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New Shrimp, Any Females?


DreamBlueVelvet

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Hello I have recently purchased 7 Dream Blue Velvet Shrimp. The source where I have received them claims they send young adults and that they should be ready to breed. I’ve been trying to find out if there are any females but they all look the same besides some size differences and some not as saturated in color as others. I’m not sure if they are all males, or maybe they are too young to identify their sex or if I’m not experienced enough to tell the difference. Any input will be appreciated, thank you.

 

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Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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Those all look like males to me if they are fully formed and not still too young? They should be at breeding age about 3 months old, about 1cm. They have nice colouring?

Simon

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Yeah that’s what I thought, I took out a flash light last night to see if I could see any saddles. Does this look like a saddle, it has a yellow hue?

B1CED93D-3F9B-4ADE-BCFD-C28C4A6FADB9.jpeg

 

Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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You may be clutching at straws, but who hasn't in this hobby at some point, i've done it more times than I could count. It's possible  but it may just be the light reflection. I really hope it is as you could soon (a month) have a tank full of babies?

Have you seen this useful video, it may give you more hints;

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/forums/topic/14104-telling-male-from-female-shrimp/

Simon

 

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I’ve actually watched that video, I’ve done a lot of research and the only thing I have noticed was different sized antennas until I pulled out my flash light. I took some better photos, 5/7 shrimp do not have any yellow behind their heads but 2 of them do. Are these photos more clear to tell the difference if they are actually saddles?

 

 

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Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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I can see what you are saying, it maybe that it is just too young to have the fully formed shell shape of a female as the shell shape looks more males, and the eggs may be at a very early stage? Fingers crossed that in a few days it may be a bit clearer to tell? Keep us updated on the progress.

Simon

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I can’t tell if they’re male or female, I believe they’re just too young to tell. Most suppliers do their best to give you a mix if they can tell. Those first 2 photos of the ‘saddle’ don’t actually look like a saddle to me, it’s usually higher up the neck. Which is a bit worrying if I’m right, but usually I’m not ?.

I think you might just need to leave them for a few weeks to see. Good luck!

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I managed to get a little better photo, what do you guys think? = )

I’ll try to get better pictures in the future, I have been using my iPhone 6s plus 

 

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Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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Hrmm maybe... Really can't tell though. Does look like it a bit. Are you asking so you can get more, or just out of curiosity? 

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Well I want to start a colony and don’t want to buy more, at first I thought I had all 7/7 males, after noticing 2 shrimp’s with the yellow inside their bodies I now think maybe I have 2 females but I could be mistaken. IMO if they are not saddles than what would the yellow inside their bodies be, right?

 

if they are all males then I would have to purchase more ?

Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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Well it could be a bacterial infection or a parasite if they weren’t actually saddles, but I absolutely doubt it’s that. It’s either a saddle or they just have a lighter pigment to that part of their body and it’s their internal organs, which are found there. And mature females don’t necessarily always have a saddle. The saddle is just unfertilised eggs that they are holding. These may be not yet mature shrimp, or just females who haven’t made a saddle because they have been in the stress of shipping, probably from one source to another then to you, over the past week or something. 
I personally haven’t ever kept neos but they are meant to have yellowish internal organs I think, unlike my Tangerine Tiger shrimp, who are caridina and have brown/black organs.

As you said, they aren’t the most clear photos (although you’ve given your best shot, which is appreciated!), but it could be either. It’s not easy to tell, so maybe just wait a couple of weeks to see, and if there aren’t any saddles or berried females then you could reconsider buying more. They’re pretty expensive shrimp so I don’t think you should rush into buying more just because yours are too young to tell their sex.

Edited by Crabby
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Okay thanks, I’ll keep you guys posted. I will try to get better photos with my dslr in the meantime

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The two with yellow ... they look like saddles, so they are possibly females. As Crabby said, those are eggs that are not ready for fertilisation yet. 

Side photo shots are better than top-down shots for identifying sexes.

It's just a matter of waiting now. Feed the shrimp well, make sure they get proteins in their diet, along with the usual foods you feed to prep them for mating. What protein rich food to feed? I hear you ask. Frozen bloodworms from your local fish shop. Make sure the females get them especially. 

 

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8 minutes ago, jayc said:

What protein rich food to feed? I hear you ask. Frozen bloodworms

Well this has brought up a question from me - how do you make sure your shrimp get to them if there’s fish in the tank? Do you over feed? Or intentionally feed into heavily planted areas where it’ll get stuck??

On that note - @DreamBlueVelvet are those the only livestock in the tank?

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9 minutes ago, Crabby said:

Well this has brought up a question from me - how do you make sure your shrimp get to them

I have tweezers for tending my aquatic plants. 

That's what I use to get the bloodworm right to the shrimp.

Over feeding bloodworms is probably not good.

Stainless Steel Curved Aquarium Tweezers Aquarium Plant ...

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I would go with, if it is yellow (can't see that in the photos) it is most likely eggs, and as JayC says, they are probably at a very early stage and the yellow patch will probably then get bigger and look more like a 'SADDLE' shortly, just be patient and keep an eye for now! I don't think it necessary to get any more at this point?

You may need to start thinking ahead now though. What fish (and how many) do you have in this tank as almost all fish will eat the baby shrimps as they are so small. They will need plenty of cover like moss (I see you have some?) to hide in when young!

Maybe you could post a photo of the full tank and we may be able to prevent/limit as many problems as possible at this early stage, before you get babies? Anything else, tank size, water parameters, maintenance regime etc will be helpful as well. Do you use any additives or leaves etc?

