Ghost shrimp breeding

[abrinn23]

How easy is it to breed these guys? Does it require much?

 

[jcolon]

From what I've read, although they hatch larvae, they do not require brackish water like Amano's or Bamboo. HOWEVER ... yep they're had to be a but ... they require food not usually found in aquariums meaning you'd probably have to special feed. What food that is I didn't look it up, but that shouldn't be too hard to research.

Red Cherry shrimp on the other hand, breed like rabbits. Just provide a stable aquarium with temps in the 70's and you'll be rewarded with shrimplets. In their case, any food the adults eat should be suitable for the young ... Java moss really comes in handy in this case ... lots of microbes etc for the young to feed on.

My RCS tank's been up for just over a week and I already have 3... I think 4 shrimplets. Did I mention I have a berried female and a couple others that are saddled.
I see the young munching on the same stuff the adults do.

 

[abrinn23]

I planned on breeding them as a supplement food for my BGK so maybe I'll still give it a shot. I also wanted to do an RCS tank too but I couldn't use them as food I think they're too pretty haha

 

[jcolon]

I planned on breeding them as a supplement food for my BGK so maybe I'll still give it a shot. I also wanted to do an RCS tank too but I couldn't use them as food I think they're too pretty haha

I had a feeling you were looking to breed ghosts for food ... your in the same boat as others. Certainly give it a try ... Ghosts are inexpensive enough to give a try. But, if the ghosts don't work out ... well I'm sure your BGK will find RCS's just as tasty. Somehow I doubt you'd be the first to breed RCS as food. Still the 1st instant you net that feeder RCS and it looks at you with those eyes and red color body ...

 

[abrinn23]

Hahah that's exactly what I was thinking! It'd be just downright sad to see an RCS get devoured...but for the RCS tank does it matter what substrate I use?

 

[jcolon]

Nope ... Gravel, PFS (what I have), dirt .. don't think it makes a difference. The "tough" part with starting an RCS tank is providing enough food naturally. Newly set up tanks don't have microbes, algae and bio-film a mature tank has. What I did was get an LFS DW already in a tank plus a piece from my 75gal as I knew both had to be full of stuff for the RCS to munch on.

I usually give new plants a H-peroxide dip, but in a new RCS tank again, the LFS plants have bio-film on them. I do supplement crushed flakes, Bloodworms (they love those) and algae wafers. Still RCS munch constantly!

 

[abrinn23]

I really wish I had a mom and pop fish store where I live, I'm stuck with petco, petsmart, and petland and my only concern with that is they NEVER have any driftwood, i've never seen any.

 

[jcolon]

Petco usually have Mopani .. at least the ones in my area do. Petsmart, usually is a bust. I have a small chain store (3 stores) called Pets warehouse that carries Malaysian DW.
You could always go natural ... check rivers / streams in your area. Plenty of members have done it and if you trust they are clean rivers, your good to go. You just need to ensure it's hardwood. Unfortunately I don't have that luxury.

 

[abrinn23]

I was thinking about going to the lake near my house and the multiple rivers/streams...if i find any do i need to take any special precaution when putting them into an aquarium? I know from reading on here some members boil the DW

 

[jcolon]

Boiling does the trick ... just ensure it's from Hardwood Trees.

I wish I could do that, but the only thing I have by me is a creek that runs through the town and whose water I just don't trust.

 

[abrinn23]

if i find any it would be a miracle haha. I have seen some kind of wood at petsmart in the reptile section. Think it would be safe to use?

 

[jcolon]

I'd say no ... But if it's labeled Mopani, your good to go. Just be warned Mopani is CHUCK FULL of tannins and requires hours of boiling to release most of it. Even then be prepared for some brown water.

 

[bloodlucky]

Actually I have 4 in my 10 gallon community and one day I just found eggs in one of my shrimps belly! I didn't know what to do with them so they got eaten

I hope they breed again cause that would be a shame if they don't

I honestly just kind of sat there and it just sort of happened, without my intent

 

[bloodlucky]

I really wish I had a mom and pop fish store where I live, I'm stuck with petco, petsmart, and petland and my only concern with that is they NEVER have any driftwood, i've never seen any.

Really at every petsmart and petco I go to they sell driftwood in these moisturized bags. I got my driftwood block at petco for $5

 

[abrinn23]

I'm hoping the ones i get breed like crazy haha and maybe i'm just not looking hard enough...who knows

 

[abrinn23]

What's the other widely used type of wood? I know mopani but is the other one Malaysian? You might have said it in a previous post

 

[abrinn23]

10 or 20 gallons for a feeder shrimp tank?

 

[alLexX]

honestly,theyre not that hard if you get the right kind(several species marketted as ghost shrimp). i managed to breed mine basically i put them in my algea filled 10(the light is wayyy to strong)with some snails(mobile food block)and fed them every now and then. started with 6,probably 10 by now

 

[jcolon]

What's the other widely used type of wood? I know mopani but is the other one Malaysian? You might have said it in a previous post

It's Malaysian DW ... That and Mopani are the two most common I find. I've never seen Manzanita ... just pics.

 

[abrinn23]

Well it's always nice to have something to do so that sounds like a good weekend project finding DW so sounds good to me! And how often do you feed them exactly?