I have a small population of Amano shrimp (two male and two female), and I am interested in knowing if there is anything I can feed them to increase their fertility. The females carried eggs routinely in the past, but I have not seen either of them with eggs since last August.
They currently receive Hikari crab cuisine once every few days. The tank is heavily planted, and I thought they would be able to scavenge enough food from picking around on the plants. Perhaps, I should increase the feeding.
For those who have successfully bred C. japonica, what are you feeding? I realize there is another thread on "what do you feed your shrimp?," but I am interested in knowing if anyone has experienced any increased fertility related to a specific food. Something tells me it may be more about quantity than quality (within reason).
Any insight will be appreciated.
Increasing fertility of Caridina japonica
Moderator: Mustafa
Rob, I was just going to ask that same question. Heres my situation so maybe we could narrow it down some. In my 29 gallon tank at home I have two female that are always carring eggs. They will lose the eggs and then in the next couple of day be carrying more eggs. I dont do anything special to them. No extra feeding and I only feed the fish every other day
Here are the water parameters
Temp 76 (I think this might be a key)
gh 18
kH 14
ph 7.2 ( I think another key)
In my 75 gallon tank its a different story. I have about 30+ amanos in that tank. When I first put the shrimp in that tank (around Sept.) the females were all carryings. They havent carried eggs since. In this tank I feed my fish everyday except on the weekends. No extra feedings here too...just fish flakes and the occasional frozen brine shrimp
Here are my water parameters
Temp 76-80 (due to my lights with no fan)
gH 6
Kh6
pH 6.8
** note** this tank has rebuilt RO water
Also both tanks contain tetras and SAE and the 75 gallon has red cherry shrimp
What are your water parameters ?
Ben
Here are the water parameters
Temp 76 (I think this might be a key)
gh 18
kH 14
ph 7.2 ( I think another key)
In my 75 gallon tank its a different story. I have about 30+ amanos in that tank. When I first put the shrimp in that tank (around Sept.) the females were all carryings. They havent carried eggs since. In this tank I feed my fish everyday except on the weekends. No extra feedings here too...just fish flakes and the occasional frozen brine shrimp
Here are my water parameters
Temp 76-80 (due to my lights with no fan)
gH 6
Kh6
pH 6.8
** note** this tank has rebuilt RO water
Also both tanks contain tetras and SAE and the 75 gallon has red cherry shrimp
What are your water parameters ?
Ben
I think the key to Mustafa's input was that they require an ample amount of food. I think that may be what was giving me some trouble. Then again, Ben, that doesn't seem to address the differences that you notice between your tanks, or does it? Perhaps you could comment on how much food each shrimp is really consuming in your 75 compared to those in your 29.
I'd like to throw out another possibile cause of infertility - old age. My amano's are now approximately 1.5 to 2 years old. Maybe this has something to do with it. Somehow, I think it is more closely related to food supply. I went back and looked at my notes, and at the time that I last saw them carrying eggs, I was supplying them with crab pellets every other day. For the past few months, it has been closer to twice each week. I am going to increase the feeding back to every other day.
Ben, per your request, here are the parameters in my 20 gallon:
Temp 74-76
gH 6
Kh 4
pH 6.6
I plan to report back on the impact of the increased feeding in about a month.
I'd like to throw out another possibile cause of infertility - old age. My amano's are now approximately 1.5 to 2 years old. Maybe this has something to do with it. Somehow, I think it is more closely related to food supply. I went back and looked at my notes, and at the time that I last saw them carrying eggs, I was supplying them with crab pellets every other day. For the past few months, it has been closer to twice each week. I am going to increase the feeding back to every other day.
Ben, per your request, here are the parameters in my 20 gallon:
Temp 74-76
gH 6
Kh 4
pH 6.6
I plan to report back on the impact of the increased feeding in about a month.
Mustafa wrote: As long as they find ample food (a trigger for reproduction) and the water parameters are fine they will develop eggs.
Mustafa
Thats really fun...its backwards for me
29 gallon less food, more eggs
75 gallon more food, less eggs
hmmm
An interesting IdeaI'd like to throw out another possibile cause of infertility - old age.
Ben