I'm A Dad (Red Cherry Shrimp)

[sbenbow]

Really excited, as last night I saw 2 small baby RCS in our tank (hiding in the home-made bamboo shelters I put in last week).

This morning I counted 7 baby RCS in our tank (and Mum is looking a bit less bloated now!) - although there could be more as there are a lot of hiding places under rocks and plants.
 
They are really cute - miniature versions of the adults - about 2mm long.
 
Not sure how long they will last for - we have 3 Danio's that might think they are a tasty snack, but that is life in the food chain (and I don't have a spare tank & heater to take them out for safety).

 

[fm1978]

Congratulations! It is quite exciting to see wee babies!
 
I'm sure they have your eyes!

 

[TheJack]

Yeah, they are great! I started with four in July and now there are around forty or so!

 

[the_lock_man]

Most will find a way of hiding until they're big enough. I bought 10 from a local breeder some time ago, and a few months later moved 30+ to my other tank.
 
I have recently moved them back again, as they were being predated upon by my peacock gobies. I moved about a dozen back, and in the last week have moved a further 10 across, at least 2 of which must have hatched since I moved the main bulk of them, so I clearly had a mature berried female still in there.

 

[dave840f1]

Can I ask do you feed the young (shrimplets. I made that up) and what do you feed the adults on?

 

[sbenbow]

I have tried feeding them flakes and also pellets that sink to the bottom, but in both cases my Danio's seem to devour the lot first!!!
 
They seem to be happy eating all the algae (and anything leftover food that may float down) in the tank though - and I know that they are growing as I see the white "ghost" shells left behind when they moult as they grow out of them.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Nice one! 

 

[Baccus]

Congratulations, its always exciting when you start finding shrimplets getting about in a tank.

 

[dave840f1]

I'm thinking of getting some shrimp is there anything I should be looking for with regards to health and age etc.?

 

[Baccus]

If your getting dwarf species of shrimp then try to not get fully grown ones, they only have a relatively short life span any way and when already full grown you have no way of knowing how old the shrimp are. Also if its a particular colour morph that you are getting try to get the best quality that you can afford and take note of the pH the seller is keeping their shrimp at. Some shrimp do well in low pH others at a high and the pH will greatly affect the colour and visual quality of a shrimp.

 

[dave840f1]

I have never kept fresh water shrimp so wanted to start with easy preferably about 1" plus in size.