Fairy Shrimp

[Captain Retardo]

What would be an ideal environment for my Fairy Shrimp? Right now they are in a ice cream bucket, but I might put them in a small tank...So then, how should I set up the tank? Just deritrus on the bottom, with a layer of sand underneath?

 

[three-fingers]

The size of tank depends on what species of fairy shrimp you have hatched out, the packets of eggs you get come with more than one species .

But the ideal environment for fairy shrimp is a tank with detritus at the bottom (they don't need sand) and green water. Not much to look at though.

 

[Galedav]

If i were you i would feed them to something else, there full of nutrients, if i were you put some plants in there, add some daphnia and breed some triops, this will mean youll have a large ecosystem that works well, two to three triops will do well in a tank with that much food, if i were you keep some fairy shrimp in the ice cream bucket just in case your triops eat them

 

[Invader Xan]

If i were you i would feed them to something else, there full of nutrients, if i were you put some plants in there, add some daphnia and breed some triops, this will mean youll have a large ecosystem that works well, two to three triops will do well in a tank with that much food, if i were you keep some fairy shrimp in the ice cream bucket just in case yur triops eat them

Interestingly enough, this was the first thing I ever tried to do.
Trouble was, the triops ate everything else, and I only had one -- he ate all of his siblings!


The fairy shrimp setup I'm trying at the moment is to hatch them in a little nursery tank and then move them into a fish bowl when they get big enough. The bowl's fairly well established, with some scraps of cladophora algae and a fairly healthy daphnia colony. Actually, it's also quite a nice nursery for some baby java ferns...

 

[Galedav]

If i were you i would feed them to something else, there full of nutrients, if i were you put some plants in there, add some daphnia and breed some triops, this will mean youll have a large ecosystem that works well, two to three triops will do well in a tank with that much food, if i were you keep some fairy shrimp in the ice cream bucket just in case yur triops eat them

Interestingly enough, this was the first thing I ever tried to do.
Trouble was, the triops ate everything else, and I only had one -- he ate all of his siblings!


The fairy shrimp setup I'm trying at the moment is to hatch them in a little nursery tank and then move them into a fish bowl when they get big enough. The bowl's fairly well established, with some scraps of cladophora algae and a fairly healthy daphnia colony. Actually, it's also quite a nice nursery for some baby java ferns...

good point, add some good hiding places high up, this should stop them from getting eaten, unless your triops start to actually get off there backside and start swimming, which apparently can happen

 

[three-fingers]

If i were you i would feed them to something else, there full of nutrients, if i were you put some plants in there, add some daphnia and breed some triops, this will mean youll have a large ecosystem that works well, two to three triops will do well in a tank with that much food, if i were you keep some fairy shrimp in the ice cream bucket just in case your triops eat them

Well...in reality fairy shrimp are an essentially nutrient deficient food unless you gut load them first.
And you would have to have a lot of plants for the triops to leave some of the daphnia.

Fairy shrimp are very interesting creatures in their own right.
Much more so than brine shrimp (though I like them too ).

 

[Captain Retardo]

Well I actually found the fairy shrimp in a local vernal pool (I'm in the suburbs of the twin cities in Minnesota, do you know what species of fairy shrimp I caught?), and I also caught some daphnia. The daphnia are breeding, and I think the fairy shrimp are too i think because some of them have dark sacs at the base of their tail/end of 11 pairs of legs.

The reason why I want to raise fairy shrimp is becuase I want to feed some to my fish, plus they're cool!

The ice cream bucket that they're in is placed in front of a window, and has some detritus from my fish tank on the bottom, so I guess I already have a pretty good environment for them.

BTW - When hatching fairy shrimp, would I have to use RO water?
Also I've always wanted to get triops too, so I think when I get a 3 gallon tank, I'll add some fairy shrimp, daphnia, and triops.

 

[three-fingers]

Any chance of a picture for an ID? I'm no expert but I can try.

How big are they? What does the tail look like?

You don't have to use RO water for hatching fairy shrimp, but it gives you a higher hatch rate/faster hatching.
You might want to re-mineralise the RO water, as it's not very good for growing them in, just hatching.

Fairy shrimp and triops eggs (technically called cysts) are very complicated structures comprising of lots of tiny chambers that allow water in for the egg to be hydrated, they hatch out in RO water because of the low mineral content, it's easier for the water to get into these tiny tiny chambers and hydrate the egg for hatching. The dissolved minerals 'clog up' the chambers preventing hydration.
However, some eggs are made with larger chambers, some with smaller chambers, some are programmed to hatch after being hydrated for a certain length of time, and some need to be rehydrated and rehydrated multiple times before hatching.

This is to stop the fairy shrimp/triops hatching out at the end of a vernal pools life - right before it dries up.
A vernal pool freshly filled with rainwater has low levels of dissolved solids (like RO water), where as an old vernal pool near the end of it's life has high levels.

So RO water isnt needed, but can help when hatching.
I hatch out in de-ionised water, then slowly top up with dechlorinised tap water .

