Cherry Shrimp Dropping Eggs.

[bigcheed]

hello all. my cherry shrimp keep dropping their eggs. ive had them about four months. they live in an inverts only tank. there are 10 cherrys in total and live with two amano shrimp and four nerite snails of different types. the tank is 28l. run on a basic sponge filter. water perameters are 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 5 nitrate. ph 7. they molt regularly. the females always get saddles. but only stay berried for a day or two before dropping them. i just dont know whats making them do it. if they were unhappy they wouldnt get saddles in the first place would they? can ayone shed a little light on this please.

 

[stanleo]

Hope this helps but my water is the same except a pH of 6 in 10gl tank. Temp is 78 degrees with a sponge filter. there are live plants such as swords, java moss and java fern and anubais. Mine went from 5 shrimp to about 50 in the last two months. My substrate is a black shrimp specific media from Fluval. I don't think that matters though cause I hate it. Its messy and doesn't hold the plants well. I did notice an uptake in breeding when I put bog wood in the tank. I'm not sure if that helps. Hopefully Baccus will see this cause she was a BIG help to me.

 

[Baccus]

Because they are in an invert only tank you can almost rule out stress from other inhabitants as a factor for making the cherry shrimp drop their eggs. However I would just keep an eye on the amano shrimp and that they aren't bullying the smaller cherry shrimp.
Are you sure that you have male and female cherry shrimp? Maybe the eggs are not getting fertilised thus the dropping the eggs, or the males you have are still to young to successfully breed.
What are you feeding your shrimp? A good varied diet is always best and you can give them banana, zucchini and they will also nibble on carrots. Mulberry leaves are also good for them along with Kale. If giving shrimp any of these foods purchased from shops make sure its organically grown and if collecting leaves etc from around your home or neighbourhood just make sure no chemicals have been used on the plants. My shrimp are also partial to Nori sheets (the seaweed wrap that goes around sushi), and I bet your nerite snails will love it too (my nerites certainly do). Shrimp also like a bit of protein in their diet and really enjoy defrosted bloodworms as well.

 

[bigcheed]

I've actually got more males than females. I did my research on sexing and have seen the increased activity in them when the females molt. I'm feeding a mix of hikari crab cuisine and caridina nano sticks. They love them both and rush out when I feed them which is every other day. I haven't been giving them any fresh foods after having a bad experience in one of my other tanks. The anamo's do get a little rowdy at feeding time but otherwise are pretty chilled. I have been thinking about re housing them in my community tank tho. I already have a colony of them in there and thought they might be better off. Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[bigcheed]

success at last. ive noticed baby shrimp in my tank the last couple of days. I re homed the amanos and added  a small piece of bogwood. also started feeding cucumber once a fortnight. wow they really go nuts for it. thanks for all the advice guys. it was spot on.

 

[Baccus]

Good to hear that your now finding baby shrimp

 . Keep giving them a varied diet and in no time you should have more cherry shrimp then you know what to do with.

 

[bigcheed]

thanks baccus. do you have any tips on tank maintenance now there are baby shrimp in the tank.ie syphoning the gravel and water changes. now I have shrimplets I don't want to suck them up.lol

 

[Baccus]

You can use a hose with either a net (I use a fish net for this) or a fine filter that is designed to go on farm irrigation equipment (they filter out dirt or leaf debris so it doesn't foul pumps etc) over the end of your siphon hose. I always siphon into another container just so that I can double check for any accidential sucked up shrimp or even fish fry.
 
Also if you go to move any plants in the tank, give them a good shake and swirl in the tank then put the plant into another container with water. When you want to put the plant back or into another tank, again give it a good swirl in the separate container. I can almost guarantee that you will discover hitch hiker shrimp in the container that you temporarily had the plant/ weed in.