How Do I Breed Cherry Shrimp?

[alia258]

I am now planning on buying cherry shrimp to breed in a 10g. They will probly have guppy fry in there at one time or another. So, what're the rules? Like with guppies it required at least 2 females per male and the such, so what's it like with shrimp?

[Peanutplant]

Not really any rule for shrimps. Just throw them all in there and hope you have a couple females willing to breed. I bought 10 juvenile RCS and couldn't sex them until recently, and now I have 7 pregnant females. LOL

[AnonymousKuhli]

As long as the water is about 70-80 and there are at least 6 in a group with no predators they will breed prolifically

[alia258]

Okay so 6 cherry shrimp, doesn't matter how many females or males, my water stays at 78°, and I use purified drinking water to keep most chemicals out (I still use a dechlorinater, just a smaller amount than on the bottle)

[alia258]

Does that sound about right?

[gabysapha]

You do know they need calcium to molt properly right? There is already a risk of death from molting, and it's even higher without adequate calcium intake. Im pretty sure they need hardness in their water.

I took the liberty to google "how to breed red cherry shrimp" for you, and i like this article:
http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/...g-and-Care/23/

When in doubt, google it.

[alia258]

I live in Tucson, and therefore the water just comes hard, the whole water system is that way, shower, faucet, etc. I did not know about the molting thing, I'm glad you told me! (I have guppies, and they like the hardness in the water as well, and the neon tetras really don't care) is there any specific things I'll have to do for the shrimp? I've never done shrimp before, I don't even know what food to buy them! An I'm having trouble trusting ANYTHING that comes from a pet store! So please, just tell me everything you know from bringing them home, to keeping them healthy, to breeding them! And am I right in the fact that they eat algae? (I'm aware that if they do, that probly won't be enough for them to survive off of)

[alia258]

Thank you for the google link! My 10g is kept at 78°, is that too high? And my filter just has that thing where it's just a loosely covered thing (will try to post a pic) I've heard that a pie of tights over it will keep babies (fry and shrimp alike) safe from being sucked up, right? Oh and, is there a term for baby shrimp? Like with fish, it's fry

[gabysapha]

Originally Posted by alia258

I live in Tucson, and therefore the water just comes hard, the whole water system is that way, shower, faucet, etc. I did not know about the molting thing, I'm glad you told me! (I have guppies, and they like the hardness in the water as well, and the neon tetras really don't care) is there any specific things I'll have to do for the shrimp? I've never done shrimp before, I don't even know what food to buy them! An I'm having trouble trusting ANYTHING that comes from a pet store! So please, just tell me everything you know from bringing them home, to keeping them healthy, to breeding them! And am I right in the fact that they eat algae? (I'm aware that if they do, that probly won't be enough for them to survive off of)

There are many guides written for purposes like yours, I highly recommend reading as many as you can and supplementing them with experiences from this forum.

I live in upstate NY, my water is liquid rock. Ph 8.6. I breed RCS with minimal effort. I barely do maintenance on their tank actually- stability is best. Big water changes prevented them from breeding. Small ones are much better. Small changes once per week is working out best for me. Just feed them, give them live plants, and leave them alone works for me. Seriously, don't fret over them when i did i just didn't work out. All the females would be saddled but would not breed. Once I started ignoring them and leaving them to themselves they started breeding much more.

If you google what RCS eat, you will find many options.

algae wafers are fine,shrimp pellets, crab bites, fresh vegetables. Choose high quality foods like Hikari or NEw Life Spectrum. Not all pet store foods are bad.

[alia258]

Okay I get what you're saying, and really quick, are cherry shrimp sensitive to copper levels? I just read to keep copper levels low in their food intake, but if it's in the water will they be okay? I recently treated my tank for parasites using CopperSafe+ because some female guppies from petco infected my tank (I avoid buying anything live from that store, although the supplies and tank decor are high quality and I do buy those from there) please tell me anything else I
Might have to worry about too! I use StressCoat+ as my dechlorinater, and it adds a slime coat to my fish, and in the process, that relaxes them.

[Cornstar]

I have a few RCS as well that happened to have some eggs. Now I am a bit worried about the molting process, how do I ensure my water has enough calcium?

[gabysapha]

Originally Posted by alia258

Okay I get what you're saying, and really quick, are cherry shrimp sensitive to copper levels? I just read to keep copper levels low in their food intake, but if it's in the water will they be okay? I recently treated my tank for parasites using CopperSafe+ because some female guppies from petco infected my tank (I avoid buying anything live from that store, although the supplies and tank decor are high quality and I do buy those from there) please tell me anything else I
Might have to worry about too! I use StressCoat+ as my dechlorinater, and it adds a slime coat to my fish, and in the process, that relaxes them.

Yes copper is dangerous. No, copper in food is usually in such low levels that it doesnt hurt them. I feed my shrimp any fish food i have, and I don't look at the coper labels. Algae wagers, shrimp pellets, it's fine.
I would wait before putting shrimp into a tank that had copper in it.
Yes stress coat is fine.
Rcs are hardy and easy to keep. They dont require any special care for me. Other shrimp like crystal reds are another story....

[gabysapha]

Originally Posted by Cornstar

I have a few RCS as well that happened to have some eggs. Now I am a bit worried about the molting process, how do I ensure my water has enough calcium?

I think if you call your water supplier they can tell you what your water hardness is.

The article I linked to in this thread tells what the ideal hardness should be. You can add hardness by adding limestone, crushed coral, or even Tums tablets you should look into it because Im not sure how much of these things you should use.

Additionally you can include calcium in the diet by buying high calcium foods like "kens veggie sticks with calcium." my snails also loovvee those.

[jetajockey]

Ideally I wouldn't put shrimp in a tank that had ever had a copper treatment.

[Basefrog]

In answer to your question an another thread.. Yes RCS do give birth to live young =) They store the fertilised eggs underneath them untill they are ready to hatch.

[alia258]

If copper is bad for them, I can simply boil everything in the tank (except the plants) and restart my tank. I am not worried at all about re-starting my aquarium and I'm quite confident in my ability to balance a tank (this is the one thing I know how to do inside and out)

[Greenturtle]

I read that copper can stay in the the aquarium sealent/silicon and will "leak" out into the water.

[bs6749]

Boiling does nothing to remove minerals and metals from the tank. That's why saltwater is distilled to produce pure water to drink. Greenturtle is also correct about copper leaking back into the tank after dosing copper in the tank. If you want to keep shrimp, I highly recommend a new 10g tank, which is about $10 and a great investment if you ask me.

[gabysapha]

Originally Posted by bs6749

Boiling does nothing to remove minerals and metals from the tank. That's why saltwater is distilled to produce pure water to drink. Greenturtle is also correct about copper leaking back into the tank after dosing copper in the tank. If you want to keep shrimp, I highly recommend a new 10g tank, which is about $10 and a great investment if you ask me.

True that. No point in getting shrimp if you'll always be worried about copper. And you will regret it if they don't do well! 10g tanks are so cheap. Check out craigslist ad Walmart.

[alia258]

Okay, but are you sure there isn't any kind of copper treatment for my tank? I'm a bit low on cash, and my whole 50$ in my bank account was misplaced and I won't get it back for a week, and I'm still trying to get a 30g tank for my other fish to go in. The 10g will then be for shrimp and guppy fry. Any ideas on any way to treat my tank for copper? Maybe I can use another chemical to balance it out?