My Ghost Shrimp Is Pregnant!

[hyukki]

I thought I had a bit of an over crowded tank so I didn't know the ammonia level would drop but it did. I don't have any test kits to verify the amount but it's gone. (I have something called "LiveNH3" which I stuck on the tank wall and it shows the ammonia levels for about 4 weeks)
So it's been about 2 days since the water finished cycling(or become neutral enough) and I saw my biggest ghost shrimp with greenish eggs in its fins(those swimming fins)

It also tends to swim around the top of the tank near the surface.

What should I do to try to save the eggs? I have read that they are not born as mini copies of the parent but as larvas.
Would a breeding net/tank suffice or do I have to get a new tank for the shrimp? It kinda seems of a waste of money to buy the whole set up just for the shrimp.

I could, use a bag and float it in the tank just like how I quarantined the shrimp to get the white stringy parasites that are so common out.


I know my tank way over stocked but they seem to be doing well. I also do 50% water changes every week. I am waiting until I move into a house to get a bigger tank (possibly 100 gallons).

 

[hyukki]

This is exactly what the eggs look like.

http/eccentric.cx/wordpress/images/20050...p_with_eggs.jpg

 

[Shrimper]

If the eggs do look like that you may be in luck and have a species that can survive being in fresh water from birth. If the eggs are smaller and she has a lot more of them then its normally a species that need brackish or salt water for the larvae. She should hold onto the eggs until the shrimp are born, either as larvae or miniature versions of the big shrimp.

Are there any hiding places like Moss in the tank or places the fish can't reach? All you really need to do is give them enough places to hide and they should survive. Of the fish in your tank the only one i would be really worried about eating the baby shrimp would be the Glassfish but i could be wrong. It might be worth covering the intake to your filter with something as the little guys can get sucked in.

 

[hyukki]

If the eggs do look like that you may be in luck and have a species that can survive being in fresh water from birth. If the eggs are smaller and she has a lot more of them then its normally a species that need brackish or salt water for the larvae. She should hold onto the eggs until the shrimp are born, either as larvae or miniature versions of the big shrimp.

Are there any hiding places like Moss in the tank or places the fish can't reach? All you really need to do is give them enough places to hide and they should survive. Of the fish in your tank the only one i would be really worried about eating the baby shrimp would be the Glassfish but i could be wrong. It might be worth covering the intake to your filter with something as the little guys can get sucked in.

Thank you for the quick reply.

I don't have any hiding places (except a big roman colloseum ornament that my cory rests in @ night) but I will be going to Petsmart and look for some kind of hiding place for the baby shrimps.

I think the tetras would eat them too. The glassfish are very offensive when I give them bloodworms and the tetras are a bit on the calmer side. They do swim around really fast and chase each other around to get as much as possible.

 

[Shrimper]

One thing i've heard suggested for seeing if baby shrimp would survive is buying a bag of live brine shrimp. If the fish don't eat the brine shrimp then the baby ghost shrimp should be ok. Of course if they don't eat them you would have a tank full of brine shrimp so i'm not really sure how good an idea it really is!