View Full Version : Berried ghost shrimp!
Spewn
04-28-2008, 12:20 PM
I just bought 5 ghost shrimp today, and once I got the bag home and into some decent light; One is berried! The biggest one of the bunch. Go figure.
On another note, I managed to get the nice girl at petsmart to give me a bunch of MTS; Probably half a dozen.
How many shrimp babies should I expect? And what the heck do I do with them? lol
pixl8r
04-28-2008, 1:47 PM
Most 'Ghost Shrimp' sold in North America are one of various Palaemonetes species (paludosus is the species most commonly referenced). It is impossible to say what you should expect without knowing the scientific name of the shrimp you purchased. FYI, there are documented instances where Macrobrachium species were sold as 'Ghost Shrimp'. But, it is very unlikely that your shrimp are Macrobrachium, though the possibility exists.
So, if you have a Palaemonetes sp. shrimp (unknown species of Palaemonetes) then the young will most likely hatch in freshwater and go through a few larval stages before reaching the shape of an adult shrimp, just smaller. This process can take three to five days. Expect 20-40 young, depending on the health and size of the mother.
There is the slim chance that your shrimp will need brackish water to progress through their larval stages. The quick and dirty way to tell is by the size of the eggs. If you can easily distinguish each individual egg then the brood of shrimp will not need brackish water. If the eggs are very tiny and difficult to distinguish without magnification then they will need a brackish water setup to get the young to reach adulthood. You will also need special foods, green water, to feed the larva.
If, by chance, you have a Macrobrachium shrimp species, look for signs of aggression, and continued growth. Most Macrobrachium species will get to between 1.5 to 4 inches. Some get larger than 12 inches.
I can see all the eggs very clearly individually. I honestly don't know the scientific name :/
20-40 is a lot...is that at hatching? This is a 10-gallon tank with some other inhabitants, so I think some 40 shrimp would be far too many. I'll figure that out when I need to, I guess.
Yadokari
04-28-2008, 2:36 PM
If you have fish in there, consider the babies fish-food. Almost none will survive, or at least, that is my experience. I had 3 berried ghost shrimp before in my community tank (20G). They all released their eggs at one point but I don't see a single baby ghostie. My endlers/scarlet badis probably ate them all.
Ghost shrimp (or any shrimp) only tank will allow you to ensure a high survival rate though.
Danimal62
04-28-2008, 8:31 PM
If there are fish in the aqurium expect none of the larva to survive!
My ghost shrimp breed like crazy but only a couple each time make it to adulthood. It's fun watching the babies though, they are so cute.I started out with 6 shrimp and today I counted about 14 at once.
Hm, so now I'm wondering, will my betta engorge himself on baby shrimp? I don't want him to have digestive troubles! Hah...
I don't think my ottos will eat baby shrimp. Neither will the brigs. I think the betta is the babies' only threat...will he get them all? I'd prefer if he could get most, but I don't want him to be bloated :P