# Any Successful Shrimp Breeders Here?



## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Freshwater River Shrimp that is, not brine or marine shrimp.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

No, I haven't personally... I thought this might be about marine ones. 

Apparently, if you keep them in a warm tank, with food, then they breed readily I thought? Also, does the LFS not have them in stock often?

I am corrected, they are not easy to breed according to PFK:

Frequently asked questions on freshwater shrimps | Practical Fishkeeping magazine

Then, also, it has this thread on the forum:

successfully breeding fresh'r shrimp - Practical Fishkeeping Forum

One website says this:

"Breeding freshwater shrimp is possible but raising the fry is often very hard because it’s hard to provide the larvae with enough small food. Most freshwater shrimp are more easily breed and raised in ponds where there are a normal presence of plankton sized food. Some freshwater shrimp will breed readily in their holding tanks while other requires salinity in the water to breed and for the larvae to survive"

So, as it is so often with these sorts of things, its providing a small enough food. 

When had a couple of goes at breeding marine shrimps, I used neawly hatched brine shrimp. They survived to 16 days old, and were quite big, with full bellies, but I think my water quality let me down. 

Anyway, hope that helps.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I've been reading up on this and it seems it's not as simple as you might think. As you say feeding the fry with small enough food is one obstacle, and the fact that some species will only develop properly in salt water, meaning they have to be hatched in fresh, then transferred to saline, then gradually returned to fresh when they are adult.
Apparently those that complete their whole life cycle in freshwater have even tinier fry which are even harder to feed!
Raising them in ponds isn't an option at this time of year unfortunately, I need to do it indoors in tanks, I think it'll be possible as long as I can find a suitable source of plankton.


Excuse my ignorance, but what is LFS?


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Graham said:


> Excuse my ignorance, but what is LFS?


Firstly, sorry, LFS is 'local fish shop'... that was me doing stupid abbreviations! : victory:

Yeh, I did see that as well in the websites I saw. Sounds challenging, but not too hard, providing you know when/by how much to change the salinity. 

Achieving (and measuring) salinity is certainly not too hard, and nore is swapping between fresh/brackish/marine and back again. 

So, if you can find out what salinity the babies will need as they grow up, you could do that, by adding slightly saltier water in daily water changes. 

Then, there is the food issue. You can buy phytoplankton, and zooplankton, and those sorts of mixes in shops, and after they are beyond those stages, brine shrimp napuli are not hard to hatch out. 

So, if you really want to go for it, and the shrimps have eggs, and you can find the salinity values needed, then I would go for it!

If I had my marine tank still, I would be trying my marine shrimps again: on my two ever tries, first lasted 2 days, second lasted 16 days. And the reason for the last was (in retrospect) clearly water quality. 

If you do do it, please keep my updated! Have you joined any fish forums, such as PFK's, and monsterfishkeeper? They are useful.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> LFS is 'local fish shop'


Ah, so simple when you know! Yes my local shops all have them, but I'm using them as turt food and they don't last very long! I was thinking I could breed my own and save some money.

I don't belong to any fish forums, too many forums already, if I join any more I'll never get anything done!

I think I'm going to get some shrimp and give it a go, I have a few small tanks spare, and I found a good website belonging to some French guy who seems to be having some success Amano Shrimp - Caridina Japonica Online


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

That is a useful webiste, and the 17ppm helps...

He doesn't even suggest changing it does he? So basically, buy the shrimps, then over weeks and months raise the salinity to 17ppm, which is easy enough. 

Then, hopefully they'll mate and you'll have some eggs (which I am guessing is the easy bit: it was with my shrimps, you couldn't stop the bloody things! Plus, they are hermaphroditic!). 

Then just raise them with phyto/zoo plankton, and brine shimp napuli... flake, and stuff like that, seems very doable. 

If you do get some eggs and things, add some pics to this forum will you! I would be _very_ interested in seeing it!


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## littlelegs (Jan 27, 2008)

Hi Graham, thought I would say hello.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

littlelegs said:


> Hi Graham, thought I would say hello.


Ooh, and your first post too! Dont know who you are, but hello and :welcome1: to RFUK!


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Cherry shrimp are very easy to breed, stick 10 in a 10gal tank with quite a bit of java moss, and within a few months you will have a couple of hundred. Feed wilth algae wafers and flake food. Bumblebee shrimp, tiger shrimp and ghost shrimp will breed like this too, just not as readily or as fast. 

Amano shrimp are more challenging as the babies need brackish water to survive.

