[Owen Stubbs]

My son has 3 berried female cherries right now. According to my calculations, we should have babies any time now. In fact, I think 1 of them might already have done so. How long before you noticed a berried female no longer IS berried, and you actually see the little babies out and about? I've heard they are really tiny.

I also have some plants that need a bit of trimming, but I am afraid to do that for fear I may discard any baby shrimp I cannot see on the clipping. Is this a legit concern?

 

[Solstice]

It's about 28 days give or take that they'll carry eggs. Go ahead and trim, but just pull the cuttings out slowly and any babies will jump off. They're exceedingly small, but still very visible if you look closely.

 

[Owen Stubbs]

Hmmm... might be another week then. Thought it was closer to 3 weeks, not 4. Anyway, do you see these babies immediately, or do they need to grow for a few weeks before they are large enough to be seen and/or large enough to leave their hiding spots so they CAN been seen?

 

[Simkie]

I saw teeny-tiny shrimp just a couple days after my berried female was suddenly not berried. It doesn't take very long

 

[Color Me Blue]

I agree with Sol, go ahead and trim. I would just brush/shake the plants that you are going to trim, then trim. As you take the trimmed plant out, just give them a good shake to make sure you get the hitchhikers off before removing the plant from the tank.

I usually place my trimmings in a bucket filled with tank water and recheck that bucket before dumping it out in the garden. That way I can spot any shrimp if they decided to make an escape. Can never be too careful. LOL It's a good thing to do when cleaning your filters too. Many a time I have squeeze-cleaned my sponges and found lil babies in the bucket afterwards. They get into EVERYTHING! LOL

 

[Owen Stubbs]

OK - will keep an eye out for hitch hikers!

However, how I have another curiosity... and I hope it is not a huge problem.

Of the berried females, 2 happen to be extraordinarily red.... I mean, nearly solid red.

One that has been berried for approximately 3 weeks is suddenly nearly colorless. Behaving normally - picking at the plants for a snack. nothing unusual except the coloration.

Earlier today, I did aim a fan at the tank to reduce to temp from around 82F to 76F in a matter of perhaps 2 hours. I have since shut down the fan, temp has risen to around 78, but would likely climb back to around 80 or so as that is room temp.

Is this change of temp a likely culprit, or do berried females sometimes lose their color for no particular reason? Either that, or it is a female I have not seen before, but that seems highly unlikely, especially since this is only a 10g tank.

 

[ToYoTa]

Find the baby I found 1.

 

[conduct]

Well if mine don't slow down a little while I have no idea how they are going to get any babies at all?

 

[Color Me Blue]

Changing colors like that is not good, for a preggie female. 1.- she's sick and dying. 2.-she is getting ready to molt, so she's going to lose those eggs. 3.-she could be highly stressed.

Tomorrow (Friday) we'll probably have the answer to that question. I hope she turns out ok.

 

[CampCreekTexas]

Owen, are you sure it's the same female? There could be many more berried females in there than you know. I counted seven one day and fourteen the next (out of fifty or so total shrimp). A couple of those didn't have much color since they were juvies. Hopefully that's what's going on for you.

Find the baby ~ I found atleast two and I think three!

 

[Owen Stubbs]

I suppose there is a chance that this one is not the same shrimp... that just seems really unlikely. All the berried ones were among the largest in the tank. I do not recall seeing any shrimp that were this large that were berried, or even sadled. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any of the large berried females at all today. There are plenty of hiding spots though - one entire corner is thick wisteria and moss - enough to hide half the colony. Even though this is not feeding day, I am going to drop some food in there and see if I can bait them out of hiding.

BTW - would it also be normal for them to hide or otherwise select very dense vegetation just prior to the babies dropping?

 

[Owen Stubbs]

They took the bait, and good news - both really red berried females came out of hiding - as well as this less colorful one.... PLUS another one or possibly 2!!!

I guess this less colorful one (nearly without color, like a male) is either very recently berried, or has not previously caught my attention.

 

[CampCreekTexas]

Awesome! I'm so glad it's nothing wrong! :biggrin: Don't worry about any escaping your attention ~ I know for a fact I put almost fifty shrimp in my ten gallon (counted them when I got them) and there are days where I can look and look and look and only see twenty or so. And there's not THAT much stuff in my tank! It's amazing how well they can hide.

 

[Owen Stubbs]

FINALLY! I spotted a baby RCS!!!! That thing was no larger than a gnat!!! Quickly disappeared into some moss, so I presume there are others! No congregating on the glass, as others have reported, but between the 2 ottos, and snails, there really isn't anything on the glass to attract them.

 

[bulrush]

Only a few of my baby RCS hang on the glass, during the day or night. Most hang out on the java moss, which they really like. They use it for cover and they eat the micro orgs growing on it. I have seen baby RCS that were only 2mm long turning red already.

 

[CampCreekTexas]

WOOHOO!!!!! Congrats, Owen! And congrats to your son as well! :bounce: :biggrin:

 

[Owen Stubbs]

Becoming easier to see now. Saw about 5 at one time!!! My son is loving this!!! Dad is having a pretty good time too!! :tongue:

 

[CampCreekTexas]

Aren't they just fascinating to watch, Owen?! Especially when they're your first babies. :biggrin: I've spent hours in front of the tank watching them. DH has to suffer through many many episodes of "Honey! More babies! Come look! Come look!" And not many of our friends and family have come over lately ~ maybe they're all tired of being accosted similarly when they first hit the door? *shrugs*