Ghost Shrimp Possibly Having Eggs?

[fishafanatic]

I was watching one of my ghost shrimp today and i saw that it had some thing yellowish on its legs that they use to swim. If she has eggs then how can i save them? I really want to raise them, it would be my first time....can someone tell me how to raise until they can be introduced into the community aquarium again? thanks in advanced for your help

 

[Shrimper]

Sounds like she has some eggs... congrats

She will carry them round with her until they hatch, probably for about a month. Unfortunately I don't know for certain if the babies will survive in fresh water or not. Ghost shrimp is a common name that covers quite a few species of shrimp. Some will be fine in fresh water, but some of which need brackish or even full salt water to survive while they are young.

I guess she is in a community tank in which case most babies would get eaten by the fish anyway, they would need a species/breeding tank to survive in any numbers.

If you can get a photo of her with the eggs i might be able to guess if they are likely to survive or not but i can't give any guarantees. You should be able to tell from the size and number of eggs. Those that survive in fresh water are called Higher Form shrimp and will have fewer bigger eggs. Those that need salt water for a larval stage are called lower form and generally have lots of smaller eggs.

 

[fishafanatic]

ok I'll try to get a picture soon...


Edit: i have a 2.5 gallon tank, could i put her in there so she can have the babies and not get them eaten?

 

[Shrimper]

ok I'll try to get a picture soon...


Edit: i have a 2.5 gallon tank, could i put her in there so she can have the babies and not get them eaten?

2.5G would be enough for the shrimplets, fingers crossed they will be ok in fresh water for you.

 

[fishafanatic]

After sooo many atempts at trying to get a pic. each one being all foggy looking , i've decided to try to describe my "ghost shrimp" All of them are translucent and have yellow flouresent lines and two red dots on their tail. The female and two or three others have a red place on their antenas and on their legs that they use to grab food. Hopefully that can tell you if they can survive. The eggs aren't that small and there is probably 20-30 eggs in there...still wish I could have gotten a pic. Can the female still shed even though she has the eggs because all of my shrimp were shedding today...i think all of them

 

[Shrimper]

After sooo many atempts at trying to get a pic. each one being all foggy looking , i've decided to try to describe my "ghost shrimp" All of them are translucent and have yellow flouresent lines and two red dots on their tail. The female and two or three others have a red place on their antenas and on their legs that they use to grab food. Hopefully that can tell you if they can survive. The eggs aren't that small and there is probably 20-30 eggs in there...still wish I could have gotten a pic. Can the female still shed even though she has the eggs because all of my shrimp were shedding today...i think all of them

No idea from the description... Ghost shrimp all sound quite similar when described

I don't think they can shed and keep the eggs. When they shed they climb out of their existing skin through the back of the neck. Any eggs will be attached to the outside of the skin and would be left behind. I'm sure maternal instinct would prevent her from shedding while she had eggs developing. My female CRS only sheds her skin after she has given birth. Check the plants carefully if none of the shrimp have eggs anymore, there could be some babies

20 to 30 could be a good sign. Do they/did they look similar in size to the ones on the crs in my sig? Or do they look more like the eggs on the Anamo shrimp in the forum profile - http/www.fishforums.net/content/Inverteb...e-in-the-Index/

 

[fishafanatic]

they look more like the crs. they aren't as huge but similar. hopefully that's a good thing...

 

[Shrimper]

they look more like the crs. they aren't as huge but similar. hopefully that's a good thing...

Fingers-crossed for you then. It does sound promising.