Knocked up shrimp at last!

[camaronqueseduerme]

So after three months I finally found a berried female today! I'm really excited to witness the whole process, this is gonna be fun

P.S. Thanks again, Mustafa, your super easy system does work!

[Mech]

thats great news! congrats,

[KenCotigirl]

Happy for you!

Ken

[camaronqueseduerme]

Thanks, guys!
I have been observing the egg carrying female and so far so good. It's very interesting how they seem to be loosely hanging under her abdomen but won't fall (hopefully they'll stay there till they hatch). I'll give updates as they come. Cheers!

[Mustafa]

Good luck!

[camaronqueseduerme]

Thanks, Mustafa!

So it's been two weeks since I discovered the berried female. I've been observing her a lot. I've counted 9 eggs and she seems to be holding on to them. I have no clue how she does it, seems like an awesome juggling act to me. I was expecting the eggs would grow or evolve somehow as the embryos develop, but up to now I have seen no change in color or size, hopefully they will hatch in two more weeks.

The other development is that last night I found a second berried female swimming around. Things seem to be heating up in my tank I guess that means that the little guys are happy

What is amazing to me is how little these shrimp need to thrive. I've been reading this forum a lot and realize that most of the commenters have experience with aquariums, parameters, filters, heaters and what not. Well, that is not my case at all. I'm an absolute newbie. Low maintenance was what attracted me to these animals originally. I just followed the very simple instructions of Mustafa's method and that's it. I don't have a filter, I have never checked any parameters (I don't have the equipment)... I don't even have a light in my tank! I think all of that is testament to the awesomeness of these shrimp, they really are easiest pets ever and yet really cool ones.

Well that's all for now. I'll check back in two more weeks, hopefully I will have some larvae floating around by then and the second female will be half way with her eggs (crossing fingers) To be continued...

[camaronqueseduerme]

Quick update: today I found a third berried female

The other two pregnant females have lost a couple of eggs each but still holding on to most of them. The first batch should hatch in about a week, can't wait to see if there's a happy ending!

[KenCotigirl]

I will keep my fingers crossed for you.

Ken

[camaronqueseduerme]

So no happy ending for my first female

On the 29th day the eggs hatched. Still under the female's belly, you could see 5 little larvae (of the original 9 eggs). I was really excited. Last night she released the first one, I saw it floating around the tank. This morning I was expecting to see all five of them but all I found was a tiny larva stuck and motionless in the macro alga and no sign of the other four. I am afraid the whole lot is lost.

I would like to ask the most experienced members what could have possibly gone wrong. I have two more berried females and I would hate to lose those too. I follow Mustafa's instructions: add water when it evaporates and feed one single pellet every other week. I can't measure parameters because I don't have the equipment. I have a small tank but I don't see anything strange. The macro alga has grown a lot, I must have around 15 big snails and several tiny ones (from the original 10 I bought from Mustafa) and the shrimp seemed to be doing very well to me until this larva disaster.

Any advice to avoid the same fate to the other eggs would be most appreciated.

[KenCotigirl]

I would like to state the following based upon my observations in an effort to help you allay your concerns:

I would not worry about one dead larvae.

Larvae are notoriously hard to see. Try looking from the side of the tank if your tank is rectangular. I find they are easier to spot that way. If that does not work wait till it is dark. Take a flash light and shine it in the top corner. Larvae seem to be attracted to the light.

The first berried shrimp in a new tank and newly transformed larvae into shrimp are more sensitive i believe than shrimp in an well established tank. Any water conditions not to their liking may cause egg drop and larvae death. We may not be able to measure the conditions that cause this.

Having your shrimp reproduce is a very good sign. Be patient and you will be rewarded. Keep us updated.

Ken P

[camaronqueseduerme]

Thank you so much, Ken. I really appreciate your encouragement after the bummer of losing the entire first batch of eggs. I'm following your advice, i.e. I'll keep doing the same thing and hopefully the tank's chemistry will improve on its own. In about a week the second female should be ready for hatching and I hope this time around the results will be better.

The one strange thing is that today I found yet another berried female. That makes number four since the whole ovulation thing started last month. So it seems that the tank is pretty good for getting females berried but not good enough to keep the larvae alive. I wonder if other members have had similar experiences.

I will definitely keep you posted. Once again thanks for all your advice!