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Amano Shrimp Larvae Growth Progress - Updated
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Yes, this is my current setup using an Aqueon 1.6G. I think the Aqueon is a better buy now that I think about it because it comes with a filter and more powerful lights than the Tetra halfmoon weak LEDs and no filter for a few bucks more.
The power plug is non-standard and splits to 2 connectors to power the light and filter. I don't use either on this tank but I'm using the filter for a small pico Saltwater tank.
It is saltwater, the salinity may vary some but I try to keep it as close to 1.024~ with a variances of .002 or so. It doesn't have to be exact but within this range of what most hydrometers consider S/W.
The power plug is non-standard and splits to 2 connectors to power the light and filter. I don't use either on this tank but I'm using the filter for a small pico Saltwater tank.
It is saltwater, the salinity may vary some but I try to keep it as close to 1.024~ with a variances of .002 or so. It doesn't have to be exact but within this range of what most hydrometers consider S/W.
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So the basic things needed are:
Two cycled tanks (one saltwater)
Heaters
Filters
Air stone and pump
Hydrometer
Light
Several Amano shrimp
That cover the basic needs?
Two cycled tanks (one saltwater)
Heaters
Filters
Air stone and pump
Hydrometer
Light
Several Amano shrimp
That cover the basic needs?
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A refractometer would be better than a hydrometer since they tend to be more accurate, and from what I've heard, you may want to pick up some phytoplankton as well, and maybe some golden pearls.
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I'm embarking on this journey as we speak (type), and I have a jar of 1 week old larvae going.
The "tanks" for the larvae don't need to be cycled. Just an airstone, and occasional water changes.
I've read that brewers yeast is an acceptable food for the first few days, and it seems to be working okay for me.
My larvae are in a ±1L jar at the moment, I'm looking for an appropriate jar in the 1-2 gal range.
My basement is a bit chilly for decent growth, so my larva jar is in a 5gal water bath tank (this will allow me to add jars as I go, if needed).
Agree with Rtessy that refractometer is better, I picked on up shortly after getting set up and it's WAAAAYYYY better than hydrometer. Mainly because it uses just a couple drops to test water, and is faster (can't house my hydrometer in my larva jar, and I always have to fight with air bubbles if using it on demand). It also makes it much easier to test water from multiple sources (larva jar and reserved saltwater). This would also be a good project to buy prepared salt water for (if you can get it), since you need so little of it.
I don't keep a separate tank for adults to breed in, but I pull berried shrimp from my other tanks when I think they're getting close to releasing eggs. I house them in a ±1.5gal jar with a small sponge filter, heater, plant cuttings, and an almond leaf.
I'm putting a lot of light-hours over the larva jar, hoping to get some algae going soon. I suspect that'll be my biggest issue, if I don't sort it out soon.
The "tanks" for the larvae don't need to be cycled. Just an airstone, and occasional water changes.
I've read that brewers yeast is an acceptable food for the first few days, and it seems to be working okay for me.
My larvae are in a ±1L jar at the moment, I'm looking for an appropriate jar in the 1-2 gal range.
My basement is a bit chilly for decent growth, so my larva jar is in a 5gal water bath tank (this will allow me to add jars as I go, if needed).
Agree with Rtessy that refractometer is better, I picked on up shortly after getting set up and it's WAAAAYYYY better than hydrometer. Mainly because it uses just a couple drops to test water, and is faster (can't house my hydrometer in my larva jar, and I always have to fight with air bubbles if using it on demand). It also makes it much easier to test water from multiple sources (larva jar and reserved saltwater). This would also be a good project to buy prepared salt water for (if you can get it), since you need so little of it.
I don't keep a separate tank for adults to breed in, but I pull berried shrimp from my other tanks when I think they're getting close to releasing eggs. I house them in a ±1.5gal jar with a small sponge filter, heater, plant cuttings, and an almond leaf.
I'm putting a lot of light-hours over the larva jar, hoping to get some algae going soon. I suspect that'll be my biggest issue, if I don't sort it out soon.
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It seems the larvae can survive hyper-salinity since it was a good amount above the S/W range on the hydrometer and that if there's food source available they can survive on a light schedule since I accidentally shut it off and forgot to turn it on again. Someone gave me a refractometer but I never used it but I will look for it not knowing it doesn't require much water to sample.
Most important is having a tank with food source in the water column. You can buy some off shelf phyto and add it or try growing it on tank or both. A heater isn't necessary only if it's cold to maintain a faster growth rate. If you're using a heater, keep an eye on the water evaporation. I don't use air stones, the other end is the rigid plastic tubing. Filter is optional, my local water is probably the reason why I need to use.
I've talked to someone who has made it to the end but they all died during the transition. Luckily I didn't have that problem the first time.
Here's what my current batch looks like, turning red is a good sign of them feeding on the algae and being active.
Most important is having a tank with food source in the water column. You can buy some off shelf phyto and add it or try growing it on tank or both. A heater isn't necessary only if it's cold to maintain a faster growth rate. If you're using a heater, keep an eye on the water evaporation. I don't use air stones, the other end is the rigid plastic tubing. Filter is optional, my local water is probably the reason why I need to use.
