Do adult shrimp eat their offspring?

chris91jones · Post by **chris91jones** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:41 am

Hello,

One day a Palaeomonetes shrimp layed eggs. Later, I found some fry in the tank. I checked them often. But, two hours later, they were all gone. Did the adults eat them?

Thanks,
Chris

deliverme314 · Post by **deliverme314** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:55 am

No. Do you have a cover on your filter? Or a place where they could be hiding. Every week I clean out my canister filter... rather I I sift it to retrieve at least ten hatchling-juveniles. I really need to get a cover as this is obnoxious. But my guess would be that they are living in your filter. Especially if its a canister. I am not sure how much luck hatchlings have at living in hanging filters.

chris91jones · Post by **chris91jones** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:16 am

Hello,

Thanks alot, but I have an undergravel filter. I found no bodies.

chris91jones · Post by **chris91jones** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:18 am

Hello,

And when i looked in the filter, there were no bodies.

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:28 am

Chris,

Your Palaemonetes larvae are just starving to death. They are free floating larvae that need microorganisms as food items to survive. They are not as easy to propagate as some other shrimp we have talked about here. Unless you have a special setup, or a heavily planted, long-established tank, they will not survive.

Mustafa