Whats harder to see than ghost shrimp?

[Veneer]

i mentioned that my shrimp arent really ghost shrimp but actually mountain shrimp in another thread where veneer gave me a detailed profile on them but anyway i read somewhere that adding seaweed will trigger mating in these mountain shrimp because they spend part of their lives in the ocean. none have died and they really do have eggs after adding the seaweed everytime so even if they dont need the iodine to molt properly it sure looks like it helps them get it on in my case

Not necessarily; most freshwater prawns (Macrobrachium) are also amphidromous, yet, as adults, iodine is not essential to growth or molting; its association with mating (planktonic larvae drift downstream to estuaries) is dwarfed by the broader dynamics of salinity; there is no empirical evidence that aqueous iodine is bio-available to even zoae. In fact, (though the veracity of such casual association has yet to be substantiated) the soft tissue and chitin Macrobrachium rosenbergii (a popular aquacultured species - the only of the genus for which compositional studies have been conducted) has only 18% of the iodine of that comparable marine Penaeids.

Read this abstract (available here):

Aspects of the life history and population dynamics of Paratya australiensis were examined in headwater streams of the Conondale Range, south-eastern Queensland, particularly in relation to spatial and temporal variation in temperature and flow dynamics. Breeding period and population structure at nine sites in three subcatchments were examined during three years of monthly sampling using a non-destructive, photographic method. Breeding was restricted to the warmer months of late spring and summer. Peak abundances of ovigerous females and release of larvae occurred earlier at warmer, lower-altitude sites than at cooler, upper-altitude sites. This is consistent with the general trend for seasonal breeding in temperate and subtropical species of atyids, and perennial breeding in tropical species, and suggests that the summer breeding period of P. australiensis was strongly influenced by temperature. In subtropical, south-eastern Queensland, larvae were released just before and during the wet season. Although populations were quite resilient, disturbance from high-flow events also shaped the life history. Hydrology modified the breeding period by influencing overall abundance and recruitment success and by favouring the early release of larvae before peak flows. The reasonably well defined seasonal cycle and synchronized development appear to result from the combined effects of temperature and hydrology.

The most important factor influencing the breeding season of atyid shrimps (Decapoda: Atyidae) is thought to be temperature, with hydrology having a secondary [role]."

they really do have eggs after adding the seaweed everytime so even if they dont need the iodine to molt properly it sure looks like it helps them get it on in my case

That does not necessarily come - if it does in a manner anything more than coincidentally - as a direct consequence of iodine intake; what do you feed your shrimp apart from seaweed? How frequently are they provided the latter? How soon after offering seaweed did you notice ovigerous (egg-bearing) females?

 

[Felf]

i usually feed them flakes, sinking wafers, or crisps. the temperature is usually in the high 80s and i give them seaweed once a week. the eggs are usually visible 1-2 days after adding the seaweed.

 

[Veneer]

Have you ever had any eggs hatch? The presence of eggs is likely not indicative of breeding; it is probably an auto-toxicological or hormonal response.

 

[Felf]

i see babies about 5 days after the eggs disappear from the females each times

 

[Lance M.]

I only have 1 ghost shrimp, and he has molted many many times with no problems. I add nothing to the water.

You only keep one shrimp in a 55 gallon tank. You wouldn't have to add anything. Only if there was a large population or a total invert tank.

 

[Veneer]

I only have 1 ghost shrimp, and he has molted many many times with no problems. I add nothing to the water.

You only keep one shrimp in a 55 gallon tank. You wouldn't have to add anything. Only if there was a large population or a total invert tank.

Not necessarily so.

 

[Lance M.]

Wow that was a fast response. What do you mean by "Not necessarily so?"