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Posted: Sat Apr 07, 2007 2:50 pm
by badflash
Terran wrote:I assume that they need still water?
I'm not sure what you are asking. From what I have seen, most faiiry shrimp need to have their eggs dry out, then re-hydrate to hatch.
If you locate a vernal pond (easy to find right now) that has shrimp, wait until it dries up, then dig up the dried mud from the bottom and save it.
Set up an aquarium and fill it with distilled or R/O water and put in a few tablespoons of the dirt. Give it lots of liight and sit back and watch. The most amazing things hatch out, fairy shrimp being just one of many.
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:12 am
by Invader_Xan
iturnrocks wrote:What country are you in?
Fairy shrimp grow about as fast as Triops, they just dont grow quite as large. Fairy shrimp I have raised have always lived about a month longer than Triops. I would say on average they reach adult size in 3 weeks. But then there are many factors that affect their growth rate.
I'm in the UK... Can only find one online retailer for fairy shrimp eggs, and there aren't many vernal pools near me. At least, not many non-polluted ones.
I tried hatching a few out a couple of weeks ago -- same setup I've used for triops before. Only one survived. He's a bit under a centimetre long. Keeping him in a whiskey glass with a couple of tiny pieces of cladophora algae and a strand of java moss.
So while I'm sure it depends on species, how large do they tend to grow on average?
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 7:43 am
by Terran
badflash wrote:Terran wrote:I assume that they need still water?
I'm not sure what you are asking. From what I have seen, most faiiry shrimp need to have their eggs dry out, then re-hydrate to hatch.
If you locate a vernal pond (easy to find right now) that has shrimp, wait until it dries up, then dig up the dried mud from the bottom and save it.
Set up an aquarium and fill it with distilled or R/O water and put in a few tablespoons of the dirt. Give it lots of liight and sit back and watch. The most amazing things hatch out, fairy shrimp being just one of many.
Well I read this elsewhere.....how accurate is the information....
Females can produce two types of eggs, thin shelled "summer" eggs and thick shelled "winter" eggs. The type of egg produced is determined by the number of males in the community; summer eggs will be produced if there is a shortage of males in the population. Summer eggs hatch rapidly; the young form while still inside the brood sac. The young from these eggs will populate the pool during the same season they are laid. The winter eggs remain in the mud at the base of the pool and dry out with the pool. The eggs will hatch in the spring when the pools refills. Though the resting period usually varies between 6 to 10 months, eggs have been hatched in a laboratory after 15 years. Eggs have been subjected to temperatures of as high as 99C and as low as -190 C and remained viable. Winter eggs usually hatch 30 hours after being exposed to water.
If they can have eggs that hatch in the same season could you maintain a population without ever having to dry out the tank?....
And would you not be able to use a filter?
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:04 am
by iturnrocks
I have never had a second set of eggs hatch without a dry cycle. This may happen in the wild, but I think it would be difficult to recreate it in captivity. Usually when my fairy shrimp die out, the seed shrimp take over, and I imagine they would kill any new fairy shrimp nauplii. The seed shrimp will eat the fairy shrimp when they die. Perhaps in the wild, natural predators would keep the seed shrimp under control. You might try it if you have only fairy shrimp in the tank, but I dont know how long you would have to keep the tank empty after the adults die before new hatching occurs. It might also require new rainfall to encourage the new ones to hatch. I suppose you could try adding some new distilled to the tank, but it sounds like quite a project.
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 9:36 am
by badflash
I used a simple bubble powered under gravel filter. Do not do water changes, just add distilled or better yet, R/O water if youneed to make-up for evaporation. I fed them green water and kept the lights on 16 hours a day.
I would see the females cary lots of eggs, but never saw new ones after the 1st hatch.
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:21 am
by iturnrocks
if youre just adding water for evap, you dont need to use distilled, just regular non-cholorinated water like bottled water. You only need distilled for the initial hatching, or unless you are trying to coax a second hatching. Usually now I hatch with distilled in a 1 quart container then after a week swith to a 2 gallon with regular water.
Posted: Mon Apr 09, 2007 10:44 am
by badflash
I had problems with my tp water causing large die-offs, so I stick with R/O.
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 8:28 am
by Invader_Xan
Copper pipes, maybe? I know that branchiopods are even more sensitive to water quality than decapods...
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 11:34 am
by The Fisherman
Those are some crazy looking shrimp...
I could be wrong, but I think i've seen a few of these in my pond before. Probably just something that looks similar though...
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 12:40 pm
by iturnrocks
They generally dont last long in ponds that have fish. Fish find them yummy.
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 5:32 pm
by badflash
Invader_Xan wrote:Copper pipes, maybe? I know that branchiopods are even more sensitive to water quality than decapods...
No copper in my water, hot or cold. I've tested. My water is just too hard. Their ponds get rain water, so soft make-up makes sense to me.
Posted: Tue Apr 10, 2007 6:03 pm
by The Fisherman
iturnrocks wrote:They generally dont last long in ponds that have fish. Fish find them yummy.
Ahh, it must be something that looks similar then. I'll try and collect one next time i'm out there.
Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 3:22 pm
by pleco_breeder
Hello,
I just found a source for eggs/cysts for Fairy shrimp, no species name given. The problem is that the supplier claims that they "must" be fed Chlorella in order to survive past 3 days. The only algal cultures I have at my disposal are mixed cultures. Although they all originally had Chlorella, I cannot even say whether there is any of that genus remaining. Is it actually imperative that they only be fed a specific genus in order to survive? I'm aware of several saltwater species which are just that picky, but had never heard of such a thing in freshwater inverts.
Thanks,
Larry Vires
Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 6:12 pm
by badflash
I think that is likely bunk. Just about any green water should do.
Posted: Tue May 08, 2007 10:09 pm
by Mustafa
I agree...that's bull. Not like these guys selectively eat chlorella in nature. And as we all know there is no puddle out there with a pure chlorella culture that happens to have formed naturally.