CPOs Mating but Female never berried

[batou]

Dear Pet Shrimp Members

I have a 30 Gallon/ c 120 L tank with two CPO Crayfish, 8 H.Rasboras and 20 N.Tetras and an assortment of shrimp.

The CPOs in my tank have been 'mating' since the past ten days but the female is yet to carry eggs. She is almost always hiding under driftwood while the Male is scavenging/ eating/ scouting about the tank. The CPOs have been in my tank for about a month. The Female has moulted once. The Male is yet to moult. CPOs are fed HIKARI Algae wafers.

Have any of you had similar experiences with breeding CPOs?
Am I supposed to keep the CPOs apart post mating?

Thanks
Batou

[Mustafa]

The female has to actually have egg-filled ovaries to be able to start carrying eggs around. Mating in itself does not mean anything, especially since the female has no choice in this matter...the male basically grabs her against her will and forces himself on her..every time. All you can really do is make them happy, keep the water clean, feed them well and....wait. No separation is necessary.

[batou]

Dear Mustafa

Much thanks for the response. I will bide my time.

Apropos docile CPOs- I now stand corrected. Last night post a 30% water change, some of my shrimp moulted. The CPOs made short work of few of these shrimp ( I'm missing a few shrimp and the tank now has two headless RCS corpses ) and I will have to either increase feeding routines to the CPOs or remove them altogether. I suspect the CPOs are opportunists, despite the good press on the species found on the internet.

Best
B
Edit: grammar

[Mustafa]

The good press you find on the internet is either from people who just got their CPOs and have no clue what they are talking about, or it's from people who are trying to sell you CPOs and make them look like they are the most peaceful and most compatible species on the planet. I wish people just told the truth. In any case, yes, they are opportunists, and they will eat a shrimp if they can. Most of the time they get to snip the shrimp's antennae and legs. The shrimp learn after a while and mostly avoid the crayfish. If you have enough hiding spaces (i.e. a well structured tank), then you can keep shrimp with them..and the shrimp will even reproduce. If you have two RCS corpses lying around, then that may mean that the shrimp died without the CPOs being responsible for it. If the CPO catches a shrimp, it usually feasts on it...and then the others finish it off.