Given that Red Cherry shrimp are so popular right now, it seems reasonable to have a topic thread devoted to them.
Breeders- how do you grade your shrimp? Is there one standard to look to when you grade your shrimp?
You grade them by how deep the color is. There are multiple grades for red shrimp, just to give an example of a few, fire red, painted fire red, sakura grade, 1,2,3 sakura grade. It goes on and on. Culling is a big part of it. Cull out the shrimp you don’t want and leave only the best to breed with each other. Then do it again and again until you get the deep color you want.
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Do you have a favorite color chart that you use to grade your shrimp?
One thing I have found in my short time is that substrate and background color do really seem to help actually darken/redden the shrimp. Would you or any other of the breeders here agree?
Not really. Good initial stock, food, and water cleanliness is what brings out the best color in shrimp. A good initial stock of shrimp will already have a deep red color and remain that way with some culling along the way.
I don’t use color charts. My initial stock 5 years ago was sakura grade shrimp, and that’s what I sell them as. Culling along the way. I don’t pretend they are something else, unless I have bought that particular grade from a reputable breeder. For example if your initial stock is red cherry shrimp, then that’s exactly what they are. If your initial stock is painted fire red, then that’s what they are. Hope this helps.
Thanks for your feedback 
What resources do you recommend to learn more about Red Cherry Shrimp? In searching the net I am finding some decent research study results, etc., but I wonder if anyone has a favorite info source?
Resources pertaining to what exactly? Red cherry shrimp are Neocaridina shrimp. There are many color varieties but they all derived from the wild type. They are super easy to care for just feed well and do water changes. I mean I have been keeping them for 15 years now. I have had every color variety, but now I stick to just sakura red and blue dream. You also cannot mix colors. They will resort back to wild type coloring if you mix colors
Oh I just meant sources to read about and listen to for more info on Red Cherry Shrimp. Thanks.
Youtube is the best place to learn about information on them. Just search neocaridina care
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I have a blog post on these shrimp that you might find helpful!
Cherry Shrimp: Care, Where to Purchase & More
Caring for shrimp is an absolute joy, I’m obsessed with them!
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This looks great- a lot of information !
Wow, I found myself at a Petsmart that did carry Red Cherry Shrimp. The poor things. The price was no cheaper than healthy, vibrant shrimp from breeders. Of course the shipping costs make the overall price higher, but the quality of the shrimp makes it worth it. I don’t know if the difference in quality relates to the stock itself or the care they get at these big chains. But my oh my, buy from breeders or small, individually owned shops.
Completely agree, many of the big chains carry disease as well. Definitely avoid when possible.
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I was lucky to catch on video this very recently hatched shrimplet in a holding tank. https://youtube.com/shorts/GbZsS46rmLE?si=GxjaEpAVGjL8sj4O
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I only see two for sale listings for red cherry shrimp and they don’t seem to be by breeders who have posted here. Is that correct? Down the road I want to introduce a new line (or just an excuse to have more RCS:}).
Looks like it. The supply rotates pretty frequently so you’ll see some pop up for sale and others disappear depending on what they have in stock!
Okay, thank you. Makes perfect sense. I was surprised that the two active sellers had no bio 
I have a planted tank, since cherry shrimp do better with plants. Most of my plants are tissue culture plants, which I bought to minimize the risk of contaminating my tank. I recently read that they often take a long time to settle in and grow. Has anyone feedback about this? My tissue culture plants are growing much slower than my other plants.
Yes I would give them about a month or so to transition from an emersed to submerged state. It would be normal to see some die off/leaves turning yellow. You should start to see healthy leaves about a month after planting!
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