What is the best temperature for breeding shrimp?

[Shr1mpie]

Hi, I am want to get into shrimp breeding. And I was wondering what the best water temperature is for breeding Red Cherry Shrimp. I heard that the best was 27 degrees Celsius (81 degrees Fahrenheit). But I also heard it that the best was 22 degrees Celsius (72 degrees Fahrenheit).

If anyone could help me out with this, that would be great!

[Madmerv]

Hi @Shr1mpie.

Shrimp prefer a cooler temp of around 21-22C. They grow slower and breed a little less at those temps but live longer  and stay healthier.

[Shr1mpie]

Would I be able to have the temperature a little higher for let's say a week, just to get the breeding going then lower it back down? Or will that not make much of a difference?

Also, how much do shrimp breed in temperatures from 21-22? For example, if I had 10 Cherry Shrimp, and the water was 21-22 degrees C, would the shrimp breed 2 times a week, or 5 times a week, or is it more like, every so often the breed, for example breeding every 2 months. Because I want to have enough fri to survive and sell, but I also want them to be healthy and live long at the same time.

thanks -Shr1mpie

@Madmerv

Edited March 13, 2017 by Shr1mpie

[Madmerv]

Ok i see a language problem here. For the best health of the shrimp they should be kept in the lower range of temp.

The females will become "saddled" when they are sexually mature and healthy enough to carry eggs. Being saddled means they will have the eggs inside their body and if the shell is slightly transparent you will be able to see them looking like a horses saddle (on the inside of the shrimp). When the females are ready they will mate with a male shrimp. This happens only once and only when the female is ready. Once that happens the female will lay the eggs, transfer the fertilized eggs to the outside of her body, and carry them under her tail section. This is called "Berried". There will be no more breeding until the eggs have hatched and the female is saddled again.

RCS breed easily and you will find that the population will increase faster than you can cope with once they have settled into your tanks. 1 female can give birth to between 20 and 200 babies, 3-4 times a year and the babies will become mature enough to breed in about 4 months. Not all of the shrimpets will be of a high quality so some will have to be removed from the tank. This is called culling. The cull shrimp should not be sold on as they are of a lower quality. If you leave a low quality shrimp in the tank then it will breed with the others and lower the quality of the next generation and will give you even more shrimp to cull. Even leaving 1 low quality male in the tank can cause you to have hundreds of low quality shrimpets hatched in the next generation because it can breed with many females. Not what you want.

Keep the shrimp healthy and let the breeding happen at a normal rate. Remove the lower quality shrimp before they are sexually mature so your tank stays of a high quality and then sell what extras you have.

[Shr1mpie]

@Madmerv Thanks! That really helped, I knew most of what you were saying as I have done my research, but I didn't know how many eggs one female could give birth to. And I guess what I was trying to say earlier was, how long does it take for a saddled female to begin breeding/having eggs.

also can I just confirm that if you have dark gravel/substrate in your tank, the shrimp will have more solid colours and look better? Because I read that in a couple places too.

[Zoidburg]

Better colored shrimp will have better coloration than lower grades, regardless of color of the substrate.

Generally speaking, females will have 12-30 eggs. It takes approximately 3-4 weeks for the eggs to hatch.

You might be able to encourage breeding by feeding a high protein diet (too much protein isn't good!), such as frozen blood worms or brine shrimp, or having a sudden temperature drop in the tank (but not too drastic!) via a partial water change. Care needs to be taken though, as it is possible to cause a berried female to molt, which means she'll shed her eggs with the molt.

Females mate shortly after molting. Males will mate with any available female that's willing.

[Shr1mpie]

@Zoidburg Thanks! I love this website, all the people here are so great at answering any of my questions :)

[Madmerv]

7 hours ago, Zoidburg said:

Generally speaking, females will have 12-30 eggs.

Is that a fact or a guess?

I have had females with a stack of tiny eggs so obviously have not counted them but i'm sure 30 would be on the conservative side. Not saying this is wrong but just trying to get a confirmation of numbers.

Cheers

[Shr1mpie]

@Madmerv @Zoidburg Also, what is the best way to stop fri from going up the filter? As it's my first time, I don't have any fancy filters, so I was thinking, if I got a net anencephaly tied it round the intake of the filter. But it would have to be a very fine net as the shrimp fri are very very small.

[Madmerv]

You have a bunch of options for this. A fine net or even pantihose are an option. I tried that and found that the fine holes get clogged very quick causing the filter to not operate correctly. There are various commercial filter guards that range from fine mesh stainless steel to foam. You can get them fro the LFS or online.

A DIY option is getting 1cm thick foam and cutting it to size so that it wraps around the filter intake. Again you are adding a mechanical filter to the intake so any larger particles will get caught in it and clog it up pretty fast. This just requires you removing it during WC and giving it a good squeeze out, at least weekly. The foam can be sown together with thread or joined with plastic cable ties like i did. 

Another option, and least desirable for breeders, is to leave the intake open. Clean the filter monthly in a bucket and retrieve the shrimpetes from there to return to the tank. They will be big enough then to not get sucked up again.

[Zoidburg]

You could always install a sponge filter for several weeks, then take out the regular filter. Sponge filters run off of an air pump.

 

@Madmerv if we are only talking cherry shrimp, then I'd say that's about average. Older and larger females might be able to carry more eggs, but still less than 50, maybe even less than 40.

If we are talking other shrimp species... well, I've heard that amanos can carry anywhere from a few hundred to 4,000 eggs!

[Shr1mpie]

@Madmerv @Zoidburg Thanks! I will try some of the DIY options.

thanks for all the help! Also, do you have any suggestions as to what plants to keep in the tank?

@Madmerv @Zoidburg Oh! And, can I keep loaches with shrimp?

[Zoidburg]

Any low tech plants should be fine! Hornwort, mosses, "moss balls", ferns, pennywort, anubias, bruce, crypts, moneywort, pellia or subwassertang, rotala indica, frogbit, red root floaters....

 

Generally speaking, no on the loaches. Most fish can and will eat shrimp. That said, having kept a dojo loach and kuhli loaches (black and striped) with shrimp, I'd say that kuhli loaches are better with shrimp than dojo loaches. (from limited experience) The dojo loach just harrassed shrimp whenever he was nearby them vs the kuhli loaches mostly ignore the shrimp, even if they end up making one of the shrimps mad by stealing their food. I watched a shrimp "attack" the face of one of the kuhli loaches, and the loach didn't do a thing! (cherry shrimp was being protective over a piece of food... wasn't sharing!)

[jayc]

6 hours ago, Shr1mpie said:

keep loaches with shrimp?

A definite "No", if it is a clown loach.

[Shr1mpie]

@Zoidburg @jayc Thanks, what's your recommendation for the best fish to keep with shrimp?

[Zoidburg]

Otos are supposedly best (except maybe zebra otos?) since they do not eat shrimp at all. Various people have had success with various other fish, but it's all hit or miss and how well the tank is planted. Fish can stress shrimp out, which can result in lower breeding rates in shrimp.

[Shr1mpie]

@Zoidburg Okay thanks, do Yu maybe have any suggestions to other fish that aren't bottom feeders? 

[jayc]

6 hours ago, Shr1mpie said:

have any suggestions to other fish that aren't bottom feeders? 

I answered a similar question here ...