New RCS! and some questions

clb2196

clb2196

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Feb 21, 2009
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I had gotten about 10 juvie RCS a few weeks ago, but wanted to jump start a colony a little, and got a great deal on some adults on aquabid.


Got them this week- at least one saddled female and one berried. :D Is there any way to tell when the eggs will hatch? And will they hatch as the female holds them? I haven't seen the berried female today, she may just be hiding, but would I see babies right away if she didn't have eggs anymore?

Also, any tips of catching them? I'll be moving some into a different tank, leaving enough in the 5 to breed. But they seem like they'll be hard to catch.
 
Currently, I only have ghost shrimp, but I figure it prolly applies.
Very hard to catch... no tips. Be careful, they WILL jump out of the net, and lead you on a chase down the hall... I've never seen my ghosties anywhere between hatching and 1mm. They hide really well. You'll see the eggs get bigger over time.. ya kinda get an eye for when they are close, but I've never actually seen them hatch... again with the hiding. A female will often be pregnant again before you've seen her last babies... it's enough to make you think you're losing it.
 
Found the berried female. :) She came out for food.

Hebily said:
Currently, I only have ghost shrimp, but I figure it prolly applies.
Very hard to catch... no tips. Be careful, they WILL jump out of the net, and lead you on a chase down the hall... I've never seen my ghosties anywhere between hatching and 1mm. They hide really well. You'll see the eggs get bigger over time.. ya kinda get an eye for when they are close, but I've never actually seen them hatch... again with the hiding. A female will often be pregnant again before you've seen her last babies... it's enough to make you think you're losing it.
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:lol: at the picture of you chasing shrimpies down the hall. Alas wiht my cats they'd never make it! Right now I'm thinking stick the net in, leave it for a while, feed an algae wafer right next to a wall. Once they're piled on, attempt to scoop the wafer and as many shrimp as possible. I'm sure this will lead to the scooping of snails as well, but they're easier to pick out of the other tank at least.
 
Ghost shrimp will eat baby RCS and can be aggressive towards adult RCS, I would not house them together, if you have good eyes, then the baby RCS will be visible within 1-2 weeks of hatching. They hatch right from the RCS.

Just keep a constant even temp on the tank w/weekly water changes and the colony should on its way in no time. I would keep them in a species only tank to keep down on the stress of the breeders.
 
sed03f said:
Ghost shrimp will eat baby RCS and can be aggressive towards adult RCS, I would not house them together, if you have good eyes, then the baby RCS will be visible within 1-2 weeks of hatching. They hatch right from the RCS.

Just keep a constant even temp on the tank w/weekly water changes and the colony should on its way in no time. I would keep them in a species only tank to keep down on the stress of the breeders.
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Oh, I don't have ghost shrimp, Hebily was just commenting that they'd probably be similar. :)

Mine are in a tank with some rams and pond snails I breed as puffer food, and a few little briggs I'm growing out. They all seem to get along fine. And yeah, lotsa water changes cause the snails are messy. ;)
 
blue2fyre said:
I would try setting some sort of trap to catch them. Using a net or an empty pop bottle. I saw my shrimp babies shortly after then were released. They were so tiny! I think it depends on what else is in the tank and if they feel safe.
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I was thinking about a trap, but it's a 5 hex, and too small for any soda bottle. Plus I'm pretty sure it'd catch more snails than shrimp.

There isn't a ton of stuff in the tank, but definitely hiding places- enough that I often lose track of my almost-golfball-sized brigg.
 
If it's the marineland tank, I would get a sponge to go over the filter suction... they will be small enough to get sucked through, and might not make the trip through the impellar...
 
Hebily said:
If it's the marineland tank, I would get a sponge to go over the filter suction... they will be small enough to get sucked through, and might not make the trip through the impellar...
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I've got nylons over it actually, left over from when I used it for cory fry. :) And yeah, that is the tank.
 
I use panty hose for my intake, it slows down the flow rate, but NOTHING gets through it, unlike sponges (baby snails and baby shrimp have ended up in my canister using sponges). I have several tanks with RCS, they breed best with a high filter rate.
 
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