Simon 

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29 gallon tall, light is 4800 lumens, 40 watt, 80 LEDs, 64x 6500K 16x Actinic

  • Lumen: 4800
  • LEDs: 80x 0.50 watt
  • Config: 64x 6500K, 16x Actinic

TDS 197

KH 6

GH 7

PH 7.8

Temp around 72-74

nitrate 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 0

I mineralized top soil originating from North West Florida because I was origannlly going to do a welstad method tank, maybe 1.5-2 inches deep. With 2.5 inch 3mm-4mm substrate.

Most of the plants are Florida native plants I found in a pond near my house, except for the Java fern, Marino ball, Frogbit, and I just received my shipment of Java moss yesterday. And the driftwood I found behind my house about 15 years ago that I have used in aquariums before so not too much tannins leak out anymore.

I put on a cleaning green pad over the filter so the babies don’t get sucked up, I think it is fine enough to keep them safe.

I will be doing an only Dream Blue Velvet shrimp tank to try to start a colony and will most likely get a smaller tank(not sure if a 5 gallon or a 10 gallon) so I can cull the odd ones and create a better dark blue line of shrimp. If I do get a second tank for the culled shrimp would I keep it as a glass bottom.

For the maintenance I will be checking TDS and when it starts to creep up then I will do a 10% water change with reverse osmosis water, the nitrates have been getting eaten up by all my plants. 
 

The shrimps have been eating a lot of biofilm off of the plants, I keep an eye on their digestive tract and it seems most of the time completely full from plant matter. Yesterday I steamed some carrot and lettuce but only one shrimp went on the carrot for only two minutes. I also have some color flakes that I drop in from time to time.

 

 

Thanks for the support guys

 

 

image.jpg

Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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That is a very nice setup you have and the parameters look perfect (KH is a bit high but if it works as it is, stability is probably more important/safer, so I would leave that unless you encounter problems), thanks for the photo! I like the fact you have gathered bits from locally as well. It may look a bit empty now but as soon as they start having babies numbers can rocket very quickly! The babies will like the extra moss you got yesterday, they are so tiny when first born that you may not even be able to see them, sometimes it takes a few weeks before they are large enough and coloured enough to be seen but even then they are tiny still so you will still have difficulty seeing them. The babies also don't move far from the point they are born to start with!

I thought you mentioned fish, but my mistake?

Dried leaves (oak/Indian almond etc) are a great thing for shrimp as it gives more area for biofilm to grow on and have other benefits as well. If you are going to collect them yourself be sure they aren't contaminated with either pollution (roadside) or pesticides etc!

Regarding a cull tank, it depends what you want from it really. If you just want somewhere temporary to keep the shrimp until you pass/sell them on to someone else then it makes sense to keep them in a clear bottomed tank (easier to catch and see the shrimp etc), but if you are planning to let them just live out their life in the cull tank then it would be more natural and pleasant if there is a proper more scaped tank for them?

You probably don't need to feed the small number (7) of shrimps you have at the moment as there should be plenty of biofilm in your large tank!

Look forward to hearing how it all goes, and fingers crossed you have got some females that start your breeding colony.

Simon

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Ok thanks! Regarding the Java Moss, I formed them into balls using fishing string. Is that fine or would the shrimp prefer it to be spread out? Also not sure if the moss would rot on the inside.

 

thanks

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I don't think the shrimp will be too bothered with what you do with the moss and without any predators like fish the shrimp don't need to hide. Some people tie (or glue) it to driftwood/rock or to a mesh pad to make a sort of carpet etc. If it likes the water though it will flourish and whatever you do it will take regular maintaining to keep it in check? Using an aquarium safe superglue is by far the easiest and quickest way of attaching it, probably a dearer option though!

Simon

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Ok thanks


@jayc how often and how many bloodworms should I feed my 7 shrimp? Also how long would you think it would take for the eggs to be ready to be fertilized?

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Sorry to butt in as you asked JayC, we are in different time zones...... Also JayC is the kh of 6 likely to cause any problems which DreamBlueVelvet should keep an eye out for and symptoms etc, or any action they should take?

The breeding cycle is about a month I believe and you usually get about 30 eggs! If these shrimps are still juvenile there may not be a male capable of fertilising the eggs at this point, though as they are the same age (assumed) you would have to be quite unlucky, just bare it in mind!

Simon

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My biggest shrimp is a male and he is way over 1 inch(2.5cm) I’m pretty sure my male is ready ☺️

I also purchased bloodworms today, the female was on the bloodworm for about 15 seconds then she left it alone and continued foraging on my substrate. Is that normal or is it bad quality bloodworms? I’ll post a pic of the brand I’ve purchased 

 

 

Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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6 hours ago, DreamBlueVelvet said:

how often and how many bloodworms should I feed my 7

Not much at all. One worm each should be enough. Feed twice a week.

 

4 hours ago, sdlTBfanUK said:

JayC is the kh of 6 likely to cause any problems

KH 6 is high for cherries, and it reflects in the high pH. Try to work towards getting this down.

 

1 hour ago, DreamBlueVelvet said:

the female was on the bloodworm for about 15 seconds then she left it alone and continued foraging on my substrate. Is that normal

That's normal when there is plenty of biofilm and new food so Dee introduced. Just keep at it. Make sure you thaw the worm in tank water before feeding.

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50 minutes ago, jayc said:

KH 6 is high for cherries, and it reflects in the high pH. Try to work towards getting this down.

What is a good way to lower KH?

Would you recommend any products to buffer reverse osmosis water to get my desired KH and GH levels? And what would be an easy way to get my correct TDS? Also based off of my KH and GH I should have the correct PH right? 
 

Basically it’s hard for me to understand how to get TDS, PH, GH, KH all perfect. Which do I work on first or what is your process/products?

Edited by DreamBlueVelvet
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