And that, is about that, with the easy shrimp to breed. : victory:

Edit: Didn't read the whole thread :lol: I hve bred amano shrimp, i kept them in fresh water untill i saw females were carrying eggs, and then put the females in a 5gal brackish tank, wait for babies, romove mum, fill half the tank with java moss, and viola. Feed once a day with flake and crushed algae wafers. BABY SHRIMPIES :crazy:


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> Hi Graham, thought I would say hello.


Hi Sandra, you used your first post to say hello to me, I'm flattered!

OK the shrimp thing is starting to sound less daunting the more I talk about it. I'm interested in the Cherry Shrimp and others, although from what I read I thought they were harder than that, the fry being so tiny and all?

Where would I get Cherry Shrimp from?


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

Java moss is the key. :lol2:

They live in it, hide in it, eat from it. Its like heaven for them.

You can get them off ebay or off the internet.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> You can get them off ebay or off the internet.


Yes I found a few, know anywhere that doesn't charge the earth for delivery though?


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

OK, had a day off work today and found that the local branch of Maidenhead Aquatics have both Cherry and Amano Shrimp, a bit more expensive than some online sources, but no shipping of course which makes them a lot cheaper!
I've set up a small 30 litre tank and will get some Cherries next week, they seem to be the easiest, although it's a shame to use such pretty shrimp as feeders!


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

That maidenheads at shepperton is pretty good, a bit out of the way isnt it lol.

I generally find all maidenhead's are good shops and I live and work near 4 of them and they tend to stock different specialities in each one : victory:


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> a bit out of the way isnt it lol.


Not for me, I work at the film studios just down the road and pass it twice a day.


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Graham said:


> Not for me, I work at the film studios just down the road and pass it twice a day.


No i meant off the main roads, not in really situated on the main road.


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Yes I guess it is a bit tucked away, in fact the garden centre where they are, which is now Thompsons, used to be called The Hidden Garden!


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

Ebay is your best bet for good cherry shrimp, and very easy to keep and breed too, we have had two batches of babies from ours and a female is carrying again.:flrt:


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## littlelegs (Jan 27, 2008)

Our local maidenhead aquatics is also out of the way, tucked in the back of a garden centre. 
The main sign isnt even visible from the main road.
That is the only place I go now. 

Good luck with the shrimps.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Just read up on the goings on... good luck then! Keep us informed with how things go, and make sure to put pics up!


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

> Ebay is your best bet for good cherry shrimp


Yes I found some on there, but the postage pushes the price higher than I can get them locally, and a 5 minute trip in my car rather than a day in a plastic bag in the mail...

Good to know that someone else has had success with them though, I'm feeling confident!


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## pam b (Mar 3, 2005)

Good stuff mate, i have to do mine via ebay (that and the snails i started off with) as non of my LFS seem to stock them round here.:crazy:


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## littlelegs (Jan 27, 2008)

Graham, how you getting on with the shrimps?


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

I've got the tank ready, just need to get the shrimp, but I'm suddenly very busy at work and don't have the time to go to the shop and get them, maybe at the weekend.


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Graham said:


> I've got the tank ready, just need to get the shrimp, but I'm suddenly very busy at work and don't have the time to go to the shop and get them, maybe at the weekend.


Cool! Keep us updated with the progress!


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## Graham (Jan 27, 2007)

Finally got some Cherry Shrimp yesterday, I bought six from the local Maidenhead Aquatics for a tenner, looks like I got a mix of M/F of different sizes.
They're zipping around the tank, impossible to photograph atm, hopefully they'll breed.
The only problem I have is that they're far too nice to use as turt food which was the original intention, and too valuable too at a couple of quid apiece! I'm thinking if they do breed maybe I can sell them back to the shop, or swap them for feeder shrimp.


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## mike515 (Sep 12, 2006)

pam b said:


> Good stuff mate, i have to do mine via ebay (that and the snails i started off with) as non of my LFS seem to stock them round here.:crazy:


hobby fish in milton keynes has loads of different FW shrimp at the moment


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## AshMashMash (Oct 28, 2007)

Graham said:


> Finally got some Cherry Shrimp yesterday, I bought six from the local Maidenhead Aquatics for a tenner, looks like I got a mix of M/F of different sizes.
> They're zipping around the tank, impossible to photograph atm, hopefully they'll breed.
> The only problem I have is that they're far too nice to use as turt food which was the original intention, and too valuable too at a couple of quid apiece! I'm thinking if they do breed maybe I can sell them back to the shop, or swap them for feeder shrimp.


Excellent! Nice one, very pleased.


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## Esfa (Apr 15, 2007)

I just got some babies. :flrt:


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## alpharoyals (Nov 21, 2007)

Graham said:


> The only problem I have is that they're far too nice to use as turt food which was the original intention


once they start breeding and your over run with them you wont mind "losing" a few to the turtles :whistling2:


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