Pure RO water doesn't contain the minerals they need for growth and development, which can result in stunted fairy shrimp.
You can add some shells to the water and/or liquid calcium to help them if you want. They should get sufficient minerals from the detritus, though this does depend.
You are lucky to live near a vernal pool for triops and fairy shrimp, here in the UK, triops are endangered and limited to two locations that you are not allowed to visit.
Fairy shrimp are extremely hard to come by too, I've never seen one in the wild.

 

[Captain Retardo]

Any chance of a picture for an ID? I'm no expert but I can try.

How big are they? What does the tail look like?

You don't have to use RO water for hatching fairy shrimp, but it gives you a higher hatch rate/faster hatching.
You might want to re-mineralise the RO water, as it's not very good for growing them in, just hatching.

Fairy shrimp and triops eggs (technically called cysts) are very complicated structures comprising of lots of tiny chambers that allow water in for the egg to be hydrated, they hatch out in RO water because of the low mineral content, it's easier for the water to get into these tiny tiny chambers and hydrate the egg for hatching. The dissolved minerals 'clog up' the chambers preventing hydration.
However, some eggs are made with larger chambers, some with smaller chambers, some are programmed to hatch after being hydrated for a certain length of time, and some need to be rehydrated and rehydrated multiple times before hatching.

This is to stop the fairy shrimp/triops hatching out at the end of a vernal pools life - right before it dries up.
A vernal pool freshly filled with rainwater has low levels of dissolved solids (like RO water), where as an old vernal pool near the end of it's life has high levels.

So RO water isnt needed, but can help when hatching.
I hatch out in de-ionised water, then slowly top up with dechlorinised tap water .

Pure RO water doesn't contain the minerals they need for growth and development, which can result in stunted fairy shrimp.
You can add some shells to the water and/or liquid calcium to help them if you want. They should get sufficient minerals from the detritus, though this does depend.
You are lucky to live near a vernal pool for triops and fairy shrimp, here in the UK, triops are endangered and limited to two locations that you are not allowed to visit.
Fairy shrimp are extremely hard to come by too, I've never seen one in the wild.

Sorry but I don't have a picture, my camera can't take pictures of something that small.
Description: The adults are about 1.5-2cm long (including tail), the tail is about as long as their body, and gets redder the further down you go, at the end their tail sharply forks and is pure white.

About 1/3 of them died today, I think it might be because I had huge temp fluctuations in my room today. I also notice the some are developing egg sacs, does this promise that they are breeding?

If all my fairy shrimp were to die, one way of getting more would be to go the vernal pool and collect a small sample of mud right? Then add bit of RO water, and a little later tap water (dechlorinated)?

BTW - The pond has no triops, to my knowledge, but I'll be looking.
Also, I learned that in Idaho there are fairy shrimp that get 6 inches long!!!

 

[Invader Xan]

Fairy shrimp are extremely hard to come by too, I've never seen one in the wild.

Dude, I was wondering... You don't happen to know any good place to buy fairy shrimp eggs from, do you? Pesky things are difficult to raise. I had a few from my last lot, but I've only got one left now. Keeping him in a whiskey glass with some cladophora algae and a couple of strands of java moss.

Also, I learned that in Idaho there are fairy shrimp that get 6 inches long!!!

Actually, there are two types of fairy shrimp that get that big. Branchinecta Gigas and Branchinecta Raptor. Both grow very large and are predatory, feeding mainly on the smaller species of fairy shrimp that co-habit the vernal pools they live in.

I'm still on the lookout for any place to get some of their eggs from...

 

[three-fingers]

Dude, I was wondering... You don't happen to know any good place to buy fairy shrimp eggs from, do you? Pesky things are difficult to raise. I had a few from my last lot, but I've only got one left now. Keeping him in a whiskey glass with some cladophora algae and a couple of strands of java moss.

There seems to be a shortage of them now, the places you usually get them from like netfysh aren't stocking them.
I thinkperfect pets is your safest bet, but there's a minimum order price though of 10 euros or something, and it's from Germany so shipping is more.
There's another couple couple of the big triops selling German websites have stopped stocking them too....The only other one I know off hand is also German, but you have to order using credit card details over email...and I dont know if they speak English.
I suspect triopsUSA may have stopped producing them, as they did recently with their little packets of daphnia eggs.

Actually, there are two types of fairy shrimp that get that big. Branchinecta Gigas and Branchinecta Raptor. Both grow very large and are predatory, feeding mainly on the smaller species of fairy shrimp that co-habit the vernal pools they live in.

I'm still on the lookout for any place to get some of their eggs from...

There's someone shifty who has them, may want to get in contact or just keep a lookout. Their not being sold, but if you really want them it's worth a try.
But no shops sell them (intentionally anyway...)

 

[Invader Xan]

Thanks for the info, man. Perfect Pets... Cheers, I'll try there.
Ooo... Though I did find this place! $20 US for a jar. Don't know if they ship to the UK though... Need to drop them an e-mail.

Is that branchiopod forum still active? I tried registering there a week or two ago and haven't had a confirmation yet... I've seen the same dude on a shrimp forum though... Another e-mail to send.

 

[three-fingers]

Oooooh, never seen that fairy shrimp product before! I'm getting some of them!

Yes, the forum is still 'active' although it is very slow, and I don't know the last time he's been back on it .
Most of the branchiopod stuff goes on in German forums or yahoo groups .