Ghost/grass shrimp maintenance?

[Electrobes]

Hey everyone, in a couple of months I am going to be raising grass/ghost shrimp for a puffer that I will also be getting soon for my 45 gallon. (for those of you interested it will hopefully be either a congo or arrowhead puffer). I wanted to raise my own food for him, but was wondering what do they eat, how should it be fed to them? ALso what should I do to make sure babies are being made.. like what do they need foodwise and what would they want environement wise if they need to hide from parents?Thanks!

 

[Guest]

Here you go, link at the bottom.

Breeding and Propagation: Relative Breeding Ease: Average
Normally, healthy Ghost Shrimp will breed with little encouragement when kept in groups. Female freshwater Ghost Shrimp carry their eggs underneath their swimmerets while the eggs are developing. Movement of these legs helps to oxygenate the eggs, which are visible as tiny dark balls. Ghost Shrimp native to brackish waters produce larvae that are basically planktonic, and this type seems to be more difficult to raise. Other animals in their aquariums often eat newborn Ghost Shrimp, so you may wish to keep egg carrying freshwater females by themselves. The newborn shrimp look much like insect larvae, and are usually too small to catch in a net; hence, the necessity of moving them while the larger female still retains their eggs. Provide plenty of plants or other small hiding places in the aquarium for the young Ghost Shrimp. It is generally believed that baby Ghost Shrimp should be kept in aquariums with dark or covered sides, as many breeders have observed a propensity in these animals to swim toward light, usually ramming themselves into the glass walls of their aquariums and perishing. An overhead light is, however, found to be useful. After the babies have hatched, the parent Ghost Shrimp should be removed. Normally the young Ghost Shrimp will feed off of rotifers and other small organisms living in plants in their aquariums, though they can also be fed artemia, or hatchling brine shrimp, in addition to liquefied food or minute algae. Brackish water Ghost Shrimp often benefit from brackish aquariums heavily grown with algae, where they can feed off of algae and microorganisms. By the time they are large enough to look like the adult Ghost Shrimp, they can be fed the same food as adults.


http://www.centralpets.com/pages/critterpages/fish/freshwater_inverts/FWI4997.shtml

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I read somewhere that they reproduce a lot better in ponds than aquariums. Perhaps you could make a makeshift pond out of a large plastic container for them to live in outdoors. This would provide plenty of sun to promote a good growth of algae.