Do shrimps guard there eggs?

lordcycle · Post by **lordcycle** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 8:48 pm

I can't seem to find my pregnant cherry shrimp anywhere? she looked like she was about to let go of her eggs but hopefully she is hiding somewhere with them? or do shrimps just dump there eggs and not pay attention to them?

Baby_Girl · Post by **Baby_Girl** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:43 pm

well, cherry shrimp (and all dwarf shrimp) do not drop their eggs unless something is wrong. They carry their eggs for weeks until they hatch. For RCS, that takes 3-4 weeks and the momma will hold those eggs under her tail for the entire time. If she 'aborts' those eggs before they hatch, that is not a good sign. In the case they drop their eggs, they never guard them because that batch is basically a lost cause (e.g. the mom is so stressed out that she is just in survival mode).

I have noticed that berried RCS females, especially the mature and thus more brilliantly red ones, tend to be a little shy when they're berried (carrying fertilized eggs). It's probably a natural defense instinct. They'll still come out to eat, but otherwise are just not as present in the tank as their younger and unburdened counterparts. Other people may have a different observation, but that is what I've noticed. This is ESPECIALLY true if they are kept in a fish tank because the presence of potential predators makes them uneasy.

When it comes time for the eggs to hatch, Mom usually goes into hiding. Even though I've had hundreds of batches of eggs hatch in my invert-only tanks, I've never once witnessed the baby shrimpies actually hatching.

So did your momma shrimp physically abandon the eggs? If so, I strongly suggest you test your water for ammonia and nitrite.

sstimac · Post by **sstimac** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:01 pm

^True.
I have observed one of my females give birth. The babies are incredibly small. I had no idea how small until I actually saw them. They are barely bigger than pencil lead. You often do not see them until they are a week or two old. They grow rather quickly, in my experience.

I can usually tell about a week before my females give birth. Every single one of them thus far has gone into hiding in one of three holes in pieces of driftwood in the tank. During that week I hardly see her. She only comes out when it is feeding time.

Also, I have read that there are occasions when a female will molt while berried. Often when this happens she will lose the eggs in the process. Apparently, this often occurs after a large partial water change has taken place. One way to get around this issue is to perform smaller water changes while your female is berried.

I used to perform 50% water changes weekly on my discus tank, but now because I always have berried females in the tank I do about two or three small water changes weekly. Normal invert tanks probably do not partial water changes this frequently.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:14 am

The effect on water changes depends on your water. If you have nasty stuff in your water and are using a water conditioner, more frequent smaller water changes are probably better. Now that Ihave a super god in-line water filter I can do 50% water changes with no effect on the baby shrimp.

sstimac · Post by **sstimac** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:45 am

badflash wrote: I have a super god in-line water filter

Sounds like a deity worthy of worship.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:53 am

sstimac wrote:
badflash wrote: I have a super god in-line water filter
Sounds like a deity worthy of worship.

I am hoping this was a typo because from what badflash has told us about his filter system it sounds great

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:43 pm

Freudian slip. I'd been praying for something like this for so long, it is almost a religious experience!

I'm going to put one of these on my drinking water supply. The Hudson has all sorts of industrial pollution including PCB's. No wonder the shrimp had problems. It can't be good for us either!

sstimac · Post by **sstimac** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 8:30 pm

You just made me think of something. I am an outdoors-man. I spend days at a time in the forests of the Upper Peninsula. I never pack much water, instead I find artesian wells or well filtered spots in rivers and drink from them.

Here in Marquette (municipal water), however, I buy most of the water I drink. I wonder if my body knows something I do not.

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:46 pm

I think it was Chicago that killed a bunch of people a few summers back because their sewerage system dumped into the lake and their water supply came from the same place. It doesn't take a lot to figure "Hey- Here's your problem!".

sstimac · Post by **sstimac** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:58 pm

They pull our water straight from Lake Superior. A few years back we were advised not to drink our water for a few days because of possible contamination due to a flood that swallowed part of the city. I also do not understand why I can drink from the lake and not get sick, but they have to add all those chemicals to make it safe to drink. I got sick once from drinking from a river, it was horrible, but the water was fairly stagnant - I just really needed a drink.
I just do not trust all the crap they put in our water. If it can kill my fish, plants and inverts, how safe is it really?

Baby_Girl · Post by **Baby_Girl** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 12:53 pm

sstimac wrote: If it can kill my fish, plants and inverts, how safe is it really?

that's exactly how I feel about my tap water. Ever since it killed several batches of shrimp, I have trained myself NOT to use tap water for cooking. I never drank it plain, anyway, because it tasted icky but now I don't want to ingest it any quantity.

Cactus Bastard · Post by **Cactus Bastard** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:38 pm

I've noticed that whenever I drink more than a glass or two of tap water per day I get a sore throat. I've always assumed it's from chlorine, but wasn't terribly concerned about it. It can't be good for you though... I'm setting up a three stage filter for my tank water anyway, so I'll be switching to filtered water for drinking as well.

Jackie · Post by **Jackie** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:04 am

badflash wrote:I think it was Chicago that killed a bunch of people a few summers back because their sewerage system dumped into the lake and their water supply came from the same place.

Please don't scare my shrimp

I keep hearing that Chicago has one of the best tap waters in the country, now I'm worried.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:42 am

Jackie wrote:
badflash wrote:I think it was Chicago that killed a bunch of people a few summers back because their sewerage system dumped into the lake and their water supply came from the same place.
Please don't scare my shrimp I keep hearing that Chicago has one of the best tap waters in the country, now I'm worried.

It's not just the shrimp that need to worry by the sound of it. But I am sure it was an isolated yet terrible incident

badflash · Post by **badflash** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 8:03 am

Sounds like political hype if you ask me. Here is a NY Times article published July 4 1892 (yes over 115 years ago):
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-fr ... ref=slogin

It isn't like they didn't know it was a problem.

Here is a June 2003 report:
http://nrdc.org/water/drinking/uscities/pdf/chicago.pdf
Not exactly a glowing report.

Here is their water treatment web page. I could not find a recent water report like is normally available at other city's websites.