A year later and no babies.

[ssdarling]

I’ve had my tank for about a year. Great algae growth and have not given supplemental feeding in months. Everyone appears to be happy and healthy. In all that time though, I’ve seen one berried shrimp and she dropped all of her eggs in a couple of days. Why aren’t my guys breeding?

Salinity 1.011
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0
pH 8.4

[Varanus]

How many shrimp do you have? You might just have mostly males and a lack of mature females. But tough it out long enough and they should start breeding. You could also try buying more shrimp to diversify the group a bit.

From what I've heard, the females are also only receptive for a short time after molting. You may recognize such times when you see shrimp being chased around for extended periods, these are usually males who can smell a receptive female and are trying to reach her. Have you seen any such behaviors?

[ssdarling]

Not really. Like I said, I only ever saw one berried shrimp. I have seen 3 different ones with saddles, but they just disappear and never produce eggs. I have 7 total. I’ve just ordered 13 more to make it an even 20. 2.5 gallon tank.

[Opaela]

Sometimes some male shrimp is just not interested in reproducing. I fed my shrimp once in a couple of weeks and they finish the food in a about 2-3 hours. They reproduce rapidly. Ordered more and wait for a couple of months and see how things go.

[Dch48]

Nitrates should not be at 0. There should be at least a little to feed the algae and keep it growing. If your algae growth is constant then you have a perfectly balanced system which is rare.

[Dch48]

I have 8 shrimp from Mustafa (he sent 10 but a couple were lost in transfer). I just ordered 6+ more from another source because I figured mixing in some new blood can only be a good thing. Hopefully they will breed.

[Vorteil]

While new blood has great intentions only opae ula from the same island & genes can breed together. You should stick with what Mustafa has and purchase back from him. This means opae from Maui can only breed with ones from Maui, Big Island with Big Island and so on.

[mike.d]

I went 16 months before I saw larvae. See this topic: https://www.petshrimp.com/discussions/v ... 14&p=43800

I assumed it was the flashing blue lights from my cable modem at night. I started covering the modem with a piece of cardboard at night and I got babies soon afterwards.

I don't know if it's related and, as Mustafa pointed out, my tank does have a lot of hiding places. Something to try depending on your situation.

[Dch48]

While new blood has great intentions only opae ula from the same island & genes can breed together. You should stick with what Mustafa has and purchase back from him. This means opae from Maui can only breed with ones from Maui, Big Island with Big Island and so on.

Interesting, well maybe I'll have 2 strains then.

[ssdarling]

Nitrates should not be at 0. There should be at least a little to feed the algae and keep it growing. If your algae growth is constant then you have a perfectly balanced system which is rare.

The tank has been established for a year. The algae growth was slow but constant, until I moved the tank near a window. Now the growth is exploding.

I also notice that they are more often white than they are red. Could they be deficient in something?

[i<3Opae]

Could you please tell us what substrate and decor you have? Do you have drift wood in there?

[Opaela]

Get more rocks, volcanic or limestone. Mine is volcanic. Hiding places are a must for breeding.

[JasonG3333]

Yes, the shrimp seem to enjoy hiding places, possibly for breeding, but also possibly for simply getting out of the overhead aquarium light when they so desire. Speaking of that, do you use an aquarium light? It's not apparent from your tank photo. A quality aquarium light can improve the overall health and look of your tank.

Also per your tank photo, you seem to have no calcium carbonate material in there (shells, aragonite, dead coral, limestone, etc). Is that correct? If so, it is a must that you include that to maintain the correct water pH. I would also consider removing that branch. Dead, organic plant material like that will likely add unwanted acidity and who-knows what else. Think more along the lines of what the ocean has in it (not typically branches of any sort from terrestrial foliage) as opposed to what a river or lake would have, i.e., what more acidic FRESH water aquariums might include in their aquascaping. That's why you never see branches or the like in marine aquariums.

Also, in my opinion, your substrate is too shallow. Indeed there are Opae Ula tanks out there with little to no substrate, and the shrimp do just fine. But it is the case that having a bit of depth to your substrate provides a place for algae and other growths to reside and flourish, providing the animals what would likely become their main food source. It also creates a natural filter within the water column since the substrate will become a prime area for naturally-filtering organisms ("good" bacteria and the like) to flourish as well. That is also the reason that it is desirable to place at least some objects in your tank that our porous - some natural examples being dead coral and lava rock. Filtering organisms thrive and reside in those little nooks and crannies (visible and microscopic), adding additional health to the entire ecosystem of your tank.

Just my 2 cents! Please let me know if any of my deductions based on your tank photo were wrong. If you haven't already, referring to and abiding by the info provided on Mustafa's tank set up page is recommended:
https://www.petshrimp.com/set-up-a-supe ... tructions/

Here's my most recent tank, if you want to see an example of a tank that includes all of the above-mentioned features:
https://www.petshrimp.com/discussions/v ... =16&t=6426