Breeding red shrimp

[evanb]

Hello. Just wondering has anyone got much experience with breeding cherry shrimp? I'm planning on getting some next week for my 10 litre tank that's been cycling for 2 weeks. It's quite heavily planted, it will be quite dense once it's all grown up.
I would be glad of some advice. Thanks

 

[evanb]

 

[Essjay]

They are a bit like guppies - just add water.

As long as the tank is to their liking, and you have at least one male and one female, they'll breed. The first sign is that you'll see the males whizzing round the tank as the female emits a 'come and find me' pheromone when she's ready to breed. The female will then be seen carrying eggs under her abdomen - it's called being berried as the eggs look like a cluster of berries. The eggs hatch to miniature shrimps rather than a larval stage and they are tiny. When doing water changes it is very easy to suck up baby shrimps as you can't see them properly. I rescued 9 from the bucket this afternoon. Because they are so tiny I empty the bucket with a jug and carefully check each jugful.


I don't know what the filter intake is like, but baby shrimps can get sucked in. I have a fine mesh over the intake of my filter - the other option is a sponge filter powered by an air pump but that would mean cycling again.

 

[evanb]

Right ok. "Just as water" lolwhats the average number of babies and also, how offer will a female breed?
Thanks for the help

 

[Essjay]

My females are constantly carrying eggs. They breed almost as soon as the last batch of eggs hatch. To be honest, I have no idea how many babies in each batch as they are so small it's difficult to see them to count, especially with lots of hiding places in the tank.


I forgot to mention that you can see the eggs developing in the females' ovaries - they show as a paler saddle shaped patch on their backs.

 

[evanb]

Ok cool..I breed rabbits so...bit similar
Do most of the babies Survive?

 

[Essjay]

Again it's hard to say since they are so small. Any that die would be eaten by the adult shrimps. With no fish to eat them, most should survive.

They do tend to reach saturation point and slow down. The smaller the tank, the smaller the population it can hold.

 

[evanb]

Ok. Thanks for the advice

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

It might be worth waiting for a few more weeks before getting shrimp. They graze constantly on biofilm and algae in the tank, stuff that's grown on the tank walls and plants, and they're also sensitive to changes in water parameters, so a stable tank is important.

I had to move my red cherry colony to a newly set up, clean tank recently and they did survive it, but had to be very on top of testing and water changes while the tank was getting established, and I needed to feed the shrimp extras like Shrimp Cuisine, snowflake food and things like that daily, since there wasn't any biofilm or soft algae for them to graze on yet. Mine made it, but they'd also been bred in my tank water, so it was probably less stressful for them that it might be for ones you've just bought in, who already have a lot of adjusting to do. I'd say it took a month for the tank to develop a decent amount of biofilm for them to be able to graze all day and not rely on the extra feedings completely. (they still get extra feedings 2-3 times a week, they're just not dependent on it anymore).

Oh! Also recommend things like almond leaves and cholla wood, shrimp love grazing on those.

Don't panic if it takes a while before you see breeding activity. I added shrimp a couple of times, and it still took a good six months before I finally had baby shrimp. Then the population just exploded. But my tank also had fish, so that might have slowed things down. Looks like a lovely set up for shrimp

 

[evanb]

Yea thanks!
I was advised by my lfs to add a small amount of fish flakes each day so thats what I've been doing. Suppose it gives them something to feed on once they arrive and it will decompose

 

[mbsqw1d]

It might be worth waiting for a few more weeks before getting shrimp. They graze constantly on biofilm and algae in the tank, stuff that's grown on the tank walls and plants, and they're also sensitive to changes in water parameters, so a stable tank is important.

I had to move my red cherry colony to a newly set up, clean tank recently and they did survive it, but had to be very on top of testing and water changes while the tank was getting established, and I needed to feed the shrimp extras like Shrimp Cuisine, snowflake food and things like that daily, since there wasn't any biofilm or soft algae for them to graze on yet. Mine made it, but they'd also been bred in my tank water, so it was probably less stressful for them that it might be for ones you've just bought in, who already have a lot of adjusting to do. I'd say it took a month for the tank to develop a decent amount of biofilm for them to be able to graze all day and not rely on the extra feedings completely. (they still get extra feedings 2-3 times a week, they're just not dependent on it anymore).

Oh! Also recommend things like almond leaves and cholla wood, shrimp love grazing on those.

Don't panic if it takes a while before you see breeding activity. I added shrimp a couple of times, and it still took a good six months before I finally had baby shrimp. Then the population just exploded. But my tank also had fish, so that might have slowed things down. Looks like a lovely set up for shrimp

How long does a piece of cholla wood last for? Or, should I ask do they break down and need replacing like almond leaves?

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Are you testing the water?
Rotting fish food will give you ammonia for the cycle, but it isn't food for the shrimp, and if there's enough rotting fish food in there, it'll cause an ammonia spike and potentially kill the shrimp. Wait until the tank is fully cycled, then substrate clean to remove rotting fish food and do a water change before adding shrimp.

Cholla wood I don't know, haven't actually used that one myself yet, have it on my list to pick up. I use almond leaves and the shrimp love those.

 

[evanb]

Ok. I don't usually take advice from my lfs but I decided to this time
I haven't yet checked the water

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Ok. I don't usually take advice from my lfs but I decided to this time
I haven't yet checked the water

Yeeeaaahh, I really wouldn't add cherry shrimp into a tank three weeks into an untested cycle. Get through the cycle first, or you're likely to lose them all.

Do you have a test kit?

 

[evanb]

Yes I have a test kit.
I will take a reading today