Eggs!

[shmohney]

Thanks, Ken. I'll watch for that color change. She is so secretive - except for the first day I noticed her, when she was swimming out in the open and I got the pics I posted originally, she has stayed in the rockpile, usually back away from the aquarium walls. Although the other shrimp rarely react at all, she seems to really hate it when I pull back the paper and expose her, and she retreats into the rocks - very hard to photograph. But I'll watch for that opportunity. Saw her again today, and the eggs still look to be a uniform brown color, as best I could tell. If this one is a different shrimp, she's behaving the same as the first one. But we're at 41+ days since I first noticed her, and I know that's supposed to be at the extreme outside range of incubation times. The water was probably around 68 degrees F most of that time, but the weather and my house have warmed and it's around 71 degrees now.

I spotted her again tonight. Just to monitor the theory that this is actually a different shrimp with newer eggs, I'm going to add a new day count from April 9, when I first spotted her again after she was MIA for a week. So - 6 days for new eggs, or 41 days for old eggs.

[shmohney]

Just spotted Miss Eggy again. And Ken, I think I am seeing the color change in the eggs - light and dark areas. I had about given up on these eggs, thinking they are not fertile and the shrimp would eventually abandon them. But now I have hopes again that they will hatch soon. This has sure been a long incubation, and it's not over yet.

[KenCotigirl]

That is good news! Keep us updated.
Ken

[shmohney]

On April 20 I went out of town for 5 days. Miss Eggy was still carrying 8 eggs, and they'd developed the light and dark areas described by Ken. I had hoped that they would have hatched by the time I returned on the 24th. And yay, when I got home I found two larvae swimming in the tank! Found their mama, and she was now happy to be staying out in the open, so she was easy to observe. She was still carrying the remaining 6 eggs. I could occasionally see one or more of the unhatched larvae struggling to escape. And she repeatedly agitated them dramatically, as if she was trying to dislodge them. I went to bed looking forward to more little swimmers the next morning, but they were MIA, and she now had only 5 eggs. This morning I still saw no larvae, and she was down to one unhatched egg. Tonight I can no longer find a shrimp carrying any eggs, and I see no larvae.

Does anyone have any experience with newly hatched larvae quickly taking cover where it's available? They could hide easily in my gravel pile of 1-2 inch rocks. I'm hoping they're hiding, and not dead.....

Also, has anyone experienced such a long incubation period? If she's my original berried female, she carried those eggs from March 4 to probably April 24 - about 50 days! The tank water was little cool, but no less than 68 degrees, and it was up to 70-71 during the latter half of that time.

[KenCotigirl]

Hello schm, the larvae can be difficult to spot at times. If your tank is a rectangle look long ways and you may spot the larvae. They are attracted to light. When the room is completely dark shine a small flashlight light in the upper front corner of the tank. After a couple of minutes, and i mean only one or two minutes, you should spot one or two. They will surprise how quickly they move, especially up and down. Good luck and keep us updated.

Not to worry you but when they are no longer floaters you may see them out in the open swimming or crawling on the glass for a day or two then suddenly disappear and not to show up again for a month. This is normal for my shrimp. If you are patient and have sharp eyes you may find them hidden within the macro algae. They are about 3mm long and mostly clear. A month later they will 4-5 mm with some red.

Ken

[shmohney]

I just gave the flashlight method a try. No luck though. I use a flashlight a lot to observe the tank, especially when I'm looking for something in particular. I had several dramatic population explosions of 'pods when my tank was new, but now I just have a few individuals that can be observed at any one time. Night time with a flashlight is the best way to see them. I will keep looking for those larvae, and hope they deign to reappear soon.

[Mustafa]

Of course there is the real possibility that the larvae are dead. Have much have you been feeding? 50 days incubation time may be just about right at 68-70 degrees. It takes 32-35 (+/- a day or two) at somewhere around 80 degrees.

[shmohney]

Mustafa, I still haven't seen the larvae again, so I have come to accept that they are probably dead. I haven't checked my water parameters in a long time. Might the larvae be more sensitive than the adults to minor departures from ideal water chemistry?

[KenCotigirl]

Not scientific but I just let things run their course. Often the first berried shrimp drop their eggs and often the first set of larvae may not survive. If you change anything you are bound to make things worse.

[shmohney]

Mustafa, I forgot to answer your question about how much I have been feeding. I follow your recommendation to feed no more than a small amount every two weeks - a piece of fish food about the size of a pin head. I probably could take your advice and not feed at all, because I have plenty of algae. But it's fun to watch how active the shrimp get when I feed them. Those that aren't competing to eat the food swim madly around the tank. I think they are looking for the food that they sense. So, anyway, I think too much food is not the problem, if that was something you were wondering.

[Mustafa]

Yes, larvae *are* more sensitive than the adults. Tiny amounts of ammonia (completely not measurable with hobby kits) can kill them off. Just give it time...the tanks run Petshrimp-style always fix themselves over time. Not much you can really do.