Setting up a small breeding tank

[fishbone]

I've done some research [and will continue to do so] but I want to run what I have so far by you guys and ask for some advice. Basically, I have 10 ghost shrimp living hapily in a 10 gallon heavily planted tank with 6 neon tetras. This is the 4th time that my females are carying eggs but no larvae survived, as you can imagine. Therefore, I want to set-up another tank to raise the fry. Can you offer some insight for this secondary set-up? My plan is to put the females in it as soon as I see them with eggs and raise the babies in it.
-5.5 gallon tank filled with 2.5 - 3 gallons
-Hagen Elite Mini pump [is this one OK?]
-50w heater for a steady 77*F [I know, BIG heater, only one I have tho]
-gravel substrate
-fake plants or some real java moss, but it may become problematic since I don't have adequate lighting for the tank
-regular 8w under-desk fluorescent light

Here's some questions.
Lighting: should I skip it altogether? I'm concerned about the java moss though, although a low-light plant, not sure if it's going to like the new environment. Right next to the tank there's an alarm clock that gives off a cool, dim, blue color, the same you'd get from a nocturnal light. Good idea, or should I just turn it off at night?

The eggs that the females are carying are not clear, they are a deep green with a dark spot. Does this mean they are not fertilized?
How should I go about moving the females? Do I move them right away or do I move them with males together and hope they will get fertilized? I know that females have to be comfy in their new home otherwise they will not release the eggs.

Filtration
I was told that the Elite Mini might be too strong and kill the fry even on the lowest setting. I was told by a friend that has bred ghosties in the past that I should skip filtration altogether for the week before the eggs are going to be released and the week after. I'm concerned however about water quality if I do this.

Feeding
I have natural plankton that I feed to my fan shrimp and the ghosties also love it, they go crazy when they sense it in the water column. It's like a very fine powder. I also have some Hikari First Bites. Would these do?


Any other advice?

[fishbone]

Oops, I read over my post and I need to clarify a couple of things.
The plankton I'm talking about is in fact dry phytoplankton comercially available from Two Little Fishies. Should I just drop it in the tank [reasonable amounts of course] and let it float at first and then sink by itself, or should I dillute it in water?
The alarm clock I was talking about ... I was actually wondering if there's a need for nocturnal lighting at all. I do have one on my 10g tank for some very subdued night lighting.
I'd also like to add that I do have an air pump that I could use should I really have to turn off the filter, if that makes a difference. And yes, I am dilligent with my 25-30% weekly PWCs.

Here is my Picasa album of the 10 gallon I'm talking about. There are a few close-ups of the glass shrimp, hopefully they will be good enough to ID the species.

http://picasaweb.google.com/fishbon3/10GallonFreshwater

[badflash]

Use a sponge filter. Establish the tank so there are lots of copepods. Don't feed until after the shrimp morph, then VERY little.

Light normally.

Look at the shrimp varieties page.
http://www.petshrimp.com/glassshrimp.html

Don't be fooled by the coloring in the pictures. Most don't look like that. If yours are the common "feeders" found in many LFS that is what they are.

[thief]

I have had 2 batches of ghost shrimp so far but they ended up dying later on. I kept my adult females in it normal tank for about a month. then when I see the eyes in the eggs and the color change from pea green, to a darker green I then put the shrimp in one of those containers that the pet stores have which hanges off the side. Also I had copepods in there which reallly helped the shrimp. I had hornwort and some java moss in it. My shrimp thrived in it for about 2-3 mounths with no problems but then I added some baby snails and all my baby about 2-5mm died in the molting process.

Just so you know I had no filter and no bubbler, or heater( heat was provided by my 55 gallon tank.

I would try and get more respondes though because I am still not sure about when to move the berried females into a tank right away or later on.
Good luck.

[sstimac]

I have yet to separate my ghost shrimp when the females get berried up. Most of them do not survive. I have had several survive, they are still alive and eating after several months.

There are several different species of shrimp found at LPS that are called ghost shrimp. As a matter of fact, the last order of ghost shrimp that I got in the store had three different species mixed together. All of them were Palaemonetes, I believe.

I have seen eggs of two colors green and clearish-white. I have not successfully reared any of the clearish-white ones. I have reared some of the green one's though. I am still trying to pinpoint exactly what species I am receiving in my shipments, but there are tons of documents with very few pictures and I do not have a microscope.

I would recommend what has already been recommended. Sponge filter with very little movement. Toss in an older gob of Java Moss with some pods and let them go. I believe mine have been dying due to the current in my planted tank coupled with a bit of predation on the discus' part, although they can't get at certain places in the tank.

[fishbone]

Sounds good, I'll go ahead and separate the pregnant females. Hope I won't manage to kill my java moss due to inadequate lighting I was told that even if the filter intake doesn't kill the fry, water movement will. Really, NO water movement whatsoever?

[Neonshrimp]

Hi fishbone,

As long as the java moss get any light they will survive. They will just have slower growth in less light.