pregnant shrimp?

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 9:10 am

Apologies for the lousy quality but she's been shy lately so I had to crop an iso1600 shot.

Anyway, am I correct in assuming this shrimp's pregnant?

Any tips? I'd rather not stress it out by setting it in a seperate tank.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 10:43 am

Sure looks berried up to me. Nice!

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:30 pm

Cool!

I've had 'm for almost 2 months now, this is the first time I've spotted this. Can hardly wait.
Hm.. does this mean that I'm doing something right and that they're happy? or is this a species that will breed no matter what?

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 2:05 pm

No, definetly means you are doing something right. These are difficult to breed.

starrystarstarr · Post by **starrystarstarr** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 3:52 pm

congratulations

RCSGuy · Post by **RCSGuy** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 7:12 pm

Indeed congratulations, these guys only breed if the conditions are just right, hence their price (otherwise RCS wouldn't be so cheap

). You can clearly see the eggs in that picture though

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Mon Apr 23, 2007 11:13 pm

I've also spotter here fanning the eggs with those underbelly fins.

Should I put in a few more shells as extra hiding places?

Would it help if I feed the fish in the tank a lot around the time she'll be giving birth?

I'm a lot more excited by all this than I thought I would be,

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 3:46 am

Get the fish out of there, they will eat the babies. Much better than any food you can provide them with. Lots of plants are the best hides.

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:27 am

I just don't have the option to provide a seperate tank. But my cambomba has really been growing hard the last two weeks. I'll just refrain from pruning that.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:15 am

That is too bad. What fish are in there?

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 6:22 am

Gold tetras, cardinal tetras and a single male guppy. (left over from the previous tank, favourite with the kids)

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:00 am

I have a community fish tank which has a few red cherry shrimp coexisting with quite a few various small to medium fish. These shrimp were inadvertently transferred when moving some plants. Although my fish do not tend to eat the adults or larger juveniles, I almost never see any baby shrimp in that tank and I am positive that the fish are to blame for this. The population of shrimp has grown very very slowly since almost no babies ever make it to adult size. In addition, shrimp have no protection after molting and are probably consumed during those times too.

I'm not telling you this to say it is ok to keep shrimp with fish, but to warn you that your breeding success with these shrimp will suffer if you keep them with your fish. I am also lucky that my fish haven't decided to actively hunt the adult shrimp. If one ever did, the shrimp would soon be gone.

wijnands · Post by **wijnands** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 7:14 am

Well, these tetras are just about the most peaceful community tank dwellers I can think of.

I've put various bits and pieces in the tank that can provide shelter. I don't know if protection during molting is an issue or not, haven't been able to find out how often they do this.

Next week is queen's day over here which means, amonng other things, a giant flee market. I plan on seeing if I can't find a pump or heater for a decent price, I'm considering setting up a small tank for pregnant females.

ToddnBecka · Post by **ToddnBecka** » Tue Apr 24, 2007 8:22 pm

How about a tank divider for the pregnant shrimp? She wouldn't need a large space.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:55 pm

Although the odds are against it, I hope it works out. I would like to see pictures of your new baby shrimp