Jump to content

Breeding Difficulties


Aiden123

Recommended Posts

Hi everyone

In September 2015 I was quite successful with breeding in my crystal bee and TB mixed tank and had quite a lot of berried shrimp and shrimplets. Unfortunately at the same time I had a planaria outbreak so I treated with No Planaria. I did lose a lot of shrimp with the treatment (mainly adults) and it took me a month or so to get things stable. Since the treatment, I have had no planaria and no more shrimp deaths, however there has been no signs of breeding since. I have had no berried shrimp let alone any shrimplets.

I do have quite a lot of adult shrimps now who were the survivors of the No Planaria treatment. I don't think there are any problems with regards to molting. I have not seen any shrimps struggling with molts and I have not had a dead shrimp in months. 

a>2016-03-17%2015.50.23_zpsxor9hzcd.jpg

Tank Details

45cm x 45cm custom made tank (approx 90 litre)

Borneowild Substrate

2 x 100 litre sponge filters

2 x Eheim air diffusers

Fluval E 200 heater

Boyu S2000 AIr Pump 

Java Moss, Java Fern, Flame Moss, Weeping Moss and some Lava Rock. 

Water Parameters

TDS: 170

GH: 6

KH 0.1

PH: <6.0 (my test kit only goes to 6 but I suspect that the PH is closer to 5. I base this on the fact that no snails, even pest snails, can survive in this tank)

Ammonia: 0ppm

Nitrite: 0ppm

Nitrate: 5ppm

2016-03-17%2015.22.29_zpshakuzl5g.jpgURL]

Feeding

I usually feed 5 or 6 times a week at once per day.

Feeding includes:

Glas Garten Bacter AE

Borneowild Multipara

Borneowild Spinach

Borneowild Barley

Tank Maintenaince

I tend to only do a small water change ever few months with dripping 1 litre of RO water per week to account for evaporation. I found that the less messing around I do with the water, the better. When I did weekly changes (5/6 litre), even with matching the water temp, tds, etc I always had a few deaths a day or so after. After a drip 1 litre of RO water in I put half a spoon of Borneowild Enlive in the tank.

There is  Borneowild Mineral Rock in the tank for mineral release and I also seeded the tank on set up with Borneowild minerax, bebe and enlive. There are also some Borneowild Bee Balls, Azoo Max Bio Balls, Indian Almond leaves and Alder cones in the tank. 

Anyone have any ideas why I there is no breeding?

If you need anymore info, please let me know.

Thanks in advance!

Edited by Aiden123
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Aiden123 said:

PH: <6.0 (my test kit only goes to 6

HI Aiden,

welcome to SKF.

in my experience, get a pH pen immediately.

Those API pH test kits are only reliable to get a range. 6.0 - 6.4 is a big gap.

But the bigger problem is not knowing if your pH is lower than 6 and by how much.

I did a low pH experiment with my CRS once, and they stopped breeding too. So get that pH checked immediately.

Then take measures to raise it sloooowwwwwwly. Never rush raising pH. Do it over a few days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi guys and sorry if im hijacking this thread but jayc what would be the best way to raise ph naturally and slowly as well I mean i know my soil (ada) is buffering it but i dont want to stir it up by sucking some out i also use cattappa leaves but dont want to take them out because of the antibacterial properties they give and i do have dw in there but would like to avoid taking that out as it has most of my moss on it. My ph is currently 6.2 but i would like it to be around 6.5 so i am accomadating both cherrys and crystals

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Ronskitz said:

My ph is currently 6.2 but i would like it to be around 6.5 so i am accomadating both cherrys and crystals

That's not much of a change.

So a small handful of coral chips in a sock/stocking at the top of your filter (or sump) would be the best way of doing it.

You will need to adjust the amount of coral depending on the size of your tank.

With such a small change 6.2 --> 6.5, you could even start dosing some Potassium carbonate to increase pH, and that has the added benefit of introducing a major mineral that is used by both plants and shrimp.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 minutes ago, Ronskitz said:

potassium carbonate available at LFS?

You would have better luck at Gardening stores, hydroponics stores or Homebrew stores.

A previous sponsor of SKF has it as well. 

@Dave has some on his website.

 

Fortunately, raising pH is a lot simpler than reducing pH.

You could also use BiCard Soda (not baking soda, there is a difference). But it adds no benefit like Potassium does. 

You could even mix a little tap water to RO water.

Edited by jayc
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I work at bunnings and i just searched the website and nothing came up but could it be under another name maybe?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Im an idiot lol my mrs just started work at u brew it so i should be sorted. Sorry to keep annoying you but if i get the brewers one what sort of doseage is enough or do i just need to add little by little and see how it goes? Aiden im sorry for my hostile takeover of this thread lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Ronskitz said:

Im an idiot lol my mrs just started work at u brew it 

?

Where is that face palm icon?

 

15 hours ago, Ronskitz said:

 if i get the brewers one what sort of doseage is enough or do i just need to add little by little and see how it goes? 

Yeah, no idea how much is necessary.  Add and test.

Just remember,  the substrate, leaves, etc will all fight to reduce pH. So it is not going to be a 'set one and forget' kinda thing. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lol tell me about it

Awesome thanks for gracing me with your knowledge once more [emoji106]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HOF Member

I know people stress about low ph but please do remember stability is more important than numbers. I have 13 tanks sitting at PH 5 and 5.5 per ph pen that is calibrated. Once my cherries adjusted to the lower ph they were breeding machines. Admittedly when first put into a low ph tank their breeding slowed but once they adjusted they bred very well. In one tank they overtook the other shrimp. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • HOF Member

@Aiden123 I wonder if your problem was actually ever caused by no planaria as it is extremely shrimp safe even at higher doses. Perhaps your problem coincided with the use but not because of the use of the no planaria.

if your soil is not depleted , all your water parameters are within normal range and most importantly you still have mixed sexes in your tank you could try to mimic nature to bring on breeding. An almost foolproof way to bring on breeding when your tank has stalled is to do some water changes with water that is slightly cooler than your tank water but not by much. The method is to do a 30% water change 3 times x 3 days apart. It seems to trigger a breeding response - I guess it mimics rain coming into the ponds and streams that shrimp are found in. It is not recommended to do this often and not if you have any berried girls as it will cause them to moult and they may lose their eggs. 

