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Breeding Cherry Shrimp


Tyler345

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Hi, 

I am new to this forum so apologies if I  have put this thread in the wrong section. 

I've been keeping fish/shrimp for years (Mainly Amano). Recently I decided I wanted to try and keep RCS and breed them. 

It's my first time trying to breed them, so I just was really looking for some tips and whether my set up is suitable or not. 

I have a 25L (5Gallon) tank, which is quite small. I have the water temperature around 26/27Degrees and have a Dennerle corner filter which I read was a fairly good filter for shrimp. (I appreciate that I may need a sponge filter instead). I have a carpet (looks like grass but cannot remember the name) with crypts growing in the back ground. I have 3/4 bits of woods that forms a sort of fortress which also has 2 types of wood hugging plants growing. I was using C02 and Fertilisers to get the plants to grow but stopped around a week before the shrimp were placed in. I have 10 cherry shrimps.

 

Anything that you think i'm doing wrong or think I should be doing, please feel free to tell me. How will I know when my shrimps are pregnant? 

 

Thank you, 

Tyler

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Hi Tyler

A couple of things with your setup. 

Drop the temp down to 21-22 C. Any filter is fine as long as the shrimpetes, that are tiny, do not get sucked up into it. CO2 is still ok to run but at a reduced rate, just watch to see if the shrimp are heading for the surface. They prefer a well O2 tank and that can be conflicting with CO2 as you get a lot gassing off if you have an air stone or heavy surface agitation. Ferts are ok in smaller doses but must have no to very low copper content.

Shrimp get saddled, where the eggs are inside of the shrimp and look like a horse saddle, mate and then transfer the eggs to under their tail, Berried. Depending on how transparent the shell is you may see the saddle. You will see the berried phase.

Good luck and happy shrimping.

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I'd add a couple things:

As long as you have a cycled tank, avoid swings in temperature and Ph, and there are no tankmates that eat them, cherry shrimp tend to breed well and aren't fussy. There are some things that might increase breeding success.

With CO2, one thing to watch is Ph swings - shrimplets have a higher die off rate when the Ph is unstable. Cherry shrimp are tough and will likely breed fine with CO2 but it's not the ideal for maximum breeding rate.

I'd disagree a bit on temps - cherry chrimp breed fine up to 27C in my experience, and 24-25C gave me the fastest breeding rate.

Shrimplets survive most when there's heaps of biofilm to graze on. A sponge filter would be great for the shrimplets to graze on! Subwassertang is great for biofilm and grazing purposes, especially for shrimplets. Soy hull (often called shrimp snow) also quickly grows biofilm.

When you notice the first shrimplets arrive, you can feed powdered food so it's small enough for them to eat. Just be careful not to overfeed.

Also check that the current is not super strong or that there are sheltered areas for the small shrimplets to rest in.

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3 hours ago, waffle said:

 

I'd disagree a bit on temps - cherry chrimp breed fine up to 27C in my experience, and 24-25C gave me the fastest breeding rate.

 

I agree with you @waffle that they can and do breed at higher temps. My thoughts run along the line of higher temps, faster metabolism, shorter life and greater stress put on the shrimp and shrimpets. For a home aquarium where you are just breeding for numbers to increase i prefer the lower temps. If you are after yield then 24-25 is good.

You and i both know how many shrimp are going to be in @Tyler345's tank in a few months time but when you first get into RCS you are really looking forward to that positive experience of the first batch hatching out. We dont need to rush it.

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Yeah I wouldn't keep them above 25C by choice for the exact reasons you mention, and the lower temps will defs be successful ☺️ I guess I'm used to stressing about whether the shrimp will get too hot (because of Brisbane summers) so 24-25C seems easier in my head and I've never thought the shrimp were stressed at that temp.

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I Agree with advice offered above but would add that in the many many years I have been breeding Neo's I have not found 24-25c to be stressful to them, in fact I find it to be less so (in Brisbane anyway) the swing from nighttime and daytime temps is less. I find the cost of a chiller ($300+) to be unnecessary.

Edited by Aquathumb
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Neo's are very adaptable as long as their water conditions are stable  -no big swings. For the last 3-4 years I have a very healthy , and large breeding colony of Neo's outside in a pond with no filtration or heaters etc only a solar fountain to move the water.. I have measured the water as high as 33c and as low as 8 but it may get hotter or colder. Because of the larger water capacity changes are slow . I think people tend to stress about numbers -ph, TDS etc -although we promote ideal conditions for our shrimp I have definitely found over the years that stability is the key -no big swings in temp, ph, etc and no sudden changes. My pond shrimp breed all year round but my pampered shrimp inside don't breed for a few months in winter .

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20 hours ago, Aquathumb said:

 I have not found 24-25c to be stressful to them.

Perhaps stressful was the wrong word for me to use. I was thinking more that with a faster metabolism they will be growing faster, molting more and breeding quicker so will just be generally busier. I'm pretty sure i read that the time difference between berried to hatch in cool water to warm was only a few days so there is not much in it although the cool water shrimpets were slightly larger.

As @ineke said RCS are pretty hardy and do well in a wide range if temps so just try to keep it stable.

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Hi guys,

 

Thank you for all of the help, I really appreciate it. I have a few updates. 

  • Purchased dual sponge filter, will place sponges in the tank for the next month or so to mature.
  • Purchased Almond Leaves 
  • Dropped the temp slowly to 26 Degrees C 
  • PH Has been 6.0 consistently for a number of days (Is there any way I can increase it to 6.5?)
  • Ordered some Bacter AE to start introducing on it's arrival. 
  • Decided to purchase a bigger tank so I can add moss balls and some better plants (Undecided on the best way to switch the tanks around)
  • Removed any C02 or Fert for the tank - I'm not going to try and carpet it, instead finder some bushier plants for the tank. 

I think this is everything. Like you guys said, i'm so excited to actually see some baby shrimp! 

I forgot to mention that the shrimp are in a tank completely on their own but once the population starts to increase, they will slowly start being introduced to my larger tank.

 

Thanks guys!

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