Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Here is something to think about before you guys go out there and change things about your setup left and right and possibly upset your cozy warm shrimp. There are actually *several* different species of what people commonly call "red claw macro" out there. They all look quite similar for the most part and are hard to distinguish for the untrained eye (and even most trained eyes without a microscope and knowledge of scientific literature). Since they are different species, they will have different behaviors. Some may be more or less aggressive towards fish and other shrimp species, more or less tolerant of their own species (especially males) and more or less of a plant eater. That's why there are so many differing accounts out there about the behavior of red claw macros. Any given import of red claw macros may be one of 3 to 5 or more closely related species out there.

In fact I know that I have had *at least* three different species of red claw macro in the past! Something to think about.

More baby red claw macros. There are at least six in this batch. It's funny how long it takes to see them emerge after seeing the mother no longer berried. This female lived to talk about it, so I couldn't be happier. The babies are adorable, especially among the cherry young.

Aweseome! I love these guys, they really have personality. It takes the young a while to emerge because the mother actually watches over them in her hideout. If you ever get a chance to see the female with her young in her burrow, you'll see that she literally stands right on top of the group of young with her claws extended ready to defend them. It's interesting to observe brood care in a crustacean.

On a hunch, I threw a berried female in an empty cycled 10-gallon. She didn't come out much for the first week and I got worried. Then... she shed. That worried me more, thinking she may have lost the eggs.

I took a few moments last night to take a more careful look in the tank, and sure enough, there are at least 15 little macros running around in the gravel. Cutest thing I've ever seen. The mom is out and about eating (probably making up for all the hard work she did prior).

Quick question: Should I remove the mom now that she had the young? I can put her back in the community tank with the alpha male and other females.

Thanks guys,

-R

Congrats! You can remove her or leave her in there, it really does not matter. The mother doesn't hunt them down or anything...you may even see the young climb all over her for a while.

I checked the tank last night and did not see any offspring. Thought it was weird. Looked everywhere but... they vanished. So either the water quality wasn't up to par (they seemed healthy and the parameters are perfect) or the mom gobbled them. Seems implausible except there is almost no other explanation.

I swapped her out for a new berried female from the community tank. This time I'll yank her at first sight of babies. See how this goes. I know red claw behavior varies by species so perhaps this one is a little more aggressive towards its young. :/

I still doubt she ate them, unless you actually saw them getting eaten. Even if the water parameters check out "ok" with tests, things may still not be in balance. Hatchlings are a whole lot more sensitive to such things than adults or even older juveniles. They just drop dead, even if the adult is running around seemingly fine. By the time your next female releases her young, your tank will probably have stabilized anyway, so, if the young survive next time, don't necessarily think that they did so because the female is gone.

Another batch of babies in the community tank. This time there are almost 50 of them. Will try to get some pics. I've never seen so many. Lots of fun.

Congrats! These guys have character...kinda like Cichlids, and similar to your M. rosenbergii, only in a smaller package.