My shrimp are doing alright. I wish I had a great lake for every species to breed, though, as my problem over the years has always been to have enough supply for the demand in the hobby (both domestically and internationally.) I've been concentrating my efforts lately on my hawaiian red shrimp (Halocaridina rubra), so that one day there will be enough captive-bred shrimp to distribute in the hobby. They are really fascinating creatures. I have a few thousand of them (bred from about 30 or so in the beginning) but since these guys reproduce relatively slowly and only have ca. 8-20 eggs, I would need several tens of thousands before even thinking about distributing them.
Mustafa: Wow! I'd love to get some of those from you when you are ready (2012?). I heard they can live for decades? Do you have more specific information on their gestation cycle?
Its in a way sad to see them being sold elsewhere as food for seahorses. I mean... yeah... I understand seahorses have to eat too... but I get sortof attached to my "shrimpies". Maybe I'm being too sensitive.
infopimp wrote:Mustafa: Wow! I'd love to get some of those from you when you are ready (2012?). I heard they can live for decades? Do you have more specific information on their gestation cycle?
Its in a way sad to see them being sold elsewhere as food for seahorses. I mean... yeah... I understand seahorses have to eat too... but I get sortof attached to my "shrimpies". Maybe I'm being too sensitive.
Seahorses can eat plenty of other food. One does not have to feed them a species that only occurs on the Hawaiian islands and nowhere else in the world. Plus, in nature these seahorses never get to eat these shrimp as the shrimp don't live in the open ocean. There are plenty of "scuds", pods, etc...that seahorses can eat. And I bet you that they could be trained to eat pellets with some effort. I hope I can make these guys available before 2012 but I'm in no rush really. There is lots of info already in this forum (try a search or two on these shrimp) but H. rubra eggs take about 30-35 days to develop (depending on temperature) and the larvae float around for another 2 weeks (plus/minus a day or two) before they morph into postlarvae (i.e. little shrimp resembling adults). Any given female does not continuously carry eggs though like some other shrimp species do. And yes, they are supposed to live 20+ years...but obviously I have not tested that hypothesis.
How are your shrimp doing?
