Breeding Peppermint shrimp

[Sharkey18]

I have an empty tank on my system so I decided to try and isolate peppermint shrimp zoeae.

 

Fortunately and unfortunately I was successful right away. It's great news because it happened so fast, but I was really not prepared for babies so soon. I thought the eggs were going to hatch next Monday or Tuesday and instead they hatched last night.

 

I found may of them in the filter sock, and don't think many survived. I can see three free swimming babies in my 20g and I assume there are more ( hopefully a lot more) that I can't see hiding in algae and behind / under rocks. I am going to feed and see how far they get but I doubt any will make it to settlement due to my unpreparedness.

 

Just thought I would share my start. Hopefully future batches will come soon and I can raise a few. Just doing it for fun really.

 

I'll try and get a pic later today.

[Packman@90]

that is great!!! I applaud everyone who gets into breeding. Good luck.

[ExoticReefCreations]

Very nice! Keep us updated on your trials!

[Jan]

That sounds amazing, Laura. WTG!!!

[Scott_LM]

Take a look at this book:

 

http://www.amazon.co...ppermint shrimp

 

It is a very quick read and informative. Rotifers are needed as a first food if I remember correctly. Peppermints are nice because they are one of few shrimp that have a short larval stage. If you need rotifers, let me know I have cultures running at home. You can borrow the book too, if I can find it.

 

-Scott

[zygote2k]

I used to breed Crayfish when I was a kid. I kept them in pairs in a 20g with 3-4" of water. I fed the babies fish food and let nature take it's course. I had zero clue as to how it was actually done but I ended up with several dozen 1" crayfish.

[newtoreef]

Great !!

[smallreef]

I used to breed Crayfish when I was a kid. I kept them in pairs in a 20g with 3-4" of water. I fed the babies fish food and let nature take it's course. I had zero clue as to how it was actually done but I ended up with several dozen 1" crayfish.

 

And did they still taste good?

[Sharkey18]

Thanks Scott! I have the book but it's still packed.... Been meaning to dig it out but I've been sick all week and in no mood to move boxes...

 

I fed frozen rotifers today but nor sure if that will be good enough. Also making bbs.

 

I only started observing the shrimp a few days ago, and thought I had another 5 days before hatching.

 

I am sure most got swept away because I wasn't expecting them and did not turn down the flow in the tank. Even the ones I saw this morning are nowhere to be found now and most had broken legs. I'm still going to feed and see what happens.

[Scott_LM]

The flow needs to be near zero in the tank. A airpump with a valve putting out a couple bubbles a second is all you need. A heater too, unless the room can compensate for the the temp. These shrimp are very fragile!

[Sharkey18]

Yeah, That's why i lost most of them. Had slow to moderate flow through the tank. Now it's down to almost nothing but I think it's too late.

 

Hoping for better luck next time.

[Coral Hind]

Tagging along to learn something. Keep trying!

[Crob5965]

That's awesome, I have about 30 in my 90 Gal, I was going to say I should try this, but then I remembered I already have 30+ and no need for them anymore lol.

I am however interested in finding out how it all works out for you, I used to breed  freshwater fish, but I'm way too new to saltwater to even entertain trying yet, but it's inevitable that I will do it some time in the future.

Edited February 5, 2014 by Crob5965

[OcalaReefGirl]

That is awesome that you are trying! Thanks for posting your experience. Good to learn from everyone's experience since breeding seems to be so dang hard.

 

Better luck next time!

[dave w]

You probably already know this, but if you have a very small batch the customary thing to do is to put them in a smaller container.  The little zoea don't see or move well so they need a relatively high concentration of food in the water.  They can only catch food that is within a few millimeters of them.  With a small batch it is easier on you the breeder to have the appropriate (high) amount of food in a one gallon container than the same density in a 20 gallon tank.  If they were accomplished hunters they could cruise the entire 20 gallon tank looking for food, but this isn't the case.  Also the book recommended above by April Kirkendoll was successful with finely ground flake food as an early food.  Just be sure to siphon off the bottom to get uneaten food.  You may find that putting your larval tank on a slope helps cleaning.  You only have to siphon the low corner instead of the whole tank bottom.

 

Just my two cents, you don't need to follow any of that advice.

[Sharkey18]

This is an old thread. I was able to capture zoeae several times but they lived beyond a few days. I haven't tried in months, but I still have a pair that spawn every two weeks or so.