Pregnant Amano?

[DeeGeeDee]

Just noticed tonight than one of my Amano's is constantly rushing water around its back legs, then, upon closer inspection, I can see lots and LOTS of eggs.

Obviously she's pregnant but I want someone to confirm.

Can Amano shrimp babies survive in tropical tanks? Won't the guppies eat them?

 

[Essjay]

Yes, that is a pregnant amano shrimp.

But you won't have lots of baby amano shrimps I'm afraid. Amano eggs hatch into a larval stage (unlike shrimps like cherries which hatch into miniature adults). In the wild, these larvae are then washed downstream to the river estuary which is brackish water; they feed and grow there, then metamorphose into adult shrimp which swim back upstream to fresh water. Because our tanks are fresh water, the larvae will die very quickly.
It is possible to breed amano shrimps but they need their own set up and the larvae need full strength marine water full of microscopic algae.

 

[DeeGeeDee]

Thanks! I don't fancy having hundred of them in the tank. Shame for the babies, but good for me!

 

[Den4o7]

I'm raising Amanos atm in freshwater and they have been fine for two years weeks. The first time i had a momma i put the zoes in 35ppt saltwater and two hours later every single one was dead . And they're 100% Amano shrimp before anyone doubts it. So im not too sure they do need saltwater after my experiences lately. Could depend on where you buy them from and so on. But they take ages to mature and you'll probs get 2/5 shrimp out of your time . Id feed them to the fish to save disappointment.

 

[Bugdozer]

I've tried deliberately breeding Amanos, largely out of stubbornness because people said it was almost impossible to do successfully!
The zoes need to gradually have their salinity raised over 24 hours if I remember correctly, if you just dump them into saline as soon as they hatch they will die. My attempts were unsuccessful because the method I was using (isolate mother shrimp in her own tank, then when the eggs hatch, put her back in with her friends and then raise the salinity for the zoes) was stressful to the mother and she dropped all her eggs before they hatched.