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| FAQs on Freshwater
Shrimp Reproduction Related
Articles: Freshwater Crustaceans, Invertebrates
for Freshwater Aquariums by Neale Monks,
Forget Crawfish Pie, Let's Make a
Crawfish Tank! By Gage Harford
Related FAQs: FW Shrimp 1,
FW Shrimp 2, & FAQs on:
FW Shrimp Identification,
FW Shrimp Behavior, FW
Shrimp Compatibility, FW Shrimp Selection,
FW Shrimp Systems, FW
Shrimp Feeding, FW Shrimp Disease,
& Shrimp by Family, Genus, Species: Atyids:
Genera Caridina & Neocaridina
(Japanese Marsh, Yamato Numa Ebi, or Amano Shrimp, Bumble/Bee, Crystal),
Genus Atyopsis (Bamboo, Wood Shrimps),
Genera Attya, Atya, Atyoida
(Mountain, Rock Shrimps), Freshwater/Brackish/Marine Palaemonidae
Rafinesque, 1815 & FAQs on: Palaemonetes
(Ghost/Grass/Glass Shrimp),
Macrobrachium (Blue "Lobsters), &
FW Crustaceans 1, FW
Crustaceans 2, FW Crustaceans 3,
FW Crustaceans 4,
&
& FAQs on: FW Crustacean
Identification,
FW Crustacean Behavior,
FW Crustacean Compatibility,
FW Crustacean Selection,
FW Crustacean Systems,
FW Crustacean Feeding,
FW Crustacean Disease,
FW Crustacean Reproduction &
Terrestrial
Hermit Crabs,
Hermit ID,
Hermit Behavior, Hermit
Compatibility, Hermit Selection,
Hermit Systems, Hermit Feeding,
Hermit Reproduction, Hermit
Disease/Health, &
Crayfish FAQs,
Crayfish 2,
Crayfish ID,
Crayfish Behavior,
Crayfish Compatibility,
Crayfish Selection,
Crayfish Systems,
Crayfish Feeding,
Crayfish Disease,
Crayfish Reproduction,
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Aquaculture of Malaysian prawns
8/6/08
Dear Bob,
Can you please tell me of a good book or website that gives details about
how to breed/raise Malaysian prawns?
Many thanks!
June
<Mmm, yes, I can. The works listed here:
http://www.miami-aquaculture.com/macrobra.htm
are about the most complete, up-to-date re culture of Macrobrachium. Bob
Fenner>
Thanks so much Bob! I really appreciate it!
Warm regards,
June
<Most welcome my friend. BobF>
2 questions. Glass shrimp repro., gold
barb comp. 7/13/08
Hi guys.
I noticed that my ghost/glass shrimp had eggs the other day!! I'm excited
about possibly having babies! Unfortunately I have not found a lot of info
on raising the fry. I have a 1gal tank with a bubble filter and some gravel
to isolate the moms and babies (my nursery!) I noticed tonight when I was
trying to catch the moms-to-be that there was a "bug" floating in my tank. I
fished him out and discovered to my delight that it was a shrimp fry!! So he
is now in my nursery. What can/do I need to feed the fry? I don't want to
starve them to death. I put some algae pellets and 1-2 fish flakes, is this
enough for the fry?
<The American Glass Shrimp is Palaemonetes paludosus, a species with a
planktonic larval stage (albeit quite a brief one). As such, it is virtually
impossible to breed in aquaria. The mother will carry the eggs for a period
of weeks, but once they hatch the fry float about in the water column
feeding on microscopic organisms including algae. Unless you are able to
both feed them and make sure they don't get sucked into the filter, the fry
will die. The Amazonian Glass Shrimp Palaemonetes sp. is similar. Only those
shrimps that produce fully-formed juveniles (such as Cherry Shrimps) are
breedable in aquaria -- and how! Cherry Shrimps will multiply almost as
quickly as snails under the right conditions.>
And one question not shrimp related.
I have one more too. I have a Gold barb in an 2.5 gallon tank because he
didn't play nice and killed 8 of my other fish.
