Metabetaeus lohena - only old topic

[stonefox]

Hi - I search in this forum, and find 2 Topic about "Metabetaeus lohena" - and it's from 2011.

Are there any other forum members here who have been successful in keeping alive the Metabetaeus lohena larvae. My "Metabetaeus lohena" has several times had hatched eggs, but after a day they are dead / disappeared.
Or links to other articles about breeding "Metabetaeus lohena"

I do the following: When I see a female with eggs, the female comes into an aquarium where she goes alone. The day when I see him that she no longer carries the eggs, she be removed and the larvae are left alone.

[KenCotigirl]

I tried to feed them only algae, tetraselmis and nanochloropsis. The tank looked like pea soup. French Guy Method for amano shrimp. Larvae lived 6 days. I tried rotifers. Did not work. Only grew a lot of rotifers. Mustafa said the larvae look like they were not eating the algae. I bought on e bay a powdered shrimp food, 100 microns in size i believe. Do not remember the name but could find out if you wish. Just had issues with growing the algae got discouraged. Will try again this summer. Found a berrier female. I think with the algae and powdered food it may work. The algae hopefully keep the waste and un eaten food from fouling the water. Maybe a snail too.

[Harry]

I don't have any Metabetaeus lohena, but plan on getting some. I see you put the berried female in another tank. That alone may compromise the process. I think it best to leave the aquarium community alone. If the larvae do not come to fruition, it may be an environmental issue such as water quality, salinity, pH, etc.

[KenCotigirl]

Harry i remove the larvae. I find it amazing that sea creatures are so difficult for us to breed successfully but there are seemingly uncounted hoards breeding in nature. Look at the Amano shrimp. People breed it but with difficulty. Have you ever heard of someone breeding hermit crabs? Or glass shrimp? Easier to catch and sell than breed.

[stonefox]

Harry i remove the larvae. I find it amazing that sea creatures are so difficult for us to breed successfully but there are seemingly uncounted hoards breeding in nature. Look at the Amano shrimp. People breed it but with difficulty. Have you ever heard of someone breeding hermit crabs? Or glass shrimp? Easier to catch and sell than breed.

Cotigirl

As I read your post, so you move the larvae to another aquarium - is that correct?

Do you have a guide on how to get them to survive and what you feed them with?

[KenCotigirl]

Yes i move the larvae to another tank. Getting them to survive is the question. I do not have an answer.

I will try to explain the problem. Shrimp need ammonia and nitrite free water. If possible larvae need it even cleaner. With Amano shrimp and Caridina cf. propinqua growing larvae in green water worked. Very little assistance by the human is needed. The green water seem to keep the water clean. Larvae waste would feed the algae and the algae feeds the larvae. Air bubbles are introduced to oxygenate and circulate the water. However this did not work with M. lohena. They did not eat the algae. Rotifers did not work they just exploded and took over the tank.

My next try: go with the green algae but feed the larvae 'golden Pearls' fish fry and coral food(5-50 micron). I will add a few snails to hopefully eat any left over food or maybe not. The concern with feeding is the water can go bad quickly. Will the algae keep up, would adding a few snails help? 10% water change per day, probably. Enough? Will have to try.

[Mustafa]

I would suggest that anyone who wants to breed Metabetaeus lohena should attempt to breed Caridina japonica (amano shrimp) first. If you can't succeed, don't even try your hands at breeding M. lohena. There are very few of them out in the wild anyway....much fewer than Halocaridina rubra. You don't want to increase the demand for a species that is practically endangered with no captive-bred populations available.

[stonefox]

Hi - Mustafa - You write "anyone who wants to breed Metabetaeus lohena should attempt to breed Caridina japonica (amano shrimp) first"

How is it that you compare M. lohena and Amano shrimp, the larvae of M. lohena then go in freshwater?

[KenCotigirl]

Stonefox. Mustafa does not need me to respond for him but I believe his point is that Amano shrimp, a lower order shrimp has been sucessfully bred. But it is a challange. If you could not breed that shrimp which has guidelines your chances with M. lohena is more remote. I would still try if you have them but it would be a challange.

[Harry]

I have seven Alphas in my ten-gallon tank. I know that one of them was heavily berried a while back. Haven't seen that one in a while. But I have spotted some real small shrimp in the tank. Problem is that I don't know if they are Opae or Alphas. I rarely see berried shrimp and I rarely see larvae. But I know something good is going on because I often see the small fry. If I have any news on Apha's reproducing, I will post it.