Atyopsis moluccensis Carrying Eggs!

Post by **Mustafa** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:49 am

YuccaPatrol wrote:I am looking forward to more updates on this. I am particularly interested in knowing the incubation time between the first day you saw eggs and the day that they hatch.

These guys carry their eggs a very, very long time. As far as I can remember my female used to carry hers somewhere between 40-60 days!

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:19 am

That's great info, Mustafa. Now I don't have to check the eggs 5 times a day.

I also want to add that I have TWO females that are carrying eggs!

Each female is carrying 2 different colored eggs. The first female that I posted about has bright, deep orange eggs. The female that I found today with eggs has olive green colored eggs.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:40 pm

What is you pH & water temperature? Hard or soft water?

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 5:42 am

badflash wrote:What is you pH & water temperature? Hard or soft water?

The pH in the tank is 7.0. I use water from the tap that's aged one week with Prime. The tap water here is hard as a rock, but I haven't checked the tank is several months. I'll test it a little later today. The tank stays at about 75F.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 11:24 am

That is an interesting data point. I was keeping mine is acidic soft water and they did not seem happy there. Also no eggs. When they were in hard basic water they seemed very happy.

I think I'll be moving them back.

Post by **Mustafa** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 12:22 pm

badflash wrote:That is an interesting data point. I was keeping mine is acidic soft water and they did not seem happy there. Also no eggs. When they were in hard basic water they seemed very happy.

I think I'll be moving them back.

There might be other factors contributing to their unhappiness besides ph. I used to keep mine in the 6.5-7.0 ph range and they did great and had eggs and everything. Before that I kept a pair in, get this, 5.0-5.5 ph water and they were the happy, fat and the reddest I have ever seen this species, especially after molting.

They can live and do fine in alkaline water, but the question for the breeder is: Will the eggs hatch and the larvae survive? If they do and more people report larvae in their alkaline water tanks, then we can go ahead and assume that this species has a very wide range of water parameters under which it can live.

What I know for sure is that they live in habitats in borneo, where the water is tea color and the ph in the 5-6 range. However, considering how widely distributed this shrimp supposedly is, all over the indopacific, one could infer that they are adapted to a wide range of water parameters.

Go ahead and try them in alkaline water and report back if you see any larvae. That's the only way we'll find out.

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 2:47 pm

I've tested the KH of the water in the tank, and I have to admit that I am a bit confused with the test kit. Hopefully someone here uses the Tetra test kits and can help me. I used 5 mL of water (which is what the directions said to use) and used 5 drops for the water to turn from blue to yellow. The instructions then claimed if 10 mL of water is used for testing then a more accurate reading will result. One drop of testing fluid is supposed to equal 1/2 degree dH. So is my result 5 degrees dH or 2.5 degrees dH?

I do not have a GH test kit.

When I had first started the tank they are in (and didn't know any better) they seemed uncomfortable, and I could see them try to escape. Luckily, I had and still have a glass top on the tank. I don't remember what the water parameters were at the time, but I am sure that they wer all out of whack.

I am planning to keep them in the tank that they are in now, because so far they seem the happiest there, and I have no where else to move them.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:15 pm

Mustafa wrote:There might be other factors contributing to their unhappiness besides ph. I used to keep mine in the 6.5-7.0 ph range and they did great and had eggs and everything. Before that I kept a pair in, get this, 5.0-5.5 ph water and they were the happy, fat and the reddest I have ever seen this species, especially after molting.

They can live and do fine in alkaline water, but the question for the breeder is: Will the eggs hatch and the larvae survive? If they do and more people report larvae in their alkaline water tanks, then we can go ahead and assume that this species has a very wide range of water parameters under which it can live.

What I know for sure is that they live in habitats in borneo, where the water is tea color and the ph in the 5-6 range. However, considering how widely distributed this shrimp supposedly is, all over the indopacific, one could infer that they are adapted to a wide range of water parameters.

Go ahead and try them in alkaline water and report back if you see any larvae. That's the only way we'll find out.

I have to believe there are a lot of varieties of these shrimp. Mine were always active and happy in hard water, and went into hiding when move to soft. They never had that happy red color in any tank with pH from 5.5 to 7.5

I have them in the acid tank for a good 6 months, and gotten no place. The bumblebees did fine. I think I'll move the BB's and harden up this tank eventually.

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:10 pm

Just a thought: Should the tank be bare bottom or should I have something like a sand substrate?

YuccaPatrol · Post by **YuccaPatrol** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 6:53 pm

ARB:

One paper that I read described their native habitat as fast moving boulder strewn streams. The shrimp were said to spend their lives clinging to these boulders filtering the water that flows past them.

I don't think these shrimp care about sand/gravel as much as they care about water flowing across solind surfaces that they can cling to.

Make sure that your shrimp have something solid to climb on to get to the fastest flowing water in your tank (somewhere in front of the filter output).

Mine spend almost all of the time on a piece of tall driftwood or clinging to the intake tube of the filters right below the output flow.

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 5:52 am

Boulder strewn streams? Now I am wondering if we are talking about the same shrimp. I have read that they live in streams that's riddled with organic litter.

I was referring to the rearing tank, not the main tank with the adults.
Here's a pic of the hygro forest that they like to stay in:

ALSO!!! GREAT NEWS! I have THREE females carrying eggs! One more female to go, and all my females will be carrying eggs.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 8:27 am

AnneRiceBowl"]Boulder strewn streams? Now I am wondering if we are talking about the same shrimp. I have read that they live in streams that's riddled with organic litter.

The same shrimp may be in either of these environments in nature as streams are variable and the shrimp can be found throughout the stream. The more important thing is that they need a current/flow to thrive.

I like the hygro forest and congratulations on the eggs!

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 10:45 am

Okay, gotcha. Thanks for the congrats. I have bad news to report. I was cleaning out the tank (scraping the old silicone from when I had the 10 gallon divided), and I discovered a crack in the bottom of the tank. So, I am going to have to wait and get a new 10 gallon or other tank.

AnneRiceBowl · Post by **AnneRiceBowl** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 11:14 am

Sooooo...I just had an idea. I can move the betta out of my Eclipse Hex 5 (has a Bio-Wheel for a filter that I can put a Hydro sponge on the intake) and use that for the shrimp-rearing tank. Do you guys think this would work? I can use cable ties (or zip ties, as some people call them) to attach the Hydro sponge to the intake of the Bio-Wheel. The Bio-Wheel creates a nice, strong current in the tank. Opinions please! I want to get the tank going very soon! Thanks!

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Fri Sep 22, 2006 2:44 pm

You don't want strong current for the fry, just the aduts. 5 gallons is way too small for the adults.