hey everyone,
i am still trying to find a way to save all my baby cherry shrimp when i do get some but i can't leave them to be born in the 20g cause its full of neons which have really really good eye sight. Sooo i am thinking about putting them into one of those livebearer breeding traps, what do you guys think? will the baby cherry shrimp still be able to escape the trap through the open vents? i can stuff it with guppy grass if i need too. any ideas are welcome and no i can't set up a shrimp only tank . Is there any net that is small enough to hold baby cherry shrimp that are just born? i hear the shrimp are as big as brine shrimp when they are born :-/
oh one more thing, when i start to see the ovaries on the female cherry shrimp does this mean that they will be carrying eggs soon? or do i have to wait longer? thanks
Hi Pipefish, I'll try to answer your second question. Typically, Red Cherries are sexually mature at about the 3 month mark. However, they can have the saddle much earlier than that. A guesstimate would be about the 1.5 - 2 month mark, though there will be some variations among shrimps, depending on food availability, etc.
If I have this correctly, a sexually mature shrimp will molt then mate. It's then that the ovaries will descend down into the pleopod area (swimmerettes) as eggs. They should hatch in about 3 - 4 weeks. This is all provided you have a viable male and female.
Hi Mustafa, thanks for the correction, and yes, if the ovaries went someplace, then there would be no holding place for future egg production. I was at a loss for proper wording at 3:03 AM forum time.
An additional comment, Pipefish, from what I've observed is that after the female has been carrying eggs for a while, the yellow saddle above her head will already start forming again - I suppose ready for the next batch, after the present eggs hatch. So in that since, these poor little ladies seem to be shrimplet making machines!
If it's the plastic type with the vertical openings on two sides of the basket, then those openings are too large for the tiny shrimp. They will get out. However, there are many types of "baskets" out there, some with fine mesh netting, so it's hard to say anything without knowing what type of "basket" you have.
GM, I know how the brain works at 3AM...so no worries, I know that you know that ovaries do not go anywhere.
ok thanks, would something like this work? http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/product ... 537;pcid2= and yes i was refering to the plastic baskets with the vertical openings. Also do you think if i got a sponge filter and stuck it in one of those 1g totes you can buy at walmart and cycle it then put the mom in it and do one cup water changes twice a week will work? or more water changes? the temp in my house is usually around room temp so its like 72ish what do you think? thanks.
the one you show would work but beware the places between the mesh net and the plastic when you move it; you might squash a few tiny babies. learnt it in the hardway.
oh ok i know what you mean, i might buy a meshbag then make my own cause i used to have one of those breeding baskets but it was way to big for my little 20g and its a nicely planted tank so it annoys me to have to look at that big basket for so long
. Is there any net that is small enough to hold baby cherry shrimp that are just born? i hear the shrimp are as big as brine shrimp when they are born :-/
