some shrimp breeding questions.

simplyorange

shrimplet
Sep 30, 2007
101
0
0
Sacramento, Cali
so i just found out that shrimps carrying eggs are usually already fertilized or get fertilized while they are carrying. not like female guppies that get fertilized first then become pregnant. yes i know one is a fish the other is a shrimp but it's my reference point. lol.

now my questions:

new eggs need to be fertilized every time.

and they carry the eggs until they hatch? i know the females fan the eggs with their swimmerets (sp?) so i assume they hatch while she's carrying them.

thanks.
 
Yep, the "saddle" you see on the female is the eggs developing in the ovaries. The male deposits a sperm packet and as the eggs move from the ovaries to the swimmerettes, they are fertilized.
 
i will have to keep an eye out for the saddle since i dont believe i know what it looks like or the difference. i've only seen eggs in the swimmerettes. im surprised that im enjoying shrimps now.
 
i will have to keep an eye out for the saddle since i dont believe i know what it looks like or the difference. i've only seen eggs in the swimmerettes. im surprised that im enjoying shrimps now.

Look under the tails of the shrimp. Males have just their tail, the females have what looks like a small area below, and they look constantly fat in the waste. That's where the swimmerets are and where the eggs go.
 
i will have to keep an eye out for the saddle since i dont believe i know what it looks like or the difference. i've only seen eggs in the swimmerettes. im surprised that im enjoying shrimps now.

It is called a saddle due to it's similar location to a saddle on a horse. You'll see a orange-ish area behind the head on the back.
 
It is called a saddle due to it's similar location to a saddle on a horse. You'll see a orange-ish area behind the head on the back.

i think i see one or two of them with that. they seemed fatter than before.
also how small are newly hatched shrimps?
i've seen some at the LFS they were so small but i could make out a shrimp shape. in my two shrimp tanks i've seen a few small white things moving and assumed ick so i put a small amount of copper in one tank to see if what would happen. they look ok still.

if you saw a recently hatched shrimp would it have the shrimp shape? or would it be too small to tell? or do i just have ick?
 
i think i see one or two of them with that. they seemed fatter than before.
also how small are newly hatched shrimps?
i've seen some at the LFS they were so small but i could make out a shrimp shape. in my two shrimp tanks i've seen a few small white things moving and assumed ick so i put a small amount of copper in one tank to see if what would happen. they look ok still.

if you saw a recently hatched shrimp would it have the shrimp shape? or would it be too small to tell? or do i just have ick?

Depends on what type of shrimp. Cherries are tiny and white (definitely shrimp shaped) when newly hatched. Try to get a magnifying glass to view them if in doubt. Copper won't treat ich, but would kill shrimp in any significant amount.
 
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