Why aren't my shrimps multiplying?

[nova]

i'm getting around 50+ babies every week in my breeding tank

[shrimpy4]

Mystery solved I think!

Did a bunch of water quality testing to make sure my pH and calcium levels were alright; added a bit of alkalinity buffer since that was low but I don't think that was the cause for lack of eggs.

Then I remembered in my old bowl that I only fed my hermit once every two weeks or so. Partly because it would always cause a lot of frantic scrambles in the bowl to get at the food pellet, and often shrimp that were berried would lose a few. In the tank I had been feeding him every 3 days or so (because he's eaten all the snails I think, i haven't seen one in months). So I haven't fed my hermit in a couple of weeks and sure enough:

Finally!

So the shrimp really seem to prefer no disturbances in the environment. Definitely won't feed the hermit again until these guys hatch, he's supposed to be an algae scavenger anyway so hopefully he'll be alright.

[i<3Opae]

i'm getting around 50+ babies every week in my breeding tank

Excuse me?

Mystery solved I think!

So the shrimp really seem to prefer no disturbances in the environment.

Congrats shrimp4! Hope your hermit crab will be okay too.

[i<3Opae]

I just thought of something before I get rid of the filter...since my tank was cycled initially with the sponge filter, the sponge and filter media have bacteria colony necessary for the water. If I take out the sponge filter all together, will that mess with the water parameter? Or would the remaining bacteria in the tank be sufficient? I guess I could monitor it closely, but was wondering if anyone could share some tips?

Also, don't know if this matters...after my tank was established, I've only observed brownish algae on the tank wall...never green algae on the rocks, coral, drift wood, or substrate.

Thank you!!

[Varanus]

With other creatures the removal of a filter could indeed have a disastrous effect on the bacteria's ability to process waste. However, the supershrimp have such a small bioload that its my understanding the bacteria found in the substrate, water, and decor will be more than sufficient.

As for the algae, I don't think its anything to worry about. My tank has never grown much visible algae at all but the shrimp and snails clearly still have enough biofilm to get by between feedings. A lot of biofilm is invisible to the naked eye.

You may also want to remove the driftwood, I haven't heard of wood providing any benefit to supershrimp.

[i<3Opae]

Thanks a lot Varanus! That makes it much easier to remove the filter. I was actually considering removing the drift wood too...hearing your suggestion on it too seals the deal.

[i<3Opae]

Some update and more questions (sorry!): now I fully get why no filter is superior, I am committed to ditching it. However, after attempt #1, I'm not too sure if this is normal -

Before taking out the sponge intake tube on the filter, I used a fish net around it so nothing can fall back into the water. The fish net def had junk in it but the sponge itself was way dirtier. I rinsed and squeezed for maybe 7, 8 times and water was still coming out brown (I have driftwood) and full of tiny pellet-looking debris which I supposed was shrimp doodoo.

Then I took the driftwood pieces out of the tank for good. But at this point, my tank water and substrate was disturbed so much that there were tons of tiny junk floating in the tank. There was even a cloud rising out of the substrate wherever I touched it. So...I put the filter back in after cleaning it.

Will the visible gunk settle eventually? Does everyone's tank have that much cloudy debris? Will I ever be able to ditch the filter?

[Varanus]

There's nothing wrong with using a filter to clear up cloudy water, but once it is clear you shouldn't need it any more. The substrate may indeed have a fair amount of debris hidden within it, but most of it won't be visible nor will it cloud the water (and it provides something for the snails to eat as they burrow around).

Maybe you could take some pictures so we can see just what sort of mess you're seeing?

[i<3Opae]

Will do. Next time when I rinse the sponge off I'll snap some pics.

[Varanus]

Also, its my understanding that the "brown cloud" that comes out of such sponges isn't necessarily waste but instead a lot of it is made up of vast colonies of bacteria feeding on the waste.

[i<3Opae]

Some updates!

After removing the filter (along with a lot of other activities), my tank’s condition stablized. And I got my first berried shrimp!!!

Thanks to everyone who helped me on this topic!

[i<3Opae]

Here are some pictures.

[i<3Opae]

I have larvae! All eight of them hatched I don’t have a good pic of the larvae but they are easy to spot in the tank, most of them like to hang together towards the light source. Very cute!

Question: how do larvae mature, do they molt like adults do?

[SuperProofer]

Congrats!

[i<3Opae]

Most of the recently hatched larvae have graduated from swim program. They are able to swim freely and perch on surfaces. Their newly developed swimlets are visible and it’s fascinating to watch them especially when they are crossing paths with an adult. I’m not sure if they started feeding on algae but they behave more like adults now.