This method was recommended to us several years ago by the then owner of Boss Aquaria - Dean - as long as everything else in your tank is OK then this method usually gets the shrimp back into breeding. I have tried it a couple of times with good success. I did put the water in slightly faster than drip rate as you want them to feel the cool change and drip rate is a bit slow so you can speed it up just a bit as long as you make sure the WP's you are putting in are equal to what is in the tank so check all the parameters of the new water and apart from perhaps 1-2 degrees cooler it should match your tank.

i have used this method on Crystals, TB and cherries

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I did my water changes by pouring bucket in my 4ft. Always caused them to dance and have happy times lol

@jayc whats a good ph pen at reasonable price?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@OzShrimpPH pens are not difficult to buy and the brand is not important because it is constantly calibrated.  Get extra calibration solution and storage solution,  and any pH pen, even cheap ones,  will work well. 

Have a look at our sponsors.  They sell reasonable pH pens.

Calibration & storage solution can also be bought from them,  if you cannot find it send me a pm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Good luck Oz hope you figure it out soon keep us posted please.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, revolutionhope said:

Good luck Oz hope you figure it out soon keep us posted please.

I am confused lol, what am i figuring out ? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am confused lol, what am i figuring out ? 

Oh you know, meaning of life

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Join Our Community!

    Register today, ask questions and share your shrimp and fish tank experiences with us!

  • Must Read SKF Articles

  • Posts

    • beanbag
      Update to say that after a few gravel vacs, front wall scrub, moss / floating plant trim, that the condition seems to have improved.  My current theory is that it is due to waste / debris management, where "stuff" like that brown mulm accumulates in the substrate and behind the HMF filters.  Maybe some tanks can somehow deal with it, but mine can't.  Also another experienced shrimper suggested that maybe those "shell bugs" don't just live on the shrimps but also in this debris.  Maybe this is the reason some tanks fail due to "old tank syndrome" where all they need is a good gravel vac? Also, I am guessing that plant trim helps too because now more of the nutrients and light go into growing algae instead of more plants? Well anyway for this tank I will try weekly water change and monthly gravel vac / plant trim.  For my next tank, I'm thinking of something like an under-gravel system where this mulm can fall down and I vac it out.
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Good to have an update and good to hear you are getting shrimplets, so hopefully your colony will continue and you may not get to the point where you have to cull some to stop over population. These type of shrimp only live 12 - 18 months so the adult deaths may be natural? If you have the time I would do weekly 25% water changes, adding the new water via a drip system and do some vacuuming clean of the substrate each week, even if only a different bit each week! See if that helps in a few months and if it does then stick with that regime? It should help reduce any build-ups that may be occuring!
    • beanbag
      Hello again, much belated update: The tank still has "cycles" of 1-2 month "good streaks" where everybody seems to be doing well, and then a bad streak where the short antenna problem shows up again, and a shrimp dies once every few days.  I am not sure what causes things to go bad, but usually over the course of a few days I will start to see more shrimp quietly standing on the HMF filter, and so I know something is wrong.  Since I am not "doing anything" besides the regular 1-2 week water changes, I just assume that something bad is building up.  Here's a list of things that I've tried that are supposed to be "can't hurt" but didn't prevent the problem either: Dose every other day with Shrimp Fit (very small dose, and the shrimp seem to like it) Sotching Oxydator Seachem Purigen to keep the nitrates lower Keeping the pH below 5.5 with peat Things that I don't do often, so could possibly "reset" the tank back to a good streak, are gravel vac and plant trim, so maybe time to try those again. One other problem I used to have was that sometimes a shrimp would suddenly stop eating with a full or partially full digestive tract that doesn't clear out, and then the shrimp will die within a few days.  I suspected it was one of the foods in my rotation - Shrimp Nature Infection, which contains a bunch of herbal plant things.  I've had this in my food rotation for a few years now and generally didn't seem to cause problems, but I removed it from the rotation anyway.  I don't have a lot of adult Golden Bees at this point so I can't really tell if it worked or not. Overall the tank is not too bad - during the good streaks occasionally a shrimp will get berried and hatch babies with a 33-50% survival rate.  So while there are fewer adults now, there are also a bunch of babies roaming around.  I guess this tank will stagger on, but I really do need to take the time to start up a new tank.  (or figure out the problem)
    • jayc
      If that is the offspring, then the parents are unlikely to be PRL. I tend to agree with you. There are very few PRLs in Australia. And any that claim to be needs to show proof. PRL genes have to start as PRL. CRS that breed true after x generations doesn't turn it into a PRL. Neither can a Taiwan bee shrimp turn into a PRL despite how ever many generations. I've never seen a PRL with that sort of red colour. I have on Red Wines and Red Shadows - Taiwan bee shrimps. So somewhere down the line one of your shrimp might have been mixed with Taiwan bees and is no longer PRL. It just tanks one shrimp to mess up the genes of a whole colony. 
    • sdlTBfanUK
      Sorry, missed this one somehow! The PRL look fantastic and the odd ones look part PRL and part Red wine/Red shadow in the colour. They are still very beautiful but ideally should be seperated to help keep the PRL clean if you can do that.  Nice clear photos!
×
×
  • Create New...