Cherry Shrimp.

[Paradise3]

Some pictures of my 3 Cherry Shrimp(plan to add more soon), I would like to know the sexes of them if possible. There is one that is quite large compared to the other 2 and is a Brilliant Blood Red. The other two are slightly paler and both smaller. There's a picture showing the large one with the palest of the small ones.
Female?

Males?

Male and Female?

As you can see they are tame and will sit on my hand but I really would like to know the sexes because I would like babies from them but Non of them have ever looked even slightly larger in the saddle area or under the tail and I've never seen one carrying eggs.

P.S. The tank has been re-scaped since then.

 

[Caprichoso]

If they have a saddle, they are female. Sometimes the saddle isn't as visible but usually it will be yellow, green or blue in Cherry shrimp. Females are larger and have more coloration than the males. From the pics, they all look female but it's hard to tell for sure. Males will be very thin in the abdomen area.

 

[Paradise3]

If they have a saddle, they are female. Sometimes the saddle isn't as visible but usually it will be yellow, green or blue in Cherry shrimp. Females are larger and have more coloration than the males. From the pics, they all look female but it's hard to tell for sure. Males will be very thin in the abdomen area.

Thank you. From what I can tell the largest is definitely female but the other two I'm still uncertain.

 

[Caprichoso]

You're welcome. If you plan on adding a few more, it won't affect your bio-load and I'm sure you will end up with shrimplets soon enough.

 

[fishprotector]

I would say that the first three pictures are definitely of a female.

It is hard to to tell the sex on the fourth picture, but the last picture seems to show a male and a female, so if the shrimp on the left in picture six is the same one as in picture four then I would say this is a male.

Oh and your female has a nice saddle there so if you do indeed have males then I would expect to see her carrying eggs shortly

 

[Paradise3]

The one on the left in picture six is the same one as picture five I think. Pictures Four and Five are of two diferent shrimps, both suspected males. If the first one is definitely female and if the left one in the sixth picture is definitely male then is there something stopping them breeding? I've had them about 3-4 months and she's never carried eggs.

 

[fishprotector]

The first one is 100% female, you can tell by her colour and you can see her saddle which normally means that she is ready. What temp is your tank at? Do you have fish in there?

 

[fishprotector]

I am looking at that one on the left in the last picture again and it is hard to tell the sex. From the colour of it I would say male, but then on pictures four and five it looks very blood red like a female. My males are much paler than the females to the extent that it is obvious to the eye. Instead of a solid red colouring, their colour resembles more of a pale red with darker stripes / blotches.

 

[Paradise3]

Pictures four and five are of two different shrimps... The paler one in picture six is the same as picture five. I two that are more red and one that is pale pink most of the time... There are fish in the tank but there are also plenty of hiding places... Tank temp is between 24-26 for the molly, guppy and baby mollies.

 

[fishprotector]

The paler pink one sounds like a male and looks like one in pic 6. With Cherries, it is normally tank + shrimp = shrimplets. It could be lack of numbers. I would normally say start with 10 and you will have a good chance of them breeding. Breeding will occur after moulting, as the female releases a 'scent' into the water for the males to follow. If you have two females and one male (which is probable) then it could be a little hit and miss.

 

[Paradise3]

The paler pink one sounds like a male and looks like one in pic 6. With Cherries, it is normally tank + shrimp = shrimplets. It could be lack of numbers. I would normally say start with 10 and you will have a good chance of them breeding. Breeding will occur after moulting, as the female releases a 'scent' into the water for the males to follow. If you have two females and one male (which is probable) then it could be a little hit and miss.

How many more do you recommend getting? It's a 6 gallon tank that's rally only has about 7 baby mollies in at the mo.

 

[fishprotector]

Shrimp do not really add that much to the bioload. I would up the numbers to 10. That way you should have a fair mix of the two sexes.