<Did it have any tankmates of its own kind? Most Barbs tend to be aggressive
and/or nippy when kept in groups smaller than six, and though it sounds odd,
they become more peaceful the bigger the school. In any case, this tank is
far too small for what I am assuming is Puntius semifasciolatus.><<Likely
Puntius sachsii. RMF>>
I did a water change and went home for the weekend and came back to find him
in horrible shape. His fins were almost gone, and he had some red/bloody
patches on the front of his lip, and at the base of his tail. He was very
"twitchy."
<Surely poor water quality. In a tank this small, maintaining the essential
zero nitrite and zero ammonia at all times will be next to impossible given
the size/activity of this fish.>
I tested my water, and everything was normal, except for the water being
hard, the pH about 7.8, making it alkaline. I treated the water I researched
it and everything matched up with fin rot.
<Would agree.>
I got him some Melafix....
<Garbage; use something that actually works, e.g., eSHa 2000 (in Europe) or
Maracyn (in the US). Melafix appeals to some aquarists and retailers because
it is "homeopathic" and cheap. But it isn't tested either, and doesn't pass
anything like the standards required by proper veterinarian drugs.>
...and it seemed to start to work, and the twitchiness decreased. Today he
has some new open sores. He has a small in tank filter, 2 plastic plants and
a decoration to hide under. Could he be "scratching" against his hiding
spot? Or have I misdiagnosed him? He's not my favorite fish, but I don't
want him to die a slow painful death. I can send a pic of him.
<First of all, treat him appropriately. Then monitor water quality, and act
accordingly. He can't possibly live in a 2.5 gallon system, so moving him to
another tank is essential. If he is aggressive with your other fish, that's
likely because he's bored. Barbs are intensely social, and like humans,
become cranky and unpredictable when kept "in solitary". Consider six
specimens the minimum number, and ten or more the ideal.>
Thanks guys.
Michelle
<You're welcome, Neale.>
Amano Shrimp... soon to be everywhere 4/16/07
Hi Bob,
On 2/15/07 I had emailed you about a missing Amano shrimp in my 30 gallon
octagon tank. Well it was the baby so he/she always stays pretty hidden. But
three days ago I noticed that one of my amino shrimp is LOADED with eggs. If
it's not my sun corals giving me babies... or pupfish doing same... now it's my
amano shrimp. I'm thrilled and well nervous, too. The thought of ... how many
eggs does a female shrimp carry at once?
<Small shrimp species... hundreds>
... being hatched in my tank is somewhat alarming in terms of pollution.
<Mmm, most likely to be eaten... if not reared elsewhere>
Refresher, 6 danio, 4 neon tetras, 1 kuhli loach and 3 Cory... but in quarantine
for 3 weeks now I have 4 cardinal tetras and 2 kuhli loach which I will be
adding to this tank in the next couple days. It's not like I have a large tank
with a large fish load which can consume most of the small shrimp. I also
imagine with all the hiding places I set up for my kuhli loach, they also serve
well for the shrimp and I may have an abundance of small shrimp in this tank...
and the three I have now do leave quite a bit of detritus. I know some may get
sucked up in the filter. Should I just move my fish from 5 gallon quarantine
into the 30 gallon and try to catch the shrimp w/her eggs and move her into the
5 gallon quarantine tank?
<If you'd like... My fave piece on their breeding/rearing:
http://www.jayscustomcomputers.com/wilma/Articles/page1.html>
I'm just not sure what to expect. Also, how many days/weeks does it take for
the eggs to hatch.
<About a week>
I don't think it's been more than a week since I've noticed her with the
eggs. Because they're so messy I decided not to get any more shrimp but have
decided to get 1 or 2 SAEs...
<Good choice>
I guess my shrimp have other ideas. Also, they are slowly devouring my sword
plants. What are my options to feed them...
<The fish meal and Spirulina based wafers, pellets... and Spectrum brand...>
they're doing a great job of keeping the algae off of everything in my tank.
Thanks again,
Debra P.
