Ghost Shrimp

[MichaelsLilGray]

I see about 9 of my Ghost shrimp are pregnant... i put them in there own seperate 1 gallon tank.. and threw everyone else to the sharks..(litterally lol) How long till i can see some fry swimmin around? I put a pinch of salt in water and added it. and put some of the stress api stuff in with it.

here is a pic of one if intrested..

 

[bs6749]

It usually takes ghost shrimp 40-44 days to release the eggs. The larva are fairly hard to raise compared to other dwarf shrimp species.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

my Ghost shrimp had eggs but I always read that they release larva which need brackish(salt) water to survive and grow. Never saw any tiny shrimp.

There are a couple clear shrimp that can be sold as "Ghost Shrimp" or "Glass Shrimp" mine looked just like the ones online that I saw. Does yours have small orange/brown dots on the tail? Thats what mine had and what the pics showed. I'll look for a link

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

they are the ones in the picture lol

 

[JohnPaul]

From a specialized freshwater shrimp site regarding Ghost Shrimp breeding, with a couple phrases that I highlighted to emphasize them:

"This shrimp is not as easy to propagate in the aquarium as most smaller algae eating shrimp of the Caridina or Neocaridina genus, since the Freshwater Glass Shrimp produces free floating larvae that need to be fed micro-food items before they molt into post-larva and assume a benthic (= on the ground) lifestyle. In most aquaria the larvae will not find enough food to develop into their next stage and will starve to death. However, in some old, established tanks with a lot of detritus and decomposing plant leaves on the ground the larvae might survive since there will be microorganisms in the water column. This shrimp does not require brackish water for larvae development as some of their cousins that hail from brackish water and marine habitats (such as Palaemonetes pugio and Palaemonetes vulgaris)."

If you want to read more, here is the link to the article.

FWIW, I've had berried ghost shrimp in my tanks before but never actually successfully raised any fry. But good luck to you, I hope you can succeed where I failed.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

they are the ones in the picture lol

yes but I cant see the tail from the top to see if they have dots on them

 

[bs6749]

yes but I cant see the tail from the top to see if they have dots on them

There are even several color variations/patterns between each species of ghost/glass shrimp. That might make it even more difficult to tell what it is for sure. The good news is that the form found in the Amazon River Basin is "never" imported according to one source I found. I'm sure it's gotta be the North American version.

 

[meegosh]

I had 3 saddled ghost shrimp in my time and I never saw any fry. I guess they don't find enough food or don't like the water. The way they sell them around here, $3 for 30, I never really worried about breeding them.

 

[Purrbox]

There are many different varieties of shrimp that are sold under the same common name of Ghost Shrimp. Some require Salt or Brackish water conditions for the larvae to mature while others will do just fine in Fresh water. If you have the freshwater variety then it shouldn't be too hard to raise them, but if you have one of the other varieties then it will be very difficult to raise the fry.

 

[gzeiger]

Does anyone know at what point the eggs are fertilized? Can I move the females to a breeder tank as soon as the eggs are visible, or do I need to wait or add male(s) to the breeder tank?

 

[bs6749]

Does anyone know at what point the eggs are fertilized? Can I move the females to a breeder tank as soon as the eggs are visible, or do I need to wait or add male(s) to the breeder tank?

You should be able to see the eggs developing in the ovaries in the shrimp. This is referred to as the "saddle" or being a "saddled female". The female will molt, breed with a male, and then transfer the eggs to the outside of her body and will carry them on the underside of her belly with her many pairs of legs. At this point they should be fertilized and about 40 days later you should see larval shrimp "floating/hovering" in the water about 2" off of the bottom of the tank/substrate. They may also attach themselves to the side of the glass or other objects if they are lucky enough to find them.