How long for females to lay eggs?

[stargate_geek]

I have RCS and have seen many females "saddled." My question is this:

They never seem to lay their eggs and carry them around. I've had saddled females for at least a month now. The temp got a bit warm this summer (80-81F) could that be the reason? I haven't had any deaths however!

[epicfish]

What dechlorinator are you using?

[ZooTycoonMaster]

Females don't lay their eggs, the eggs hatch right out of their tails.

[msjinkzd]

Are you sure you have males? Its typical for them to be saddled for 2-3 weeks and then become berried (carrying visible eggs in their swimmerettes). After another 2-3 weeks the eggs typically hatch into mini-version of the adults.

[A Hill]

Generally its a month month month cycle with most dwarf shrimp, but why the heck keep them that warm?

-Andrew

[i love planted tanks]

my 10 gal rcs tank stays that warm(80-81f) in the summer with no heater at all

[Harris36]

Any chance other fish are dining? I noticed you had some other fish in your 2.5 gallon shrimp thread. Are they still in there? A small shrimp makes a great snack.

Also, a small tank, as pretty as it may be, might be hard to keep water parameters at an ideal and constant level IMO.

[stargate_geek]

Originally Posted by epicfish

What dechlorinator are you using?

Tetra aquasafe; big yellow bottle

Originally Posted by ZooTycoonMaster

Females don't lay their eggs, the eggs hatch right out of their tails.

I know, but they to lay them from their ovaries to their tails, which is what I was refering to; I just worded it weird!

Originally Posted by msjinkzd

Are you sure you have males?

Yes, there are some that are not as brightly colored (though full grown) and have never had a saddle. Those are males, right?

Originally Posted by A Hill

but why the heck keep them that warm?

-Andrew

I haven't been trying to keep them that warm. With summer heat, the temp went up. I've since kept the AC on in that room and it's now 77-78F. I was away for two weeks and figured, since I'm not home for the humidity to bother me, why keep the AC on? I was wrong *lol*

Originally Posted by Harris36

Any chance other fish are dining? I noticed you had some other fish in your 2.5 gallon shrimp thread. Are they still in there?

No, they are no longer there. They were there for a few days only because I have some planaria (not a whole lot, but some) and other little things which fry seem to love eating. So I put them in there for a coulple days to gobble them up.

Originally Posted by Harris36

Also, a small tank, as pretty as it may be, might be hard to keep water parameters at an ideal and constant level IMO.

Yeah, it is challengeing. But I feel I've done a pretty good job. Every time I test the ammonia is <1ppm. I change water every 5-6 days, and I don't over feed.

[epicfish]

Just throwing a suggestion out there. I've read that many use Tetra AquaSafe with good results, but many (most?) shrimp keepers I know stick to SeaChem Prime.

I know the female shrimp I keep have lost eggs in the past while I used AmQuel+ and other dechlorinators.

I'm not sure if this is what's causing the "problem" or not, but it could be playing a role.

[stargate_geek]

Alright, I'll switch out; I'd never heard of that before. Thanks

[HOLLYWOOD]

I use PRIME as well for all my invert tanks.

[bulrush]

I use Jungle dechlor for all my tanks, including 3 RCS tanks, and it has worked fine for me for 2+ years.

Now, your ammonia is not zero, and it should be for all shrimp species. This probably plays a major factor in why they are dropping the eggs after they come out. Hence, no babies. Cycle your filter and get rid of the ammonia, zeolite is a natural choice for absorbing ammonia. Do not use zeolite with salt as it will dump the ammonia in the presence of salt. That is how you recharge it.

While your tank is cycling with zeolite, do not let ammonia get to zero because the good bacteria needs ammonia to grow. But let ammonia get to 0.1, then remove the zeolite. If ammonia (test daily) gets to 0.2 put the zeolite back in. Use an old nylon stocking or filter bag to hold the zeolite. It looks like white rock chips.