# Can I Keep different Red Cherry Shrimp variants together if they are all females?



## Exo_Jacket (May 29, 2017)

I don't want to breed shrimp / produce hybrids, so is it possible for me to keep a tank with only females but different colored red cherry shrimp?


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## Zoidburg (Mar 8, 2016)

It's better to get all males than all females... because if 1 male slips into a sorority tank of all females, it could wreak havoc on your pretty little shrimp!

However, if you kept all males and had one female slip in, the results wouldn't be so bad!


Also, unless scientific testing says otherwise (and it may some day!), all cherry shrimp varieties are the same species! So you wouldn't be creating hybrids!



*Neocaridina palmata*
Snowball
Blueberry
Blue Pearl
Amber (rare)

*Neocaridina davidi*
Cherry (Sakura, Fire Red, Painted Fire Red)
Bloody Mary
Chocolate
Blue Dream
Blue Diamond
Rili (Red, Black, Orange, Yellow - some with blue body)
Blue Velvet
Yellow (Golden back, Neon Yellow)
Green Jade
Orange (and Pumpkin/Sunkist)
Black Rose/Black Neo
etc


Unless you mix N. davidi (most common within captivity) with N. palmata, hybrids can't occur.



Although wild type offspring are common when mixing colors, it's not a 100% guarantee that you will get WT offspring... it depends on the colors. Here are some possible mixes that shouldn't result in WT offspring

Cherry x Bloody Mary
Bloody Mary x Chocolate
Bloody Mary x Blue Diamond
Carbon Rili x Blue Diamond
Blue Diamond x Blue Dream
Green Jade x Neon/Goldenback Yellow (possibly - some greens come from yellows)
Red Rili x "Full Blue Rili" (possibly Blue Velvets if they come from the Red Rili line and not the Carbon Rili/Blue Dream line)



Neos only live for 1-2 years and by the time the shrimp are old enough to sex, they might only live for a year or less... so it would be recommended to have a breeding colony.

If you want to keep mixed Neos together, then consider setting up a cull tank for any undesired offspring you don't want from a mixed colony. You can then turn around and sell or trade the culls for plants or something else.




Alternatively, if you can get the water parameters right, look into tiger shrimp! They can, and *will* hybridize, but you have the potential to get some interesting colored offspring from them! It might take 2-3 generations before you get interesting coloration, but it's possible!


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