkness soothes, insulation protects from swings away from its 18 to 25°C comfort zone. Add a clump of moss in the bag: shrimp cling to it and travel better.

Acclimatisation: the critical step

Start with 20 minutes of floating, bringing the bag water to tank temperature, then add tank water drop by drop over an hour — the species is sensitive to parameter swings, and release with a net without pouring bag water into the tank. In this species, a botched transfer is paid for in bouts of failed molts during parameter shocks. The first day happens lights-off — darkness defuses the sometimes muscular curiosity of the residents.

Moving an entire aquarium

A successful move rests on three precautions: fish in covered buckets, the filter never dried out (damp cool box — it houses your bacteria), and a same-day restart using original water saved in jerrycans. The tank itself travels EMPTY: glass stressed by a few leftover litres cracks at the first corner.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a Cherry shrimp handle transport?

Properly bagged, a Cherry shrimp lasts several hours unharmed — and up to a day in a professional oxygenated bag. The real battle, past two hours on the road, is holding the temperature.

How do you acclimatise a Cherry shrimp safely?

Float the bag 20 minutes, add tank water gradually over 30 to 60 minutes, release with a net, lights off the first day — and never pour bag water into the tank.

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