Yay! I know what a fun sight this is. I found a similar sized ghost shrimp this weekend, and this morning saw 2 of them! They are getting bolder and larger too. I can't believe those little shrimp made it in my tank. And in my case all my adults have been dead for a few weeks (my fault as I started my tank with an "invert-in" cycle, and I think they just didn't handle the poor WC through that cycle very well).
hmm, do we begin to see a trend in these results? to produce baby ghost shrimp, have (1) lots of cover and (2) (cover your eyes, children!) LESS than pristine water conditions? And in two cases at least, (3) no sponge or cover over the filter intake?
yes, it's counterintuitive to say the least. And this is not exactly data-gathering to scientific standards, nor a large sample size statistically. But water in nature is frequently not "pristine" so perhaps there is some logic here anyway. I hope anyone else who has ever found baby ghost shrimp will chime in and we can gather some more data.
I haven't found (seen) super tiny babies, but I do have more ghost shrimp than I originally added. In fact, over the last six months or so, I have steadily lost all of the 12 big original ghost shrimp, but all three of the tanks still have lots of smaller ones, ranging from .5" to a littler over 1". I don't know what specific type they are, though.
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hmm, do we begin to see a trend in these results? to produce baby ghost shrimp, have (1) lots of cover and (2) (cover your eyes, children!) LESS than pristine water conditions? And in two cases at least, (3) no sponge or cover over the filter intake?
yes, it's counterintuitive to say the least. And this is not exactly data-gathering to scientific standards, nor a large sample size statistically. But water in nature is frequently not "pristine" so perhaps there is some logic here anyway. I hope anyone else who has ever found baby ghost shrimp will chime in and we can gather some more data.
LOL- well, my parameters are all great (0, 0, and 5), but my tank is certainly "dirty" right now. I haven't done a gravel vac in 3 weeks due to the baby snails being in the tank- aaaaand, I've even been leaving the tank walls a little grungy, so the snails can munch on them. So, water quality is good, but the tank is not exactly clean, atm- so, closer to a natural environment, yes. Too clean of a tank, and I don' think the shrimp larvae would have found food. Heavy cover is also a must, from what I'm seeing. I planned it out this way for the tank inhabitants, without the idea of shrimp breeding happening. Bettas like to hide and explore all over the place, the shrimp like a large, bushy plant to hide in, as well, and neon tetras are more comfortable and active when they have a lot of places to hide & can then feel safer to explore.... so, lots of hiding spots, bushy plants, and a dirty tank= baby shrimp, apparently. I can vouch for that. At least in my case.
I haven't found (seen) super tiny babies, but I do have more ghost shrimp than I originally added. In fact, over the last six months or so, I have steadily lost all of the 12 big original ghost shrimp, but all three of the tanks still have lots of smaller ones, ranging from .5" to a littler over 1". I don't know what specific type they are, though.
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Yep, they made it through the cycle itself, which was subdued due to seeding and lots of plants, but I think it weakened them anyway and they passed on later even though the water has been good for quite some time. Congrats on your babies as well!
