The Cherry Shrimp is native to well-vegetated freshwater streams of eastern China and introduced to Taiwan and Japan.
In its wild form it is translucent reddish-brown or greenish but has been bred in aquaculture to be black and most bright colours of
the rainbow - Cherry Red being the most popular.
The Blue Cherry Shrimp is another popularly-bred colour.
It eats algae. Females carry eggs under their body.
It has 5 pairs of legs for walking and one pair to use for eating.
They can grow to 3-4cm long and live for 1-2 years.