Shrimp questions

[Beastije]

I just lucked out and saw a 2-3 mm shrimp sitting on my front glass!!! Is smaller than the snails I have there

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

CONGRATS on the babies!!
How quickly they mature also depends a lot on the temp. The temperature of the water affects their metabolism, so at warmer temps they mature much faster, and go through their life cycle quicker. That also means they don't live as long as shrimp that are in cooler temps. So my colony when kept at 78F grew quickly, taking 2-3 months to reach maturity and start breeding themselves, while shrimp at a cooler temp may take six months to reach maturity and reproduce. But the shrimp's lifecycle being slower also means they'll live longer. The ones that mature faster but die sooner aren't dying prematurely exactly, just that they're going through their entire lifecycle faster than the shrimp in cooler temps.

Now that you've seen a baby shrimp in your tank there will doubtless be more! Like @Essjay I usually only see the really tiny, transparent shrimplets when I do a water change and check the bucket. They're very small, transparent, and hide in the tank otherwise. So next time you clean the substrate, check the mulm in the bucket very carefully with a light over it, and look for the tiny darting shrimp movements! A turkey baster is a handy tool to suck them out of the bucket and put them back in the tank.

I have to go through that process every time I water change both my shrimp tank, and my pygmy cory tank too, since their fry are also tiny, hide in the substrate and wind up in the bucket, and are so tiny and mostly transparent that it's really hard to spot them in the mulm. But you develop an eye for spotting them after a while!

 

[Beastije]

Thanks for the reply, I read about the temperatures since this tank is unheated and I worried if they will spawn in winter, but unlucky for me, the summer crop will be short lived, the temp fluctuates between 25 and 27°C. I read fluctuation is not good for them, but I would say it is gradual with room temperature, so hopefully they will be ok. I see a lot of molts, surprisingly the amanos molt like once every two weeks, seems a bit too quick. Today I have seen 5 of the 2-3mm cherry babies sitting on rocks, plants and around the tank !!! So cute.
I am very worried about cleaning the substrate, so until now, I just didnt. I will consider it later on, but for now, I moved the brotia herculea in here for a vacation trip. I had to remove java fern, as it went to eat it immediately, it is its favorite meal. For now it is sifting through stuff and since adding, the shrimp are more active (though just male shrimp, so maybe a female is molting). All the females I can see now are berried. First thing all the shrimp did went to check out the snail. I hope it is unlikely to eat the babies in the substrate.
Will see what the brotia does with the substrate, it should sift through it and bury itself in it, in theory, and though it also poops a lot, it could be beneficial for the shrimp.

I will keep testing for NO2 to not miss any spikes

 

[Essjay]

I didn't make a note on the temperature when I first had the shrimp, but it was probably 25 deg C. I now keep them at 23 deg C and there are always newborns in the bucket when I do a water change.

If the temperature fluctuation is just 2 degrees, gradually over a day that shouldn't be a problem for them.

 

[Beastije]

So two months in, and no babies remain in the tank. I fed every week protein and once every while and algae tablet or vegetable. I also have oak leaves in the tank at all times. While I have seen many babies before, now it is just the adults and I cant spot a single shrimplet. Also the adults are in small numbers, 11 or so that I could count, though the thick moss is a good hiding place.
The tank is at 18°C at this moment, so I am not expecting anyone to be berried any time soon. No deaths have been seen by me though and I see molts appearing still, especially after yesterday's water change.
I will try to up my feeding, not sure if it is worth it at this moment though, since the temp is so low...
Ah well, live and learn.
I wonder if I should purchase like another 10 to increase possibility of male/female and ratio, or leave it like it is ?

 

[Lynnzer]

When I do a water change, or a clean of the substrate I always drain into a bucket so I can remove anything that moves easier. On just a water change, I have the end of the pipe inside a fine mesh bag of sorts, and used a pair of my wife's old tights for this last time, so that the young very small shrimp don't get sucked up. Instead of that, you can always drain through the other end in the bucket to save them. It won't work with mulm though.
I sort of just the shrimp to themselves to get on with life and every now and then, twice this last 3 months, I removed 165 to take to my LFS at a £1 each. It's store credit but as I'm starting a marine tank it'll be well spent.

 

[Beastije]

I keep checking the bucket, no babies there. I was wondering, since other keepers mention it, if the amano shrimps are not eating the babies, because they are more voracious eaters than the cherries and I for sure am underfeeding the amanos. I will move them to other tank and see if there are any changes.

 

[Essjay]

Are you certain that you have both male and female shrimps? Do you ever see cherry shrimps carrying eggs?

Back a decade ago when I first had cherry shrimps, I also had amano shrimps. I was asked if they were in the same tank as amanos can intimidate cherry shrimps, and cherry shrimps don't have babies if they are stressed. Even if you have females, this might be happening. (Mine were in different tanks)

 

[Beastije]

Over past three months I have seen many female berried and witnessed some like 10 2-3mm babies on plants and glass

 

[Essjay]

In that case you definitely have both males and females

I'm at a loss to know what's happening to the babies. Besides amanos, is there anything else in the tank?

 

[Naughts]

The tank is at 18°C at this moment, so I am not expecting anyone to be berried any time soon.

Correct, breeding will stop at low temperatures. When it warms up again the shrimp will be mature and settled and the population will sustain itself.

 

[Beastije]

In that case you definitely have both males and females

I'm at a loss to know what's happening to the babies. Besides amanos, is there anything else in the tank?

Just the snails I mentioned, a clithon and a brotia herculea.

 

[Essjay]

I think Naughts has it right. I'd missed the low temperature earlier

 

[Beastije]

I think Naughts has it right. I'd missed the low temperature earlier

I would totally understand why they wouldnt breed now, yes, because of the temperature.
but what happened to the babies that were there and were born in normal temperatures then?

Anyways, here is today's surprise, I know the picture quality is not the greatest.
I removed the amanos, maybe they were the cause, will see in a month or so

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

I keep five amanos with the cherry shrimp without a problem, but my cherry shrimp colony was thoroughly established and in big numbers before I added the amanos. Have never seen them bother the cherries, they just take large food items for themselves!
But when I first started with shrimp, I only bought five or so at a time (tight budget!) and it took months before they established themselves and I first saw baby shrimp and berried females. maybe 5- months I think, even with a tank at 76-77 F.
But I also agree with @Naughts , I think it's mainly the temp, but perhaps also because you said you were underfeeding the amanos? They're greedy, so if they're taking all the food you add, and the cherry shrimp find that food is in short supply, they won't breed.

But the temp is crucial for shrimp. When it's warmer, like mine, they mature and go through their life cycle much quicker. Means they don't live as long as those kept at a cooler temp. Since yours is pretty cool, their life cycle/maturation will be much slower. Personally I'd add a heater and bump it up at least a few degrees, but that's a personal choice! You could also do that, as well as upping the feeding, only to get them breeding and then once you have a good amount of them, remove the heater.