<Bob Fenner>
Birth of baby shrimps 05/06/08
Hi,
My daughter is 7 years old and she is curious to know how are baby shrimps
born.
<Many different ways. Depends on the shrimps. Is this a school project or
simply out of curiosity. If the former, that's not something we're here to
help with. If the latter, the short answer is this: most shrimps produce
eggs that float away in the plankton. After a while the eggs hatch and the
"baby" shrimps pass through a series of larval stages until they become
miniature shrimps that settle down onto the substrate. Although the details
are different, the basic idea of a larval versus adult form is similar to
the way larval butterflies (caterpillars) are different to the adults. Some
shrimps, mostly freshwater ones, do not do this. The mother carries a few
large eggs under her swimmerets and protects them. When they hatch, the
newborn shrimps are perfect miniatures of the adults, and immediately walk
about the bottom just like their parents. If you get some Cherry Shrimps
from a pet store, they breed easily if kept well, and you can watch this at
home.>
Can you provide us the answer with pictures or video clip attached?
<No.>
Thanks,
Esther
<Cheers, Neale.>
Sexing ghost shrimp
I'm trying to breed ghost shrimp and I was wondering how to tell the
difference between a male and female ghost shrimp.
<Mmm, is this the ghost shrimp of the family Callianassidae? Or the Palaemonids
that are sold as food animals in the pet-fish trade? For the latter please see
here:
http://fish.orbust.net/ghostshrimp.html
Bob Fenner>
Furry Shrimp? - 09/10/2004
Hi all, I have a question for Sabrina, the shrimp-obsessed!
<Wayhay, thass me!>
Actually anyone will be just fine :) I have some Japonica shrimp in my 25G
freshwater tank. I have had them for about 4 months. Well I noticed that on one
of them the rear legs (all the small ones) have what looks like fur, thick,
fluffy stuff (for want of a better word) in between the legs. It's really hard
to describe.
<And hard to envision, from the description.... Is this "fur" on/among the
swimmerets/pleopods (the legs used for swimming, not walking), or on the walking
legs?>
It goes from the body of the shrimp down to the end of the legs and its thick!
It's not on the front legs just those small multiple rear ones.
<I don't suppose you could provide a photograph.... ?>
It looks like a thick algae growth or something.
<I *have* seen algal growths on the backs of very large shrimps, like fully
grown M. rosenbergii, when kept in a poorly-cared-for tank, but never, ever seen
C. japonicas with algae on 'em; I doubt that's what it is.>
It's the same color as the shrimp kind of beige-y color.
<I'm supposing what you're seeing is, in fact, a normal "hair" that grows on the
pleopods - not really true "hair" at all. Strikes me as though I've only seen
such "furriness" on larger japonicas.... I know my two biggest exhibit this, and
all my Atya and Atyopsis shrimp are so furry on their undersides they make
puppies look bald.>
Anyone have any idea what this could be?
<Though admittedly, I don't know what the hair is called off the top of my head
(ouch, bad pun), I do believe this is absolutely normal.... A pic would help
immensely.>
All my water param.s are good, NH3, NO2 zero, NO3 about 5ppm. My other fish and
shrimp are fine.
<Sounds good.>
I'm really mystified. I was hoping it was eggs but I found a picture of what a
shrimp with eggs looks like and they ain't eggs!
<You'll know eggs when you see 'em. But unless you're keeping your japonicas in
brackish water, no eggs from them will survive; the larvae would require quite a
bit of salt in the water to make it to adulthood. If you are interested in
breeding, though, there are a lot of species that will do so successfully in a
freshwater tank like yours!>
Thank you for your help and time as always.
<And thank you for your interest and kind words!>
Maggie
<Wishing you and your inverts well, -Sabrina>
FW shrimp cultivation
Dear Bob,
Can shrimps be cultivated in fresh waters - like farm dams where we raise
tilapia (breams) fish?
Best regards,
Chileshe Mutale
<Mmm, some species, yes... are polycultured thus. Bob Fenner>
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