# Breeding shrimp...



## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Hello, I got a ghost shrimp from the store earlier today and turns out she's pregnant! The pet store suggested a heavily planted tank with some aquarium salt to get her to drop the eggs but aside from that, I have no idea where to start. I have been thinking about getting a shrimp breeding setup for a while now and will hopefully get a tank for it soon (It's rather expensive so I have to save up- its really nice though so totally worth it!) But one step at a time. I wanted to hear your thoughts on this. So far I have a 3ish gallon tub with a heater, some rocks, a few plants/moss balls and a large piece of drift wood plus a plastic hiding space (the cover for a whisper filter thats not in use) and the salt. Is this a good setup to encourage the felmale to drop the eggs? After that how long till they hatch? And what so I feed them? I dropped some first bites fry food on the tank for the female and hopefully the nymphs (is that what you call them?) Eill eat that too. Im also going to the pond soon to get some daphnia so i can start a colony in some green water I've been preparing. I also havr microworms although I'll need a new starter for those since my colony just crashed and they ALL died. Will they eat any of those things?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

I am commenting according to general shrimp behavior. I have no real experience with ghost shrimps. 

Firstly, you don't want shrimp to drop eggs. They should carry eggs until they hatch. Then babies will scatter.

Most shrimps are canibals and will eat it's own kind - including offspring (especially during molting). You will need thick bushy plants or whatever hideouts for small shrimps to hide, dash away, or molt (other shrimps will attack molting shrimps).

They will unlikely eat foods that can swim away. Worms, flakes, or veggies (not sure what is best) work better. 

Use filters, probably sponge is better - they need moving water or oxygen supply. Or you can also use very shallow water with floating plants for shrimp to stay near water surface.

Again, I have never dealt with ghost shrimps. But I had some experience with common pond shrimp, cherry and crayfish . . . Which IMO are similar in terms of living conditions


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Ok thanks! How shallow do you mean? The shrimp I have is in a tub of about 5in of water currently. You said that substitutes for a filter/oxygen supply? I don't really have a sponge filter at the moment...


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

4-5" should be good. Stem plants should grow to the surface (thus you don't need actual floating plants). . . Just approximate water surface x depth to ensure sufficient oxygen supply.

Filter is not a must, though should be better. Just bubblers will do (also not a must if you're sure the water is absorbing enough oxygen). But in time you will need to clean tank/tub. Tiny shrimps may make it difficult to clean. 

But hideouts, whether bushy plants, rocks, etc. is a must to ensure shrimp's safety.


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

indjo said:


> They will unlikely eat foods that can swim away. Worms, flakes, or veggies (not sure what is best) work better.


What kind of veggies? Do they need varied diet like bettas? I have powder fry food and microworms but I'm not sure how well the worms will work when the shrimp are still babies (they may be too large). I have easy access to most vegetables though so I think that would work well. I am also planning to start daphnia and infusoria colonies soon.


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Variety is always better as it should provide more balanced nutrition.

I guess veggy I use that's available in your area is cucumber. I chop it up and scatter where I think babies are hiding - they don't eat much. So make sure pieces are small enough to go through your siphon. 

I mainly feed tofu because it lasts a few days and common pond snails can clean up left overs (very cheap where I'm at). I don't use much flakes nor pellets, especially for babies. I fear left overs may foul the water (I can't actually see babies and don't know how many there are).

It's safe to feed "big" sized foods to shrimps because they nibble on food thus won't choke. Powdered fry food should work. They do nibble on green algae. Unfortunately not enough to keep tank clean from algae. Maybe I feed them too much - not sure.


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Ok thanks! Thats really helpful. Should I use a heater for the water? I have one right now but I wanted to check. Also how long does it usually take for the eggs to hatch and once they do should I take the mom out?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Not sure about heaters. Was never serious thus never looked into it. Besides I'm in a tropical area and don't use heaters. They seem to do equally well during dry (higher temps) and wet season. 

It Should be safer to remove any adults. And also never paid much attention to incubation period. Eggs usually turn darker when ready to hatch. I used to separate crayfish about to hatch. Then returned mom to her original tank. My crafish averaged 300-500 babies . . . Each needed hideouts - too much hassle and eventually gave up (after totally destroyed by floods) and returned to concentrate on bettas


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Alright thanks for all the help! Ill let you know how it goes 🙂


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Soooo... The shrimp died 😞 is there a possibility of the eggs still hatching? They darkened considerably from 2 days ago and i remember Indjo said that's a sign they're close to hatching. If they are gonna hatch, what's the time span? How long do I wait before I know they wont hatch?


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## indjo (Jun 6, 2010)

Sorry. The mom keeps eggs alive. Without mom, eggs dies. I've never tried keeping eggs alive without mom. . . . Maybe you can try using bubblers - like hatching brine shrimps


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## Betta_addict36 (Jan 14, 2019)

Alright, thanks.


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