[sadboys]

Im interestedin breeding rcs and i have both a 5 and a 10 gallon tank i could dedicate to them but im wonderimg which is better. Also im Looking to hear some success stories from those of you who have bred 10 shrimp into 100+ colonies like you read about. What did you do wrong and what did you do right.

Thanks so much!

 

[Couesfanatic]

Put them in water. Thats all it takes. They are the cockroaches of the shrimp world and would breed anywhere. It just takes time.

 

[dukydaf]

Some other things off the top of my head

- start with a decent size colony
- buy from multiple sources to bring some genetic diversity
- screen for shrimps that are not to your standard
- your aquarium should be full of moss
- keep water changes small ( maybe the biggest mistake made when keeping shrimps, freaking about some random parameter and doing a big water change to 'fix it' )

 

[theatermusic87]

I really only had success with a bigger number of shrimp to start with. 15-20 would be the minimum I would want to start with. I tried with 8 and added a couple more to replace those I lost. Other than that Sponges over filter intakes so you don't lose babies, same goes for not having predator fish in there (once you have an established you can add some smaller predators if you want and the colony should be fine) and lots of finer leaved plants for micro fauna to grow in. Doesn't have to be moss, could be myrio, floating plant roots, hornwort, elodea, etc. just something with lots of fine leaves. Stable water parameters (doesn't have to be anything special as long as it's consistent).

If you want 100+ colony I would use the 10 gallon. I have a 5 and I would say there's probably 75 or so shrimp in there and it's a well established 2 year old and has spawned colonies in a 3g and a 25g and they have ~150-200 and ~25-35 shrimp in them respectively.

 

[UrosBGD]

Feed them regularly but small amounts. U can use some dish to put food into and few hours later take it out. They need constant source of food but if you put too much you can pollute the water.
And find filter that wont suck them up
(Put sponge on inlet pipe)

 

[sadboys]

Thank all of you!

 

[Michael A. Grammar]

i'm a beginner with a 30gal i've had for about 3 months and i've already had 3 pregnant cherries, one of which recently had a clutch of eggs hatch! i have an external hang on the side breeder box that pumps water from the main tank in and lets the extra flow back out into the main tank. whenever i've found a pregnant female i just pop her in the breeder box and let her go. i have lots of java moss and susswasertang and a guava leaf in the box so the fry have plenty of biofilm to nibble on and places to hide. i also threw a couple of very young horned nerites into the box for a little algae control and substrate clean up. the fry i have in the breeder box are doing great! like i said, i'm a beginner and i really don't do anything special except separate the fry from the main tank so my fish don't snack on them. i think the most important thing to have when you are trying to breed cherries is 1) have a male 2) have a female 3) wait! :wink2:

 

[Matuva]

My first red cherries colony started with 5 females and 1 male! Needless to say I was checking every day the male was still alive!
Luckily, he did well, and 8 months later I had hundreds of them in my 60 liters tank.

Like says Couesfanatic, these are cockroaches, just monitor your water parameters, feed them, and you are done.

 

[jem_xxiii]

- patience
- clean water
- hiding spots
- feed them, but not too much
- patience

Those are the keys to growing a successful colony of RCS. Tank size does not matter too much, your 5 or 10g will do just fine.