Breeding Sakura Orange Neocaridina Shrimp

[Minanora]

Salutations! I find it funny to be starting a "breeding" post about shrimp before making any posts regarding breeding guppies... Which is my main jam. Ehem, anyway, to start, I have shrimp! They're berried! I have 4 of 5 females berried as of yesterday. I've had the shrimp since the 8th. It appears that the last female is about to berry up as well! There must be something in the water!

I started with 14 shrimp. I drip acclimated them with a bit of prime put in the water they came in right as I opened their bag. I ordered 10, they sent 14. I had one die within 24 hours. None after that, just a few molts. I changed 50% of the water a day before they started getting berried up. With such a large water change, I did drip add the water into the tank to avoid major temperature and parameter changes.

I feed them a variety of foods. Bacter AE, Snowflake food, Pollen Granules, and Xtreme shrimp food pellets. About to try blanched kale out of my garden.

My setup is fairly simple.

5.5 gallon tank. Inert florite black sand substrate. Hydrocotyle Tripartita in the front, Rotala Bangladesh in the back. Cheap nano magnetic light. Co-op USB air pump, air line and sponge filter.

Parameters: pH 7.4, GH 10°, KH 6°, Temp 76°F, TDS 247ish.

I add stability once a week.

I just had one question to start: How likely is it that any of the females will carry their broods to hatching? I'm not sure if they've had babies before, a few of the females appeared to have evidence of carrying before, but I'm no expert!

The shrimp are in a quiet, low traffic, bathroom where nobody really bothers them except me for feeding, and the one water change I've done. And lots of staring at them, of course. FYI there are no chemicals ever used around the shrimp. I don't spray things, or use any fancy/smelly-good products or hair things. So the shrimp are not in any danger. 🙂

Edited December 30, 2021 by Minanora
Adding info on setup.

[Guppysnail]

It is very highly likely. They may lose an egg or two and one or two new mommies may drop their brood accidentally but with that many berried my money is on you being a shrimplette grandparent very soon 🥰 Congratulations they sound like they enjoy the home you have provided 

[Minanora]

@Guppysnail Thank you my friend. I'm honestly just trying to keep my feet on the ground. I don't want to get too excited... But of course, I am. They do love their home. I'm about to put a clay "Shrimp Cave" in there. I was going to yesterday but saw that a female was actively moving eggs so I decided to leave them be for now. So far, all of the females still have eggs and are fanning them peacefully. They're so beautiful, and so cute.

[Minanora]

One of my favorite mamas.

[Minanora]

Water change setup. I use airline and a flow control valve just like I use for drip acclimation.

 

[Guppysnail]

On 12/30/2021 at 10:10 AM, Minanora said:

Water change setup. I use airline and a flow control valve just like I use for drip acclimation.

 

This is awesome. This is how I did it to establish my colony until I was a few generations in and then they got stronger. You are a great shrimp mom 😁

[Torrey]

On 12/29/2021 at 12:32 PM, Minanora said:

I did drip add the water into the tank to avoid major temperature and parameter changes.

I only lost shrimp when I didn't do the drip acclimation for water changes... until I got sick last year and couldn't take care of the shrimp tank for a bit (colony crashed).

I suspect drip acclimation is simply the way to keep shrimp happy. Especially older shrimp. 

[tolstoy21]

I find that once the shrimp colony is a generation or two old in your specific water params, they tend to become much more bullet proof.

I do 50% water changes with crystal reds shrimp in my tanks with no deaths. But, I do make sure the water going in is approximately equal to the water going out in terms of temp and GH/KH. But this is approximate, I don't go nuts trying to do an exact parameter match. If I drop the temp by 5F, or lower the TDS 20-30 points, give-or-take, I personally have not experienced adverse effects.  I probably have a few hundred CRS (give or take a bazillion) at the current moment.

I find neocaradina are even more forgiving in terms of water chemistry changes, so long as the changes are not super crazy dramatic you'll be ok. I have a bunch of orange rilli shrimp in a betta tank and do 30% WCs there maybe every 2 - 3 weeks, and they breed like mad. The only problem I have encountered with those is that the betta likes to snack on them!

[Levi_Aquatics]

I purchased 8 cherry shrimp from lrb aquatics and some of the females were berried when they arrived and ended up having their little shrimp babies. I think your shrimp will do Great! Now 6 months later I have way more than I can count. 

[Minanora]

On 12/31/2021 at 6:36 AM, tolstoy21 said:

I find that once the shrimp colony is a generation or two old in your specific water params, they tend to become much more bullet proof.

I do 50% water changes with crystal reds shrimp in my tanks with no deaths. But, I do make sure the water going in is approximately equal to the water going out in terms of temp and GH/KH. But this is approximate, I don't go nuts trying to do an exact parameter match. If I drop the temp by 5F, or lower the TDS 20-30 points, give-or-take, I personally have not experienced adverse effects.  I probably have a few hundred CRS (give or take a bazillion) at the current moment.