I've talked to someone who has made it to the end but they all died during the transition. Luckily I didn't have that problem the first time.
Here's what my current batch looks like, turning red is a good sign of them feeding on the algae and being active.
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HI mach6, how are the 'kids' doing?
My 1st attempt is still going well (larvae @ 10d), I'm trying to get as much info as I can on this adventure, to maybe anticipate problems/hurdles before they occur.
So I re-read this thread from the beginning, to understand more of the context of your awesome videos.
I was going to ask how old your larvae are, but it seems you're collecting as they come, and removing as they morph, is that about right? So your salty tank has a range of larvae sizes/ages?
And if that's the case (ie if I'm understanding and assuming correctly ), how do you catch the shrimplets after they morph without disturbing the larvae?
The youtube vid you shared early on showed the guy doing a fairly quick acclimation from Saltwater to Freshwater right after metamorphosis (if I'm understanding that right). Is that how you do it?
Thanks again! Hopefully if I continue to have success, I'll post my pics in a new thread. At this stage, I don't want to start a thread with a sad ending.
My 1st attempt is still going well (larvae @ 10d), I'm trying to get as much info as I can on this adventure, to maybe anticipate problems/hurdles before they occur.
So I re-read this thread from the beginning, to understand more of the context of your awesome videos.
I was going to ask how old your larvae are, but it seems you're collecting as they come, and removing as they morph, is that about right? So your salty tank has a range of larvae sizes/ages?
And if that's the case (ie if I'm understanding and assuming correctly ), how do you catch the shrimplets after they morph without disturbing the larvae?
The youtube vid you shared early on showed the guy doing a fairly quick acclimation from Saltwater to Freshwater right after metamorphosis (if I'm understanding that right). Is that how you do it?
Thanks again! Hopefully if I continue to have success, I'll post my pics in a new thread. At this stage, I don't want to start a thread with a sad ending.
They all died, the salinity climbed too high from the water evaporating and even killed off a good amount of those smaller creatures on the glass when I inspected it with my camera to see if it was still salvageable. I'm going back to the original tank that has a cover on it to reduce evap and may not heat it.
I have been busy lately so I'm not going to try again until I buy a bottle of live phyto to culture. I also picked up some bamboo shrimps. I have about 9-10 females that I rotate between the tanks when I see they are berried. There's always some larvae present in the water that I'll just suck up when I see them. I have 2 really large females that I've been hoping would berry but they don't as frequently as the others.
To catch them after they settled, I used a 5ml pippette and with my quick dexterity I am able to suck them in. Some took me a few minutes because they're so small and fast and the water was cloudy. That batch had 20 but if they are all around the same stage the other may be hanging near the bottom of the tank.
The first transition is 50/50 Saltwater to Freshwater in a small container that I usually leave overnight. You're trying to simulate them swimming back up river. I asked him for the timing of the transition and he wasn't specific but this is what I did. Then the next transition is removing 50% and top off with FW, but I don't recall how long I left it, maybe 4+ hours to be safe and if it has survived you should be able to put it in your Freshwater tank.
I had someone message me from another forum and his batch all died during the Freshwater transitioning. I had a 95% success rate out of 20. One died from a short transition where I tried to see if it can survive Freshwater right away and the answer is no, it will die.
Good luck to you!
I have been busy lately so I'm not going to try again until I buy a bottle of live phyto to culture. I also picked up some bamboo shrimps. I have about 9-10 females that I rotate between the tanks when I see they are berried. There's always some larvae present in the water that I'll just suck up when I see them. I have 2 really large females that I've been hoping would berry but they don't as frequently as the others.
To catch them after they settled, I used a 5ml pippette and with my quick dexterity I am able to suck them in. Some took me a few minutes because they're so small and fast and the water was cloudy. That batch had 20 but if they are all around the same stage the other may be hanging near the bottom of the tank.
The first transition is 50/50 Saltwater to Freshwater in a small container that I usually leave overnight. You're trying to simulate them swimming back up river. I asked him for the timing of the transition and he wasn't specific but this is what I did. Then the next transition is removing 50% and top off with FW, but I don't recall how long I left it, maybe 4+ hours to be safe and if it has survived you should be able to put it in your Freshwater tank.
I had someone message me from another forum and his batch all died during the Freshwater transitioning. I had a 95% success rate out of 20. One died from a short transition where I tried to see if it can survive Freshwater right away and the answer is no, it will die.
Good luck to you!
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That is all super info, and thank you so much for the careful, thorough and detailed write-up. I’m a details person myself, so it’s appreciated.
I’m finding the salinity to be relatively easy to manage (can’t say enough good things about refractometer), and although I did start with sterile saltwater, I’ve seeded it lightly with all sorts of green goodies, bits of java moss (dead in salt water I imagine), some marine moss from a frag tank at lfs, etc. I first started feeding tiny amounts of brewers yeast, and have added crushed spirulina flake, and just started using drops of Seachem reef phytoplankton. They seem much more active over the 2 days since using the phyto.
