I'm new to the forum.. well, actually, I've been reading posts as a guest and finally decided to make an account. Essentially I was a creeper on the forum for a while
But anyways, I've had a berried shrimp for a while and as I've been reading, they usually carry the eggs for about 38 days before turning into larvae? I was on vacation and came back on March 14 and noticed a berried female (yay)! But it's already May and still no signs of change? I would've thought I'd have some floaters by now but still nothing.. Getting a bit depressed since this is the first berried female I've had since owning my opae ulas (4 years now). 2 months later and still carrying eggs like when I first noticed them.
Any suggestions or maybe some females take extremely longer than others to hatch? TIA!
Last edited by sweetdase on Sat May 05, 2018 9:58 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Have you been able to count the eggs to see if there are any less of them? One of my shrimp just had babies, but they are so small i can barely see them with the naked eye. It's possible there are some floating around in there you just can't see.
I think I've counted about 9 or 10. She did drop at least 2. One was eaten by others, the other I tried to save but died.. the rest are just hanging on to her. You'd think after this long they would've all been hatched? It has already been 53 days or more as I did not notice them until I got back from vacation.
If it is indeed the same berried female (sometimes you could have multiple), and based on what you described, you might not want to hold your breath on the remaining 2 eggs. But you got a berried female! That means you'll start seeing other berried females hopefully soon!
Definitely the 2 that dropped are dead but the ones that are still attached to her I'm wondering if they're a lost cause. Maybe one day she'll drop all of them seeing that they're not progressing at all. They're still in her yolk sac. Oh well! Hopefully I get more berried females soon as there are so many in my tank that are saddled!
sweetdase wrote: ↑Sun May 06, 2018 1:39 pm
Definitely the 2 that dropped are dead but the ones that are still attached to her I'm wondering if they're a lost cause. Maybe one day she'll drop all of them seeing that they're not progressing at all. They're still in her yolk sac. Oh well! Hopefully I get more berried females soon as there are so many in my tank that are saddled!
Are shrimp, like humans, less likely to carry to term during their first pregnancy?
sweetdase wrote: ↑Sun May 06, 2018 1:39 pm
Definitely the 2 that dropped are dead but the ones that are still attached to her I'm wondering if they're a lost cause. Maybe one day she'll drop all of them seeing that they're not progressing at all. They're still in her yolk sac. Oh well! Hopefully I get more berried females soon as there are so many in my tank that are saddled!
Are shrimp, like humans, less likely to carry to term during their first pregnancy?
But aren't shrimps term about 38 days? At least from what I've been reading but correct me if I'm wrong as I would really hope they can still hatch since they are way over due the 38 days.
On another note, are you saying most human females don't carry to term during their first pregnancy?
sweetdase wrote: ↑Sun May 06, 2018 1:39 pm
Definitely the 2 that dropped are dead but the ones that are still attached to her I'm wondering if they're a lost cause. Maybe one day she'll drop all of them seeing that they're not progressing at all. They're still in her yolk sac. Oh well! Hopefully I get more berried females soon as there are so many in my tank that are saddled!
Are shrimp, like humans, less likely to carry to term during their first pregnancy?
But aren't shrimps term about 38 days? At least from what I've been reading but correct me if I'm wrong as I would really hope they can still hatch since they are way over due the 38 days.
On another note, are you saying most human females don't carry to term during their first pregnancy?
Well, half of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage…. Most women miscarry before they even realize that they’re pregnant.
My hypothesis is that since we see this in humans and other mammals/live bearers, it’s possible that shrimp also have reproductive difficulty ♀️
Are shrimp, like humans, less likely to carry to term during their first pregnancy?
But aren't shrimps term about 38 days? At least from what I've been reading but correct me if I'm wrong as I would really hope they can still hatch since they are way over due the 38 days.
On another note, are you saying most human females don't carry to term during their first pregnancy?
Well, half of all pregnancies end in a miscarriage…. Most women miscarry before they even realize that they’re pregnant.
My hypothesis is that since we see this in humans and other mammals/live bearers, it’s possible that shrimp also have reproductive difficulty ♀️
Perhaps that could be the case. I was trying to Google if other shrimp owners had this same issue but didn't find anything so maybe mine's just a first? I'll keep watching and see what happens.
Varanus wrote: ↑Fri Oct 13, 2017 8:40 am
But as for dropping eggs, sadly that is a common thing for first time opae mothers. Its not unusual for them to drop all or most of their eggs, but they tend to be more successful the next time they berry. I don't know if anyone has a theory as to why this happens beyond that the shrimp mothers have to learn how to hold onto their eggs more effectively.
The OP of the sticky thread at the top of this forum observed that cooler temps resulted in longer incubation times for his shrimp, up to 50 days or so iirc. Perhaps your shrimp is exhibiting a similar behavior. How warm or cool has the tank been since you noticed the eggs?
Super Jess wrote: ↑Mon May 07, 2018 4:28 pm
The OP of the sticky thread at the top of this forum observed that cooler temps resulted in longer incubation times for his shrimp, up to 50 days or so iirc. Perhaps your shrimp is exhibiting a similar behavior. How warm or cool has the tank been since you noticed the eggs?
I don't have a thermometer in the tank but we just installed the Nest thermostat and at night, it drops to 18 degrees Celsius and when we're home during the evening, it goes up to 21. But my house isn't exactly warm either since we lose a lot of heat in the house (in the process of fixing this issue). So likely being a bit colder could be the problem? Maybe this time the incubation will be even longer since it's been a while..
tooth wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2015 5:51 am
A second berried female showed up this morning. She appears to be carrying about 5-6 eggs. We've kept the house a little cooler this year. I wonder if the cooler temperatures (65-70) will increase incubation time.
That post is towards the bottom of page 3 of the sticky thread. This shrimp hatched her eggs in 49-50 days, I think, so increased incubation time seems likely. He kept his house cool that year, and all the shrimp still hatched even though they took a bit longer than previously.
Keep us updated! It will be interesting to see how it works out for your shrimp.
tooth wrote: ↑Sat Apr 25, 2015 5:51 am
A second berried female showed up this morning. She appears to be carrying about 5-6 eggs. We've kept the house a little cooler this year. I wonder if the cooler temperatures (65-70) will increase incubation time.
That post is towards the bottom of page 3 of the sticky thread. This shrimp hatched her eggs in 49-50 days, I think, so increased incubation time seems likely. He kept his house cool that year, and all the shrimp still hatched even though they took a bit longer than previously.
Keep us updated! It will be interesting to see how it works out for your shrimp.
That is very interesting!! How much longer did Tooth say it took?
Just an update! My tank finally has larvae from my berried shrimp that was berried for so long! Woohoo! So I guess it really did take about 2 months since I first noticed on March 14 and today is May 17. Literally took 63 days! Crazy. I suppose temperature does make a difference as the last 2 days have been hotter and noticed the 'egg sac' was 'broken'. So far I've counted 4 larvae floating around the tank But more to come. YAY
♀️
But more to come. YAY