I find neocaradina are even more forgiving in terms of water chemistry changes, so long as the changes are not super crazy dramatic you'll be ok. I have a bunch of orange rilli shrimp in a betta tank and do 30% WCs there maybe every 2 - 3 weeks, and they breed like mad. The only problem I have encountered with those is that the betta likes to snack on them!

I can appreciate this information.

I agree with the mild shifts in water parameters. I use R.O. water and re-mineralize with salty shrimp GH/KH and then add 5 percent of soft tap water. I try to keep TDS around 280ish. Once the colony is booming I will pull a chunk of the population and see how they do in my 75G. I'm hoping that after a few generations they'll be wicked hardy and breed in my 75. That tank has pretty good parameters but there's a lot of activity in there. I'm sure the swordtails will be very interested in the shrimplettes. But why not try!?

[Minanora]

Everyone is doing well. The 4 ladies with eggs still have them. The oldest brood is now 10 days into development. The last female still hasn't molted. I think she may be the oldest. 

Today is water change day! Changing maybe a gallon. Just to clean the substrate up a bit. Going to put a shrimp cave in there for them and clean the glass. Getting hard to see them with a patch of diatoms blocking the best area of the tank.

 

[Minanora]

Saw the first babies this morning before work!!! One of them came right up to me when I looked in. I knew what he was even before I put my glasses on!

Then I saw 3 more! All four mom's still had eggs as of this morning. One had far less but I didn't see eyeballs on any of the ones she had. I'm thinking they don't all hatch at the same time.

Two of the other moms eggs mostly have eyes I can see now, too.

I look forward to them being big enough for my camera to focus on. 😂 May bust out my real camera and the bokina and it's macro converter.

[Minanora]

Studied the tank dung my teeth brushing. I did, probably 6 cycles on the Sonicare. 😂 My shrimp watching really helps with practicing good oral hygiene. "Come to bed!" " I'm not done brushing..." 😙🎶

Anyway. Two of the moms are devoid of eggs as of tonight. All four have saddles again. And I watched one mom shoot off a baby! So, apparently there must be a lot of babies in there that I just can't see. I saw 8 while brushing my teeth. 🧡🦐

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Minanorathe shrimplet survival will depend on the availability of food and potential predators. It sounds like a shrimp only setup which will help. I saw you have bacter ae which I think is a good first food food. Shrimp King does make a powdered shrimplet food and I liked it. Spirulina algae, the algae and green based Repashy and pulverized bee pollen are some of my go toos as well. You could always just pulverize the foods you already have and save yourself an order online. 

It is fun once they get going. I think your 75 gallon will just depend on the number you introduce as once there is a critical mass the swords won't be able to keep up usually. Worst case scenario they are a great food source for your swords. 

[Patrick_G]

I just got caught up. Congrats on the babies! I struggle to get my shrimp breeding consistently in smaller aquariums. In my 75gal I have a good colony of mutts, but I like to have a colony of a single color going in a smaller tank. 

[Guppysnail]

Congratulations on the shrimp and the pearly white smile 😁. Veggies. Steam or blanch them softish. The babies won’t come to them right away they eat where they hatch for a few days but the adults will after they are in the tank for a few hours. . Sera micron from the Coop they love also. It spreads pretty evenly in every nook and cranny. A little goes along way for that and bacteria ae. Maybe 1/6 a dose is all I ever used and it gunks a tank quick. Use discretion. For the micron I moisten a tooth pick roll it on a paper towel to get the excess moisture off then dip in the jar and swirl the toothpick in the tank. Congratulations again. Shrimplettes are adorable 🥰 

[Minanora]

On 1/14/2022 at 3:42 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@Minanorathe shrimplet survival will depend on the availability of food and potential predators. It sounds like a shrimp only setup which will help. I saw you have bacter ae which I think is a good first food food. Shrimp King does make a powdered shrimplet food and I liked it. Spirulina algae, the algae and green based Repashy and pulverized bee pollen are some of my go toos as well. You could always just pulverize the foods you already have and save yourself an order online. 

It is fun once they get going. I think your 75 gallon will just depend on the number you introduce as once there is a critical mass the swords won't be able to keep up usually. Worst case scenario they are a great food source for your swords. 

Thanks for the advise. I put a bit of AE in there every other day, then, now that there are shimplettes, I've started adding 3-4 Aquatic Arts Pollen Granules in addition to my every 4-5 day snowflake pellet I add, which I break mine up into smaller pieces. I have 12 adult shrimp.

I've left all of the diatom algae alone on the walls of the tank as well. The only face of glass I clean is the front. There are a lot of cyclops... and a lot of worms. Some detritus, but also Rhabdocoela worms as well. No planaria thankfully and no hydra.

