how big do Cherry shrimp get???

[Magnum Man]

this kind of piggybacks off my thread a couple days ago, about fish only growing as big as the tank lets them...
I have a good breeding colony of Cherry Shrimp, in a 10 gallon aquarium, with mature shrimp getting in the plus or minus 1 inch size... I added about a half dozen to my Hillstream tank a few weeks ago ( a 55 gallon ) with lots of cover and food... this morning. I just got a glimpse of one that is over an inch and a half long, with very bright red color... I'll try and get a picture of it, when I can, but that begs the question, how large can a Neocaridina shrimp get in a large tank, with highly oxygenated water, and unlimited food supply... obviously larger than they'll grow in a 10 gallon tank, with a sponge filter, and all they want to eat...

 

[emeraldking]

Well, I found out once that those cherry shrimps can become bigger in my outdoor tanks than I was used to in my indoor tanks. Once I thought I got all of my cherry shrimps out of the outdoor tub to protect them from the cold seasons. But somewhere during spring, I found out that there was still a population going on outdoors. So, I didn't got them all out during fall. But I was amazed how big they were. This made me realize that they could withstand a much lower temp than I thought. And they must have been hidden in those plants. A serious number were between 3 - 4cm in size.

 

[MaloK]

Females can go up to 2 inches. But I never seen that, 1.25 is the biggest I have seen, and normally they are around 3/4 to 1 inch.

Unlimited food supply is also a problem, they eat to much grow too fast and die.

it's pretty difficult to have balance when they are in large numbers and something as dumb as removing a clump of algae that uncovers a large patch of food that was inaccessible, and the next day all the shrimps looked overfed. First time I saw that I thought it was WROD because it looks exactly like it, but after a couple weeks, yes weeks, without feeding them, They came back to normal, but some died because of that.

It seems the less interventions they have, the better they are.

 

[Magnum Man]

OK... it's not any bigger than an inch and a half, unless there is another bigger one... this one is solidly an inch and a half, was out and about this morning, but mine haven't gotten this big in the 10 gallon tank

 

[anewbie]

I have a really large one in my 10 gallon - but it is blue and not red if that counts