Does anyone have experience breeding fairy shrimp as feeders?
I have a 5-gallon tank set up for raising blackworms, but I'm not making much use of the water column right now so I was hoping to add something relatively low-maintenance that swims. I'm told scuds will eat the worms. My fish love ghost shrimp, but they are hard to breed and there's a lot of water movement in the tank that wouldn't be good for the fry. Fairy shrimp seemed like the next logical choice.
My main concern with them is the HOB filter. What I've done to prevent them being sucked into the intake is I've added a drinking glass below/around the suction tube and adjusted water level so that it spills over the rim to a slightly lower level inside the glass, making the world's smallest sump at probably 10 oz. It's still possible for hatchling shrimp to go over the spillway, but as far as I know they don't typically swim right at the top of the water.
What I want to know is
1) The filter makes a fair current in the tank, more or less in a circular direction. I think it's rated for 40 gal/hr on a 5 gallon tank. Is this a problem?
2) Are fairy shrimp easy to breed? I'd like them to be a sustainable colony, even though I probably have enough eggs to last several years. Will they spawn in pH 8.0?
3) Do I need to do something special to feed the young (floating plants already provided) or will they be able to forage? Food options must be compatible with water quality for the worms, which are the main project.
I have a 5-gallon tank set up for raising blackworms, but I'm not making much use of the water column right now so I was hoping to add something relatively low-maintenance that swims. I'm told scuds will eat the worms. My fish love ghost shrimp, but they are hard to breed and there's a lot of water movement in the tank that wouldn't be good for the fry. Fairy shrimp seemed like the next logical choice.
My main concern with them is the HOB filter. What I've done to prevent them being sucked into the intake is I've added a drinking glass below/around the suction tube and adjusted water level so that it spills over the rim to a slightly lower level inside the glass, making the world's smallest sump at probably 10 oz. It's still possible for hatchling shrimp to go over the spillway, but as far as I know they don't typically swim right at the top of the water.
What I want to know is
1) The filter makes a fair current in the tank, more or less in a circular direction. I think it's rated for 40 gal/hr on a 5 gallon tank. Is this a problem?
2) Are fairy shrimp easy to breed? I'd like them to be a sustainable colony, even though I probably have enough eggs to last several years. Will they spawn in pH 8.0?
3) Do I need to do something special to feed the young (floating plants already provided) or will they be able to forage? Food options must be compatible with water quality for the worms, which are the main project.