I also still try to give them the shrimpy sticks by Xtreme but they aren't into those so much. I also give them bits of steamed kale from my garden since, honestly, I don't eat it... there's just so much of it... I only really keep it for feeding aphids to my guppies. My fry love them. And I get great satisfaction watching them eat the demons.

[tolstoy21]

I've been using BacterAE for quite a while now and find it a very effective food for shrimplet survivability. Snowflake food is also very good, as it scatters about the tank effectively and gets into the places shrimplets are tucked away. Indian Almond leaves are also a good addition. Kale is great natural source of calcium for shell development, so keep adding that!

This is a snap from my CRS colony this morning. Lots of little guys!

[Minanora]

Been trying to eyeball shrimplets. I've never seen more than 2 at a time since their emergence.

Today when I was most concerned about them, the two females that are still holding eggs came to the front of the tank. Almost like they were telling me not to worry. Crazy, yes, I know... SHHHH. It made me feel better. They even showed off their eggs and the little tiny black eyeballs. It made me feel better.

I worry about the detritus worms and other microfauna eating all of the food I put in. I can see the soybean hulls moving on the substrate.... Should I be worried?

[Levi_Aquatics]

I just purchased a berried female and a male orange neo shrimp to breed in a 3 gal. You inspired me with this thread! I was debating between orange and blue but I have black substrate so I picked the orange so I can see them better. I can't wait to get some shrimplets! Two of my cherry shrimp are also berried which is super cool! This thread has been very helpful. Thanks @Minanora

[Minanora]

@Levi_Aquatics You're too kind. I just stumble around and share my experiences. I'm happy to share and inspire! I love your shrimp projects! I was going to home my shrimp in a 2.6G tank but then it had an explosion of hydra and the whole setup crashed a day before I got the shrimp... SO, I happened to have a 5.5G that was given to me by one of my younger team members who's roommate moved out and left 4 fish tanks... I joked, and now I have them all except the 40G breeder he had... Which, I want, so badly... but I can't, I just don't have the room. ANYWAY, I quickly set the 5.5 up with a seeded sponge from my fry growout and bought tissue culture plants for it. Now the shrimp are in there and I can't bring myself to put them in the 2.6. I have it all setup and clean, running, planted... but devoid of shrimp or fish. I haven't decided what to do with it. I want Chili Rasboras... but it's just not the right time... and I'm 2 tanks over my 3 tank limit that my husband set... >.>

I was split between blue and orange as well! But, like you said, black substrate! I love it. I would have started with RCS but they were either $10 a piece at my LFS, or get low grade from them for $6 a piece and those weren't even red. THEN they had orange rili, but they were $15 a piece! Their blue dream were also $15.... SO I turned to the interwebs and found the orange, and even blues from a reputable vendor, for +/- $5 a piece. Done deal. I would love to have both Orange and Blue together.... in a perfect world... in a gender specific tank... Orange and blue were my husband and I's wedding color theme. But I don't have enough room to have any more tanks for any more projects... for now... 😛

[Levi_Aquatics]

Thanks @Minanora I also have issues finding room for all the aquariums I want. I was able to pick the orange shrimp up for $5 each which I thought was reasonable considering the female was already berried. I would love to set up an aquarium with blues so I have most every color and can mix the culls for a neat effect In one of my other aquariums. But alas I don't have the space to do it right now. One day though

[Minanora]

@Levi_Aquatics Amen. That is a very reasonable price IMO. I don't have a lot of local resources for shrimps in our area. Really, other than my "LFS" there aren't any places to get them in person. We don't have any clubs, or even more than one pet store. I drove 70 miles to go see another fish store in my old town, only to find out that their website was still online, but their store was shut down.

Mixed culls will eventually go brown/brownish green. I think they're pretty though!

My husband and I have the opportunity to move to a larger home where I'd have space for a few more tanks in the utility/laundry room and the shop. It's owned by my in-laws, but my sister in law is moving out of it so we could either buy it or rent it. I love our home... I have a home orchard and healthy garden. I've worked really hard to make this house a home over the last 7 years so it's really hard to think about renting it out, but with us talking about having another kiddo and just our growing hobbies... We're considering the move.

[Levi_Aquatics]

That sounds like it would be an excellent improvement! The store I bought the shrimp from was about an hour and a half away from where I live but I was driving through and decided it wouldn't hurt to swing by. I'm glad I did!

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Levi_AquaticsI think you got a good deal. Those are online prices not LFS prices. 

Watch out for the collectoritis with Neocaridina. Next think you know you could make your own skittles tanks and that’s not a good thing for your relationships! 

I’m terms of setups as long as it’s been established for awhile you can put Neocaridina anywhere such as vases, gallon or 2.5 g jars. This way you can say it’s not a tank honey it’s a jar or a vase. Make semantics work for you and your MTS! Or you can grab 27 g tubs from Lowe’s and use those for breeding! Oh geez I’m a terrible influence!