Last Updated on June 18, 2022.
Not sure whether your cherry shrimp is male or female? Our guide shows you how to identify male and female shrimp with ease.
It can definitely be challenging to differentiate a male and a female shrimp of any variant. Once they’re in your tank and are happily going about their own business, they can all look pretty similar. Fortunately, there are several parts we can observe in order to identify shrimp sexes.
Both caridina and neocaridina shrimp resemble each other to a great extent. Using a combination of signs, we will help you improve your accuracy when it comes to shrimp sexing.
So, if you want to know tips for shrimp sexing, you’ve come to the right place.
Differences Between Male and Female Shrimp
We’re going to gloss over the idea of using how big they can get as a way to sex your shrimp. Although female shrimp are technically larger in size than males, it’s often not by enough to be able to tell by eye because all shrimp can vary in size. So instead, here are the main differences between male and female shrimp:
Abdomen Shape
The abdomen shape is one of the most visual hints to identify between male and female shrimps.
Female shrimps have got a smooth abdomen that has a curve on the underside. The reason behind this abdomen shape is so that these shrimps can easily hold their eggs very safely against their delicate body until these eggs are ready to hatch. For the same reason, you will observe the pleopods (swimmerets) more shaped on females too.
When it comes to male shrimp, they have an almost straight abdomen on their underside. This shape makes them look more symmetrical and triangular with the curve of their back.
Saddle
The most reliable indicator of a female shrimp is the presence of a structure known as a saddle.
The saddle is a feature that you will observe exclusively in female shrimp only because it contains the unfertilized eggs of that female shrimp. A saddle is a green or yellowish spot that is high up on a shrimp’s back, just behind the head.
So, if you are looking for the difference between male and female shrimp, the saddle is an obvious sign you’re looking at a female shrimp.
In some female shrimp, the saddle can be less contrasting and comparatively smaller, specifically in those female shrimp that have more opaque shells.
Eggs
Like saddles, shrimp eggs are also an obvious sign that only female shrimp will have under their bodies. If you have observed the presence of eggs during shrimp sexing, it’s certain you’re looking at a female shrimp.
The greenish-yellow eggs are placed under the female’s body with its pleopods. You will notice that these eggs are occasionally fanned so that they can be kept oxygenated and clean. Due to the color of the eggs, they can be a lot harder to spot in opaque yellow shrimp.
Pleopods (Swimmerets)
Another way to be able to identify the difference between a male and female shrimp is to look for a structure known as swimmerets, also known as pleopods.
The muscular abdomen of a shrimp is separated into six segments. The first five of these segments have an appendages pair on the underside of shrimp. These appendages have a paddle-like shape which helps shrimp to swim forward. Female shrimp uses these pleopods to hold their eggs in their developing phase and fan them.
Color
While you cannot rely on a shrimp’s color alone, it can definitely give you some clues on whether they’re male or female.
Female cherry shrimp are often more colorful compared to their male counterparts. But it’s important to remember the grade of the shrimp also plays an important role here, rather than the sex of the shrimp.
Gender differences between shrimp overview
For more ideas of gender differentiation in shrimp, here’s a table of differences between the two genders:
| Factor | Female cherry shrimp | Male cherry shrimp |
| Color | Female cherry shrimp have vibrant colors. | Male shrimp are less colorful than their females. |
| Abdomen shape | The abdomen is large to hold eggs and has a rounder shape. | Triangular or straight. |
| Saddle | The saddle is present. | The saddle is absent. |
| Behaviour | Female cherry shrimp are usually peaceful. | Male cherry shrimp tend to be more agitated and hectic. |
| Size | Larger than males. When female shrimp are matured, they are about 1.5 inches. | The size of a male shrimp is three-quarters of the inch that is smaller than a female. |
How old do shrimp have to be before we see any gender difference?
In the case of naked-eye detection, you can identify gender differences after approximately two months. Whereas, if you have access to special equipment, female embryos can be recorded 49 days right after hatching.
Conclusion – How to sex cherry shrimp
Among different ways of gender differentiation in shrimp, the presence of either saddle or eggs is the most obvious one as only female shrimp will have these features.
The remaining ways (curves, color, size, density, antennas, etc.) are helpful but cannot guarantee anything until you are an extremely experienced shrimp keeper. In any case, we suggest you use these ways only in combination with the rest of them.