Crystal Red Shrimp Breeding

[TheDragonLord]

I set up a 54 litre tank a month ago with mature sponges so the ammonia etc instantly got converted into nitrates, jammed it full of cambomba to use up ang nitrates and phosphates etc and put in 10 Crystal Red Shrimp. I now have 2 carrying eggs.

My questions are:

1) what pH and Nitrate levels do any other breeders have in their tanks?

2) how long to shrimp hold the eggs before they hatch?

3) how small are the babies? 1mm?

4) What is the general success rate of the babies survival in a tank with only adults in, MTS, Apple Snails and some other snails that came in on plants?


i'll find out my pH and Nitrate level on Friday (GMT) at work as i know the ammonia and nitrite levels are 0

i also feed the shrimp and snails on algae wafers

Tetra Pleco Wafers 42g

PlecoWafers are enriched with vegetable matter to make them ideal for herbivores. In addition, they are made using Tetra´s unique extrusion process, meaning they are easy to eat, yet remain stable in the water for long periods, thus allowing plecostomus to graze naturally.

[GunmetalBlue]

There was a similar thread just a while ago, here it is: viewtopic.php?t=1165

If you haven't already, checking this should also help: http://www.petshrimp.com/crystalredshrimp.html

I've never bred Crystal Reds so please bear with me here -

1.) They do best in soft acidic water (under 7.0). They need very clean water, so the lower the nitrates, the better.

2.) It takes most species about 3 - 4 weeks for eggs to hatch, including CRS.

3.) Have you ever raised Cherry shrimplets? About that size; perhaps a shade bigger would be my guess.

4.) Survival rate of babies depend on having optimal water conditions for them. That can include proper temp, proper pH, etc.

Good luck!

-GB

[TheDragonLord]

thanks for the reply

and that topic was helpful thank you

i have read that page but found little help on it

my pH is 6.6 so thats ok and i tested my readings with test kits

NH3 was 0
NO2 was 0
NO3 was 1.5ppm

ok, is it poosible to tell approx how far gone they are by colour of eggs? the one has brown eggs while the other ones are nearly black

no, i wanted Cherry shrimps instead of these but these were the only ones available but they do look alot better witrh the white bits on them

so would the shrimplets just eat algae wafers, algae and flake food like the adults?

would it be helpful to add some java moss?

what would the optimum pH be for higher success rates for both breeding and rearing?

im guessing the lower the NO3 (Nitrate) level the better?

[badflash]

I've not raised these shrimp, but if water quality is important as these posts say, avoid wafer food. This is WAY too much food and will wreck your water quality in short order.

Use flake food and crush it between your fingers before you put it in. Start with a pinch and see how much they eat. The goal is to not have any left over. I find having a few snails helps with the clean-up work.

I'm experimenting with Nerite snails now, and except for the eggs, they seem to be working well. The eggs clean off the glass quickly with my magnetic algae scraper, so it is no big deal.

[TheDragonLord]

well the adults are in the same tank along with 2 apple snails to clean algae off the glass but they eat 3 algae wafers over night as theres now 20 adults as i added another 10 yesterday to try get some more females etc, and i change 25% of the water each week to make sure levels stay low and its crammed full of plants so there wont be very high levels anyway

ive never tried nerite snails, never even heard of then, what are they? i do have some MTS in there as well as some horrid little snails that eat plants so am going to remove the apples and put in alot more MTS to eat poop and eat the horrible snails, hopefully

[GunmetalBlue]

i have read that page but found little help on it

You just happen to be focused on the "how to's" at the moment, but having basic info about any shrimp you're dealing with goes a long way in both the appreciation and care of them in the long run. And sometimes, when we're embarking on something new, we miss certain details that don't register until later. For example, how many times have I heard someone say, concerning Red Cherries, "Oh! Was THAT the yellow saddle you guys were talking about?"

Yes I think 6.6 pH sounds good pending other's opinions. As to whether you can tell how far along the eggs are by their color, since Crystal Reds are born with stripes just like Bumblebees, I can say I notice that eggs on my Bumblebee's are a little lighter when it gets closer to hatching. Basically, if you were looking at them with a magnifying lens, you'd see that maturing eggs have the light (or tranlucent) and dark stripes, along with 2 black dots (eyes). However, the naked eye sees the whole egg, and that does seem to register as lighter. Again though, no experience with CRS so can't really say for sure. I think Crystal Red eggs might hatch closer to 4 weeks rather than 3, just like the Bumblebees.

Don't worry about the feeding; there's no difference between what adults and shrimplets eat. The bulk of what the shrimplets will be grazing on is micro bits of algae and biofilm, which thankfully, most established tanks have.

