Few Shrimp Questions - Bamboo Eggs and others..

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 5:25 pm

Hi everyone,
I have a number of questions that I hope you will be able to help me with

I thought it best to put them all in one thread, than make separate ones for each, so I hope no-one minds. I did do a search for each, but couldnt find the information I was looking for

The first one is that I have a few bamboo shrimp, and just in the last day or so the female looks as though she may be carrying eggs - as she has got a dark 'patch' under her tail, and appears to be bigger than before, so I guess she either has eggs, or she has put on weight quite quickly. if they are eggs, how can I be sure, and what do I need to do to help them hatch, grow, etc? I read the species page, but am still usure..

Secondly, I know this may seem like a daft questions to some of you, but what exactly are the scientific differences between shrimps, prawns and crayfish? (apart from the obvious appearance ones)

Lastly, I am having trouble making a decision for the occupants of my new shrimp tank (currently cycling) I am torn between keeping Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS) to breed, or a single male M. Rosenbergii which I have seen in a pet shop all by itself - and I have become quite enamoured with it. The tank is big enough for both types, but of course I can only choose one, so what does everybody think? (I know the best choice would be to get another tank, but at the moment I just havent got room for more!)

ADMIN EDIT: It is not ok to ask where you can get shrimp since it would open up the door for everyone to come here and advertise their shrimp. It violates forum rules. Hence I have deleted the request portion of this posting.

Mustafa

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Mon Mar 13, 2006 8:13 pm

No one has published success breeding bamboo shrimp. I'm going to try using a similar method for M. Rosenbergii. The both need brackish water and need to feed on micro food for about a month. If yours has eggs they will take around a month to hatch and should be obvious. The shrimp varieties page has a pic of a female carrying eggs.

Most shrimp larva are attracted to light, so turn off the filtration once a hatch starts, put a bright light near the surface, and wait for the larva to be attracted, then use a turkey baster to suck them into a clean jar to harden up over night. From there they go into brackish water. How concentrated no one is saying, but I think 13 ppt is a good place to start.

Feed with micro algae and maybe marine rotifers until post larval, but thisis really uncharged territory. Keep the water clean with a 20% water change every other day. Keep the lights on 24/7.

This is all conjecture, just what I'm planning to try.

As for the shrimp, go with the M. Rosenbergii Shrimp with Attitude!

As to the differences, Prawns are the top predator, shrimp and crayfish are prey. Just my opinion.

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:33 am

Thanks for the advice and info Badfash.
Here is a picture of my female bamboo shrimp, can you tell if she is pregnant or not? You can see the dark patch I mentioned, and how she has got alittle bigger round her abdomen (Please excuse the marks and smudges on the tank glass, I need to give it a good wipe!):-

Also, you may just be able to see in both pictures that she actually had a white piece of gravel stuck to her left front feeder

When I went to take the pictures I noticed that she seemed to be having some difficulty with her left front feeder - and when I looked closely I saw the piece of gravel stuck to her left filter. I didnt know how she had got a piece of gravel stuck to her filter at first, but she was clearly trying to get it off - and when I looked even closer I saw that she had got some snail eggs stuck to her filter and then they had stuck to the piece of gravel - I dont know if she had been trying to eat the snail eggs or not. Anyway, my girlfriend carefully netted her and held the piece of gravel and was able to gently pull it off with the snail eggs. We put her back in the tank and she seemed alittle stressed at first, but shes ok now

I never considered snail eggs could be such a hazard for filter feeders

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 10:58 am

Sorry for my request Mustafa - I was just having difficulty finding shrimp in the UK

Its a shame you are not able to ship here.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed Mar 15, 2006 7:28 pm

I'm no expert, but if you look at the shrimp varieties page and look at the front legs, there is a possibility that your female is a male. I also see no eggs. Mustafa has a pic of a female with eggs there too.

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 7:35 am

Thanks. I'm pretty sure its a female though, as I also have a male and they are quite different. The male has much bigger front walking legs as Mustafa says - and they seem to have little 'hooks' or 'barbs' on them, which the females dont have.

I looked at Mustafas picture of a pregnant female, but im not sure if its supposed to be the dark patch which is the eggs (like mine) or the small green dots?

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 9:19 am

raptor83 wrote: The male has much bigger front walking legs as Mustafa says - and they seem to have little 'hooks' or 'barbs' on them, which the females dont have.

Yours is a female alright, but what you said above about the "hooks" is not true. All shrimp have those. If you magnified the legs of dwarf shrimp you would see those, too. It has absolutely nothing to do with gender. They need those to hold on to things.

I looked at Mustafas picture of a pregnant female, but im not sure if its supposed to be the dark patch which is the eggs (like mine) or the small green dots?

It's the "dark patch." Their eggs do not hang out of their bodies as the eggs of dwarf shrimp sometimes do. The female will aerate the eggs once in a while (move them around). Honestly, from the pictures you showed there is not much of a dark egg mass recognizable. So, I advise you to just keep observing. If you look hard enough you will see tiny individual eggs (given the right lighting). Either way, as great as it is that your shrimp has eggs, it's really not worth it to get too excited about it as the larvae will hatch and die in your tank anyway. It's not all that easy to breed these guys. I have not given it a shot but nobody else has managed to breed them yet.

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:31 pm

Hi Mustafa, thanks for your reply, and sorry you had to edit my earlier post.
I think I may not have been clear what I meant by the 'hooks/barbs'. I have drawn a basic picture of the male/female front leg which I hope shows what more clearly what I mean. I would take a picture of my male shrimp, but hes hiding behind a piece of slate at present!

Does that make more sense? You can see the 'hook' I refer to - there is one on each front leg on my male bamboo shrimp. Do both genders have a hook like this then?

I guess I was just getting my hopes up regarding my female being pregnant...

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 9:33 am

Sorry to double post, but does anyone know if the differences between male and female I mentioned are correct?

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Mar 20, 2006 3:13 pm

Yes, males develop that "thorn" much more prominently than females. With some males it's not all that apparent though so looking at leg size primarily and then at the existence of a "thorn" might be advisable.

raptor83 · Post by **raptor83** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 11:43 am

I was just checking on the male bamboo shrimp today when I noticed that the shell above its left legs appeared to be damaged - it looks as though the shell has completely gone over a certain area

I dont know how or what has caused it though - it almost looks like a disease(?) It definitely is not caused by any fish I have, as they are all very tiny (1-2cm) and have never bothered the shrimp - plus they have plenty of hiding places. Should I be concerned, or will this 'gap' in the shell disappear at its next molt? Here's a pic:- (I'm vacuuming the gravel soon)

Does anyone have any ideas? Is there anything I can do?
Thanks in advance
P.S. You should be able to see the male 'thorn' I mentioned earlier in the pic