Traveling egg carrying cherry

[TKD]

I everyone,

I just got a Cherry from my LFS to day.
She came in yesterday from Asia.
She is caring eggs.

Ok now, what are the chances that she won’t drop the eggs due to stress?
What are the chances that the eggs are viable?

Anyone have an idea?

All the above is assuming she won’t die due to the stress of transport, changing tanks, water pH etc.

Thanks,

TKD

[GunmetalBlue]

Hi TKD, it's impossible to say because it depends on both the shrimp herself and what she's gone through.

As for the shrimp, we don't know what shape she was in prior to shipping. Also, shrimps are individuals, some are stronger than others. As for the stresses, we don't know how many changes and to what extreme those changes were. I will say this though - Cherries are definitely one of the more hardy and more adaptable to variances, so that factor is on her side.

As to her eggs being viable, wait several days - I usually don't "count my chickens" so to speak, for a week after eggs are on the swimmerettes, just to make sure. If conditions are good, she should hold on to most of them, and the shrimplets will likely hatch.

So in the end, I guess you'll just have to be patient and wait and see. Each day that goes by that she's still carrying the eggs, that's one day closer to them hatching. I do hope she makes it, along with her eggs. Keep us updated!

-GB

[TKD]

Hi GB,

I was pretty much thinking the same thing, but I wanted confirmation.
They had 250 cherries there and either they had some very colorful males or they were all female.
She was also the only one that I was able to see that was caring eggs.

TKD

[GunmetalBlue]

They had 250 cherries there and either they had some very colorful males or they were all female.
She was also the only one that I was able to see that was caring eggs.

Hey TKD, with the additional info you just gave, unfortunately, things don't look as bright as before in that I recall threads where it's indicated that some places sell only female shrimp.

Okay, I finally found one of the threads, it was actually one of yours. In it, Mustafa quotes: "Most places sell females only or predominantly females anyway (imported shrimp)..."
viewtopic.php?t=470&highlight=females

So, dunno. Especially in light of 250 Cherries with only one (yours) carrying eggs. If there were males in there and with that many shrimp, it would seem many would be carrying eggs and holding them, presuming these are adults/young adults.

At any rate, let us know what happens. If she drops the eggs, have you looked into whether there are any local shrimp hobbyist who might not mind letting go of a male Cherry or two? The "all female" scenario you have been experiencing is strange to me because I've personally not had problems getting both males and females (Cherries, BB's, Bamboos) from our local stores. Also, I would think it would be a major pain in the behind to separate them (I should know, since I separate mine). I'm afraid to ask what they do with all the males ...

-GB

[TKD]

Hi GB,

There were quite a few Cherries that could have been males with a fare amount of color. I was looking at there carapaces too and half were not low slung and half were not. It could very well be to that they had males that had a lot of color... I don't know...

I even mentioned the comments of that thread to the LFS guy.
He is not sure if the breeders separate the males out or not.

Your right too… It seems like a very big pain to pick out males...
If they do do that, it makes you wonder what they do with them .

I have been looking around and have posted on a local fish board about male cherries... it's just a mater of time now.

Oh and as for the new cherry she is still holding and it does not look like that she has dropped any.

Yup they are young. They half the size of my biggest female.

TKD

[Mustafa]

They are probably all females. The ones that are red and shaped like males are usually very young females. The red cherries are probably not consciously selected to be all females. The exporters just choose the red ones (females) for export. It's not that hard to do since they are much easier to see in those breeding ponds anyway. The mostly clear males can barely be seen. There are some examples in the fish world where only males appear in fish stores because they are more colorful. Colisa lalia and endler's livebearers are just two examples.

[TKD]

Hi Mustafa,

Thanks for the info.

It does make sense that they would only take out the more visible ones.

But would that not breed against males that show red?
All the shrimp that would be left would be males that are clear.

Strange way to improve coloration in the Cherries...

TKD

[TKD]

Hi all,

Well I have had the shrimp with the eggs for the past four days now and she still has them.

I'm guessing with transport, customs etc that the last time she came in contact with a male was at least last Friday or later. So she has been carrying the eggs for a minimum of a week.

Now I just have two wait for three more weeks and I get babies (Assuming everything goes well)

TKD

[tapmxt1]

For red sherry shrimps, at 76-78 degree (F), the eggs hatch in 16-18 days.

[TKD]

Hi tapmxt1,

My tank is at 71 (F) with a pH of 7.6.

I guess I will need to wait another couple of weeks then.

Thanks,

TKD

[tapmxt1]

Lower temporature will take longer. I did not record "day of hatch" for other temporature. My record of 76-78 degree was taken in summer. In summer, the tanks were at 76-78 degree without a heater.

Right before Chrimas, I re-did my 55gal tank in dinner room - got rid of fish and made it a shrimp only tank. I seeded it with about 20 pregnant females and a few selected mature males. Now there are hundreds of baby shrimps in it (and females pregnant again). The larger bbies are about 3/8". That tank is at 68-71 degree. Therefore I guess it only takes a few days more at around 70 degree.

Also in my observation in last spring/summer (I setup a 5 gal tank to hold pregnant females, so I could easily collect newly hatced babies, and a 20 gal tank to raise the babies at that time). the first pregnant female (grew up from the collected babies) showed up in the 20gal tank in 6 weeks and 2 days. So it takes as short as 6-7 weeks for babies to grow up and mature.

[TKD]

Hi all,

Well, I have had her for 1.5 weeks and she is still carring.
I guess sometime this week the babies should hatch.

TKD

[GunmetalBlue]

Thanks for the update, TKD, that's great news!

If you're anything like me, you're probably staring at those eggs hours on end . You might possibly be able to see black dot for eyes on them by now or at least soon, if you happen to have a magnification device.

Although Cherries are pretty hardy, the one little extra suggestion I would make is that if and when the day comes that the eggs are gone (shrimplets born), and it falls on your water change day, I would skip a day or two and take care of it then. I know you're prepared otherwise - sponge on intake, no predators in tank, etcetera, etcetera.

So now we just wait ...

Also in my observation in last spring/summer (I setup a 5 gal tank to hold pregnant females, so I could easily collect newly hatced babies, and a 20 gal tank to raise the babies at that time). the first pregnant female (grew up from the collected babies) showed up in the 20gal tank in 6 weeks and 2 days. So it takes as short as 6-7 weeks for babies to grow up and mature.

This is really interesting info. I have been observing a huge variance in the rate of growth of RCS shrimplets. The ones that get the most opportunity - meaning larger tank, less competition for food, more continous grazing food (like algae), no higher competing shrimp species in the same tank, etc., can grow quite rapidly. Others with less opportunity stay small and matures at a much slower rate.

-GB

[Lotus]

As far as I remember, my cherries took about 21 days to hatch. It has been quite some time that I can't keep track of them.

The babies are very tiny, and it might take you a while to spot one in your tank. Even in a tank that's wasn't really heavily planted it sometimes took me 15 minutes to see one.

Good luck, and keep us updated.

[TKD]

Hi everyone,

I think I will do a water change tonight.

My tank is full of java moss and fern. So much so that I can't see the bottom.

Would increasing the temperature be alright now or should I wait for a few weeks after they hatched?

Thanks,

TKD