Yes java moss is nice; you said there's lots of plants in there, that's good. However if you are doing any fert dosing, etc., which is a whole other topic, be ultra careful. Shrimp are very sensitive, especially to copper.

well the adults are in the same tank along with 2 apple snails to clean algae off the glass but they eat 3 algae wafers over night as theres now 20 adults as i added another 10 yesterday to try get some more females etc, and i change 25% of the water each week to make sure levels stay low and its crammed full of plants so there wont be very high levels anyway

Whoa, 3 algae wafers! Are these wafers really small then? For example, with Hikari Algae wafers, my tanks get less than an 1/8 of a wafer - and some of the tanks have 20 - 40+ residents. I also try to remove any excess, I don't leave any in for long periods.

Anyway, keep us updated on how they do, and especially when your shrimplets hatch.

-GB

[badflash]

ive never tried nerite snails, never even heard of then, what are they?

These are medium sized, attractive snails that really eat algea. Of course like most other algae eaters, they eat other stuff first if available. They are slow growing and from all reports (save one) they won't reproduce in fresh water, although they do lay eggs in the form of white dots everywhere they go. The eggs come off the glass easily with a standard magnetic type algae scraper, so no big deal. They don't harm plants, or make a mess like apple snails.

Seach the web, or contact me priivately for sources. I know several dealers that sell them. You'll see them sold as Olive Nerite or Zebra Nerite snails.

[TheDragonLord]

You just happen to be focused on the "how to's" at the moment, but having basic info about any shrimp you're dealing with goes a long way in both the appreciation and care of them in the long run. And sometimes, when we're embarking on something new, we miss certain details that don't register until later. For example, how many times have I heard someone say, concerning Red Cherries, "Oh! Was THAT the yellow saddle you guys were talking about?"

yea i know what you mean, will read it every now and again to refresh my memory etc and i cant see the ovarys on these shrimp yet i could when i kept amanos as hers were huge

Yes I think 6.6 pH sounds good pending other's opinions. As to whether you can tell how far along the eggs are by their color, since Crystal Reds are born with stripes just like Bumblebees, I can say I notice that eggs on my Bumblebee's are a little lighter when it gets closer to hatching. Basically, if you were looking at them with a magnifying lens, you'd see that maturing eggs have the light (or tranlucent) and dark stripes, along with 2 black dots (eyes). However, the naked eye sees the whole egg, and that does seem to register as lighter. Again though, no experience with CRS so can't really say for sure. I think Crystal Red eggs might hatch closer to 4 weeks rather than 3, just like the Bumblebees.

ok, i'll try and look with a magnifieying glass if i can find/buy one

Don't worry about the feeding; there's no difference between what adults and shrimplets eat. The bulk of what the shrimplets will be grazing on is micro bits of algae and biofilm, which thankfully, most established tanks have.

ok thats cool then i'll have loads more java moss in there soon as well as i guess they'll pick bits of that?

Yes java moss is nice; you said there's lots of plants in there, that's good. However if you are doing any fert dosing, etc., which is a whole other topic, be ultra careful. Shrimp are very sensitive, especially to copper.

i decided not to dose this tank, but may do half doses in the future if the plants go funny on me

Whoa, 3 algae wafers! Are these wafers really small then? For example, with Hikari Algae wafers, my tanks get less than an 1/8 of a wafer - and some of the tanks have 20 - 40+ residents. I also try to remove any excess, I don't leave any in for long periods.

thse are only about 1cm in diameter so not big, and the apple snails were the ones to eat most of them i think as i only give them 1 tablet a day (broken in 2 pieces) and remove the old tablet if theres any remaining before i put the new one in each morning

Anyway, keep us updated on how they do, and especially when your shrimplets hatch.

-GB

i will

These are medium sized, attractive snails that really eat algea. Of course like most other algae eaters, they eat other stuff first if available. They are slow growing and from all reports (save one) they won't reproduce in fresh water, although they do lay eggs in the form of white dots everywhere they go. The eggs come off the glass easily with a standard magnetic type algae scraper, so no big deal. They don't harm plants, or make a mess like apple snails.

Seach the web, or contact me priivately for sources. I know several dealers that sell them. You'll see them sold as Olive Nerite or Zebra Nerite snails.

ok so they dont do the same as MTS? i wont put any in then as ive put the apple snails back into the "coldwater" tank and am going to be putting some more MTS in soon



does anyone know of any fish that could go in the tank? i thought hatchets may be an option (probably the only one) as they rarely leave the surface etc