Thanks again, so much!!!
I’m finding the salinity to be relatively easy to manage (can’t say enough good things about refractometer), and although I did start with sterile saltwater, I’ve seeded it lightly with all sorts of green goodies, bits of java moss (dead in salt water I imagine), some marine moss from a frag tank at lfs, etc. I first started feeding tiny amounts of brewers yeast, and have added crushed spirulina flake, and just started using drops of Seachem reef phytoplankton. They seem much more active over the 2 days since using the phyto.
Thanks again, so much!!!
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No problem, live algae will be better so you don't need to worry about the changing water and the quality going bad from using prepared liquid foods. When using liquid I feel you need to use a lot or they can still starve especially since most don't have a high bubble rate to have good water movement.
In the mean time, I have one of those sieve for artemia that i'm floating in a marina hang on breeder that I converted to refugium and putting in whatever is hatching now, I wonder if they will make it because that will make it even easier to raise. I did have to use prepared liquid phyto this time for it but its' attached to more water volume so that should be ok I hope.
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Hard to say, you'd be the best judge since you can see if there is any noticeable difference in size for the last 2 weeks.
How big is the tank? I would just target feed them as best as you can to avoid overdosing where all like to hang out near the light. I didn't use liquid foods enough to be able to give any advice.
If you kept them alive for 2 weeks then I'd say continue what you are doing, they should also be active too.
Collected some eggs last night and very much surprised to see that it was that many.
Probably one of the largest single hatch I ever had. Unfortunately, I don't know if I can raise them. I had a bucket that I was still cultivating some algae but didn't seem to be growing that dense.
Probably one of the largest single hatch I ever had. Unfortunately, I don't know if I can raise them. I had a bucket that I was still cultivating some algae but didn't seem to be growing that dense.
Weather is warmer to start this up again, feeding them daily seems to have produced more viable larva. Some of my F1 are already breeding size. I wanted to separate them to avoid mixing genetics.
If you want to breed Amanos buy them small so you can a good amount of breeding cycles with them.
The larger red ones were hatched around June 23rd. The newly hatched you see was a few days ago now. You can see the difference between them at various stages. At least 3 phases.
If you want to breed Amanos buy them small so you can a good amount of breeding cycles with them.
The larger red ones were hatched around June 23rd. The newly hatched you see was a few days ago now. You can see the difference between them at various stages. At least 3 phases.
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At 6 minute mark the bigger one on the left side rising up is the one eating part of another larva tail It's hard to make out if you're not aware of what you're looking at.
The first video is the shot with backlighting , the second one is shot while with light cast on them. Back lighting seems to not show the shiny pieces of them and gives it more of a xray effect.
The first video is the shot with backlighting , the second one is shot while with light cast on them. Back lighting seems to not show the shiny pieces of them and gives it more of a xray effect.
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After a long hiatus, I gave it another attempt to raise Amanos earlier this year. Found a seller selling large size ones on Reddit and decided to try it again seeing it was difficult to find them in the last year in a large size, still smaller than pre-pandemic sizes but largest I've seen in a while. I raised this smaller batch in an unheated 60~ degree 1 gallon tank and many died off but 3-4 was still alive for 30~ days, I transitioned them to another heated tank that had 10 day old larvae to see if it will survive and eventually morph. I fed them live phyto plankton and added rotifers within the last few days. Within a 10~ days that largest one settled. Once summer comes, I will not need to heat the tank.
This would be a second time at raising another to this stage. I still need to transition it to FW to complete it.
If this transition it would be my 2nd successful attempt. If more reach this stage I will also want to experiment with if they can survive in SW for an indefinite amount of time, with over 100+ catching each one that transition is challenging.
Amano Shrimp larvae settled
Here's a video I took a few hours before it settled, you can see the size difference between the newly hatched and the one that settled. It about 10x the size of a 1 day vs a 40 day.
This would be a second time at raising another to this stage. I still need to transition it to FW to complete it.
If this transition it would be my 2nd successful attempt. If more reach this stage I will also want to experiment with if they can survive in SW for an indefinite amount of time, with over 100+ catching each one that transition is challenging.
Amano Shrimp larvae settled
Here's a video I took a few hours before it settled, you can see the size difference between the newly hatched and the one that settled. It about 10x the size of a 1 day vs a 40 day.
Didn't know my iphone 13 macro settings was very good. Previous video was still using my iPhone 7 with macro lens. So far I have about 11 transitioned with about 60~? more still in the late stages or already settled.
Close up of a settled shrimp still in SW.
Also, don't mix new and late stage larvae, they will cannibalize them. They just grab and eat whatever they can catch. Very few of the new ones survived, I guess it helped the othe grow.
Close up of a settled shrimp still in SW.
Also, don't mix new and late stage larvae, they will cannibalize them. They just grab and eat whatever they can catch. Very few of the new ones survived, I guess it helped the othe grow.
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