Amano shrimp breeding experience?

[redmare]

Has anyone successfully bred Amano shrimp? I was talking to my LFS today and apparently both of their suppliers have been sold out for ages and there’s basically none available in my area, which got me thinking… maybe I could try it. I’m starting the research phase, but I was wondering if any other regular hobbyist fishkeepers have attempted, or succeeded, in this endeavour!

[vinny]

Very to hard bc they go from brackish to fresh I’m pretty sure. So in a tank nah go with cherry shrimp 😂😂

[Woowala]

I've never looked into it, but I wouldn't let the salt/brackish stage stop you if that's what you want to do. Unless they have some kind of crazy long pelagic stage, it's probably not too difficult. I bet you can do it. 

[TOtrees]

I successfully bred some a few years back. Only had maybe half a dozen survivors at the end of it all, but I'm sure that's due to the gallon-ish jar size I was using. It's something I've thought of doing again, as a passion project. The biggest deterrent for me would be the amount of time required to get the shrimps to sellable size, combined with the fairly high numbers/volume you'd need to do to make it economically viable (and the fact that large numbers = large tank space). But I think you could get a few dozen from a 5 or 10 gallon, or a few hundred from a 20L or 40b. 

Yes they do need salt water for the babies ("zoes") to survive. Adult female amanos will shed/hatch their eggs in fresh water when they're fully developed (under a bit of magnification, you'll be able to see the dark eyes of the zoes while still attached to the mum's swimerettes, which is the sign she's ready). If you have adult female amanos, and they produce eggs, this stage is already happening in your tanks, but the zoes are dying or being eaten. So the best way to do this is to remove a late stage pregnant female to a dedicated tank, like a 2.5 gal with a bunch of moss. The zoes need to be collected and placed in salt water within 1-2 days. Or remove the mum and make the tank saltwater. No transition or acclimation required, as long as temps aren't drastically different. 

Raising the zoes is a challenge. Folks have done so under a range of salinities, from brackish to full marine. There's some thought that different species of amano, or amanos from different parts of their range, have different salinity requirements. Can't comment. I did full marine (30-35 ppt I think). You'll need a refractometer.

The zoes are pelagic phytoplanktivores, ie their natural food is algae and diatoms suspended in the water column. Far as I can tell, they don't do well eating algae that is growing on a surface, or as a green plant. Diatoms are thought by many sources to be key. I got some bits of saltwater hair algae from my LFSs live rock tank, and added that to my zoe jar, and also fed tiny amounts of powdered spirulina. I know they didn't eat the hair algae, but I suspect it contained a starter of the good stuff. On a few successive attempts without seeding material I was not successful. I think a small piece of live rock from LFS (or maybe even just a bit of the tank water) would seed the zoe tank successfully. Go with a ton of bright light, to promote that algae/diatom growth. You don't need filtration per se, just an airstone. 

Changing water without sucking up/disturbing the zoes is another challenge. Can't recall how much I changed or how often. The zoes tend to be drawn to bright light, so turn off the air, place a bright light at one end, and siphon water from the other end. Saltwater needs to be mixed at least a few hours in advance of the actual water change, just something to be aware of. 

When the zoe stage nears completion, they metamorphose into shirmplets. They're still pretty tiny at this stage (maybe 1/4 - 3/8 inch?). Hopefully all your zoes will be at the same stage, bc at this point you need to start dropping the salinity and basically acclimate them to a fresh water environment over a few days. If you have to net out the faster growers over and over, and actually acclimate them, it'll be a pain. Far easier to do it to the whole tank over a few days, through water changes. Salt is REALLY persistent, and it takes a LOT of water changes to get it near zero. 

And then you have tiny baby amano shrimps, ready for a freshwater aquarium. I have dreams of a 40b just crawling with hundreds of amanos. 🙂

[redmare]

@TOtrees this is so helpful!! Thank you!!!