can't get orange neocardia to breed

[the other Irene]

I can't get my 7 orange neocardia shrimp to breed.  I have both males and females and some of the females look berried. tank is 2.5 g up for 5 mos. planted tank with a sponge filter. alder cones and catapa leave.  the adults are doing fine. eating molting. temp is 72F, nitrate -10, nitrite-0, gh 150, kh 80, ph 7. chlorine-0. measured on coop test strip.  I have a red neocardia shrimp set up in same room-different tank and they are breeding like mad.  Any ideas why these won't breed.  Feeding them shimp envy and bacter ae every other day, alternating with shrimp dinner and rep ashy  soilent green.

 

thanks

 

[PineSong]

That's a frustrating problem to have! Have you had the shrimp the whole 5 months the tank has been set up? You mention some of the females are berried--have you seen them berried before but then you don't see babies, or are these the first berries you've seen?

It sounds like your feeding and botanicals are on point. For what it's worth, I have red, orange and yellow shrimp myself and the red shrimp outbreed the others by a long shot. My orange shrimp have lots of babies but for some reason I don't have a lot of full sized adults developing in that tank. My yellow shrimp are the least prolific; I literally never see a baby or even a tween/teen shrimp but I keep getting more and more truly giant adults, so there must be babies in the tank somewhere.

 

[nabokovfan87]

Is there any difference between the two tanks with regards to maintenance? 

[Slick_Nick]

I too have had no success getting orange shrimp to breed for some reason. Reds breed like crazy for me, Blues are iffy and oranges no success at all. Not sure what the deal is so I just stick with reds 🤣 if you crack the code please let me know!

[nabokovfan87]

This might be helpful:

 

[Minanora]

I think you'll find more success with a slightly larger tank. Just because there's more food to go around all of the time without fouling the water as easily.

 

What size tank are your cherry shrimp in? The blues?

 

Where are you getting your stock from for your orange? Have you talked with the supplier about the water they keep their shrimp in? Are they surviving and just not breeding? Or dying off?

[Minanora]

I fed my orange shrimp "shrimp dinner", "shrimp baby" and "mineral junkie" from GlassG. I only fed them every other day, max. I also feed the snowflakes. Just randomly when I have a busy week. I'm terrible about schedules.... but I have sooooooooooooo...*breaths*... ooooo Many orange shrimp. 😛

I also have a bunch of yellow shrimp now. Those kids are in a totally different tank but breeding very well.

I need to read better. @Slick_Nick vs op @the other Irene XD Shrimps!

[Slick_Nick]

On 3/19/2023 at 9:13 PM, Minanora said:

I think you'll find more success with a slightly larger tank. Just because there's more food to go around all of the time without fouling the water as easily.

 

What size tank are your cherry shrimp in? The blues?

 

Where are you getting your stock from for your orange? Have you talked with the supplier about the water they keep their shrimp in? Are they surviving and just not breeding? Or dying off?

I’ve always kept all my shrimp in 5g. I really should try a bigger tank dedicated to just shrimp. Always get them from my lfs so same supplier. They survive just don’t seem to ever be carrying eggs. I only have reds now at the moment I took down a few tanks when I moved to make things easier. 

[nabokovfan87]

Water changes usually trigger breeding, that's why I asked about the maintenance on the two (or more) tanks you're comparing.   Most shrimp will be pretty feisty/active following a water change.

[JettsPapa]

On 3/19/2023 at 8:53 PM, the other Irene said:

I can't get my 7 orange neocardia shrimp to breed.  I have both males and females and some of the females look berried. tank is 2.5 g up for 5 mos. planted tank with a sponge filter. alder cones and catapa leave.  the adults are doing fine. eating molting. temp is 72F, nitrate -10, nitrite-0, gh 150, kh 80, ph 7. chlorine-0. measured on coop test strip.  I have a red neocardia shrimp set up in same room-different tank and they are breeding like mad.  Any ideas why these won't breed.  Feeding them shimp envy and bacter ae every other day, alternating with shrimp dinner and rep ashy  soilent green.

 

thanks

 

I'm confused.  If they're berried they are breeding.

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/20/2023 at 7:15 AM, JettsPapa said:

I'm confused.  If they're berried they are breeding.

I have one or two, so small it's hard to see anything. Sometimes it's hard to see whether it's eggs or fungus or just their swimmerets.

If you do have berried females, want to get through molts a few times for more maturity, better egg health and "practice" but it's a good sign. Some of the eggs might not be fertile, but generally should be.  Sometimes it does take a few attempts for the female to learn how to care for the eggs better. Spots in the tank to release them and stuff.

Then it's basically down to having enough cover, powder food, etc.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

Do they have some moss and hiding spots?  Mine are blue dreams breeding at 75 degrees. My pH, gH, and kH are very similar to yours.  Mine weren't breeding at first, so I added 4 more shrimp, then they started to pair up.  Maybe the first ones didn't find romance with each other.

Also before adding the 4 more, my females were fanning but didn't actually have any eggs.

Edited March 20, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[the other Irene]

so it look like different females are berried.  I have java moss in there along w/ anubis.  shrimp are from 2 different sources.  a breed from my local fish club and some from local fish store.  i do water changes 1x/week about 1/2-1 gallon at a time.  maybe I'll add more.  could the temp be too cold.  Have only had this tank from fall onwards in northern california.

i have not seen any baby shrimp at all- I would expect some by now. going to local fish store tomorrow to trade in some red shrimp and panda guppies. will use the store credit to get more orange ones if they have them.

[JettsPapa]

On 3/20/2023 at 11:23 PM, the other Irene said:

. . . .  could the temp be too cold.  Have only had this tank from fall onwards in northern california.

i have not seen any baby shrimp at all- I would expect some by now. going to local fish store tomorrow to trade in some red shrimp and panda guppies. will use the store credit to get more orange ones if they have them.

72°F is definitely not too cold, but you can raise the temperature if you want.  Warmer temperatures speed up their life cycle, so while they may breed faster, they will also die faster.  

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/20/2023 at 9:23 PM, the other Irene said:

 i do water changes 1x/week about 1/2-1 gallon at a time.  maybe I'll add more.

I don't think temp is an issue.  I'd lean a bit closer to 1 gallon + for WCs, try to get yourself towards the 25% margin.

[the other Irene]

after 9 months they finally bred.  I added some wondershell.  maybe my water was too soft.  now they are breeding like mad.  Also have blue shrimp breeding like mad as well.

[Cinnebuns]

I'll admit I didn't read all the comments, but often it takes 3-9 months for shrimp to start breeding in a new tank. They are sensitive to changes and a new tank is a massive change. It takes them time to feel comfortable enough to breed. The time it takes varies from colony to colony.