Amano shrimp breeding

[Aquarium Ecology]

Hello,

I have what I believe to be Amano Shrimp. A female was gravid and the eggs hatched a day ago. I left the zoes in the hatching tank for a day with light airation and heater while I prepared a full salinity 33/34 ppm growing tank for the zoes. Until this morning many zoes died as I believe (maybe I m wrong) and I have now transfered the remaining zoes into the saltwater tank. Unfortunately I cannot see any of them gliding in the tank since the water is green. The really interesting thing is that the when I placed the female shrimp into her original tank which is shrimp only and planted, she kept some eggs which hatched into the main tank. Now I see zoes not gliding in the water BUT stuck on the glass moving about the tank using the tank's side glasses!!!! How can it be that in the main tank the zoes are stuck on the glass moving about and in the hatching tank the zoes were hanging upside down gliding in the water?????!!!!

Thanks

[Church]

Welcome to the challenge of breeding Amanos. I've tried several times in the past, unsuccessfully, but I plan on figuring it out eventually. FWIW, the first thing I can tell you, is I've never had any success using full salinity for the zoe tank. I think it would be best to shoot for ~20-25 ppm. But that's just my own experience, and for all I know, it could be affected by local water supply. All I know is, Amanos need to be more available in this hobby, and I'm determined to figure out how to breed them. Best of luck to you, and please keep us informed!

[gmccreedy]

no no. Full salinity is the key. My last go at it about a year ago was best results at full salinity. Lights on 24/7. Full Aeration. Green water of course established by some type of phytoplankton culture.

I got all the way to the end when I started transitioning back to FW and failed there. Toward then end I had maybe 6 or so left and they all bit it eventually.

Its not hard to do, just a bit of work.

If you don't see them initially, give it some time. I used a flashlight to attract them and that usually worked, but not always.

[Gobies et al]

Good luck with this endeavor, Aquarium Ecology!

I have made 4 attempts breeding Amano's, 1 successfully. Don't be discouraged if this doesn't go right for you, try again.

I would wonder if the zoae that died weren't quite fully developed, not quite strong enough. Good luck finding them in the green water!

As for the ones in the tank, what do they look like with a magnifying glass? Do they look like miniature adults? Are they more like cocoons, legless? Zoae are attracted to light so could have moved against the tank sides attracted to light coming in from the sides.

Please keep us updated! There is so much to learn!

[Church]

Hmmm. Now I'm guessing I have to try it again at full salinity, based on what Glenn said. I'm so confused by the whole procedure! I wish it weren't a potential ecological disaster, or I would just as soon dump a tank-full of zoe culture right into the tampa bay and let them populate themselves, just so I could go harvest them whenever I wanted some.

Obviously that's a horrible idea, and I hope everyone knows better than to do the same, with any bodies of water.

Maybe my problem was using tap water. I guess the next time I try this, I will make the saltwater out of RO.

[jjp2]

how do the fry survive in the wild?

[Church]

My understanding is that the adult shrimp, who live in freshwater streams uphill of the ocean, give birth to their zoes which then get washed out to the sea by the river current. Then they instinctually migrate their way back to freshwater, and this happens gradually, which is why the trickiest part of this, as Glenn mentioned, is adapting them back to freshwater again. But in the wild, it doesn't happen in stages, like 100% salinity one week, then 75% the next week, etc. It would happen on an extremely gradual basis, as they go from complete seawater, to brackish tidal pools, to freshwater streams again.

So maybe what needs to happen is the salinity needs to drop by like .5 to 1 ppm each day or something like that? Maybe the real trick is to set them up with like a drip-acclimation type of procedure, and slowly convert them back to freshwater as they grow?

It seems like a very precise art, like humans weren't really meant to breed amanos in captivity... but anything's possible, right?

[gmccreedy]

From the reading i did on it, it should not take more than a few days. THe last trial I had was the furthest I had gone, so it was really uncharted waters for me at the end.

I was almost unprepared for the shrimp at that point (and they were visually shrimp by that point as well, basically the size of Cherries when they hatch).

I may try this again in a few months when I get the chance. The real PITA is the salt water. I am not a "salt water guy" so this whole thing is just a pain to get prepared for. LOL.

I will say though, the last batch I had done, the female was fully mature and I really think that made a bit of a difference.

[Gobies et al]

Originally Posted by gmccreedy

I got all the way to the end when I started transitioning back to FW and failed there. Toward then end I had maybe 6 or so left and they all bit it eventually.

What was the time frame from hatching to starting to transition back to FW?

[Aquarium Ecology]

caridina.japonica.online.fr/English

a very good guide

[Aquarium Ecology]

The small creatures on the sides of the glass of the main tank continue to be there and seems to be doing fine! I think they are shrimp 99% sure. Dont know what shrimp but they seem like small shrimplets moving about on the glass. Loads of them as well.

The zoes in he salt water I cant seem to find them so maybe its over for them. I will wait and see how it goes

[Lnb]

Sorry for highjacking this thread but I have had amanos with bellys full of eggs and they never seem to hatch. Does anyone know what happens at that point?

How long do they carry the eggs for?

[gmccreedy]

Originally Posted by Lnb

Sorry for highjacking this thread but I have had amanos with bellys full of eggs and they never seem to hatch. Does anyone know what happens at that point?

How long do they carry the eggs for?

Read here http://caridina.japonica.online.fr/English/Elevage.htm

[Aquarium Ecology]

The guy in the store said it was amano shrimp. Also I was able to sex the shrimp since my female is bigger as well as it has dushes instead of spots on her sides. I will try to post photos.

Now about the little things on my glass they don't entirely look like shrimp but they are very close to looking like shrimp!!! They are like the zoes of amanos but they are stuck on the glass!!! They wierd thing is that I can see some zoes hanging upside down floating about in the tank and I am talking about te main freshwater tank!!!

I am all confused but its been 2 weeks and they are still alive on the glass and free floating upside down in the water. I am waiting for them to grow bigger so I can understand more

[Gobies et al]

Interesting about the ones in the freshwater still being alive after 2 weeks! The most I had read was 8 days in freshwater, with the most common suggestion of under 4 days.

Have you been able to see any in the green water salted tank?

I decided to give another try at raising a batch of Amano's, too. I have 2 females just on the verge of releasing their eggs. Actually there are a few zoae floating, but the main bunch of eggs are still tucked up. Probably, they'll drop them in the next couple of days.

Keep us posted!