Cherry Shrimp won't breed

I've had 12 cherry shrimp in my 5 gallon for a few months and I haven't seen any signs of breeding, no berried females. Parameters are 8 pH, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, <5 nitrate, I don't know the kh or gh. Temperature is about 77 F (25 C). They're fed fluval shrimp formula, hikarI algae wafers and blanched vegetables (sometimes). I keep them with two otos (which I may move to a 20 gallon eventually. The tanks also has a few plants and a large clump of java moss. Any thoughts?

 

Lower your temp to 72F and feed some Bacter AE once a week.

 

A few months also suggests they may not be at breeding age which is 4 to 5 months

 

Pics of shrimp would help too. So we can see if they're still developing a saddle. Or if they's males.

 

I don't have an adjustable heater for this size of a tank and my room temp is about 68. Also, I should've mentioned that I had most of the shrimp (I think 8 of them) for a while longer, but I got more recently because I thought they were all female. I'll also check out bacterae if I can find it, would shrimpking complete work?
Here are some pics, they aren't great sorry.

 

The ShrimpKing version of Bacter AE is called BioTase. It's a bit smellier, smells like powdered soy sauce. I much prefer Bacter AE which doesn't really have much of a smell, either will do.

You've got a mix of male and female, but their saddles are small, tho at least one of the females look quite mature like they've already carried eggs before. The others look rather small.

You should lean towards protein rich foods, it will be better for the females to produce the eggs (saddle).

 

Anyone knows whether guppies/platys and tetras are a big threat to cherry shrimp breeding?

 

Anyone knows whether guppies/platys and tetras are a big threat to cherry shrimp breeding?

Guppies and platies will nip on cherry shrimp

 

Anyone knows whether guppies/platys and tetras are a big threat to cherry shrimp breeding?

They will most certainly eat every baby born but the law of averages say a few will live

 

Any other tips? I added a few more plants, feeding them tetramin flakes for a bit more protein, water is about 76F now.

 

Hello! I need some advice about the results from a gh/kh water test I just did with the API kit!

I have a 7 gallon shrimp tank with around 20 cherry shrimp, heavily planted, there are some floating plants, lots of Java moss, a bonsai and Indian almond leaves. I’ve had this tank for around 8 months now and I have NEVER had one breed! that makes me incredibly sad because my goal is to breed them.

my parameters:
Ph: around 8.2
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: <5ppm
Gh: 8 (?)
Kh: 11(???)
TDS: around 160

so is my kh result normal????? I feel like that’s a bit high but again I’m not sure! Every time I got my water tested, my LFS told me my water hardness was fine and that they should breed but...no such luck! I just want some shrimp babies.

what do you guys think? Any help is greatly appreciated

 

Welcome to Fishlore

I am going to call our resident shrimp Guru's richiep and JettsPapa Hopefully they can figure out why you aren't getting babies.

 

Your gh is spot on and the ph/kh a little high but shouldn't stop them breeding
Indian almond leaves should drop ph so what is the ph before it goes in the tank, I know that's not the question but something to look at
How old are the shrimp in the tank
Can you give us some closeup photos of your shrimp
Can you see saddles on any if your not sure give some photos of the top of some shrimp
Let's start there
We'll se what JettsPapa can think of as well

 

T

Your gh is spot on and the ph/kh a little high but shouldn't stop them breeding
Indian almond leaves should drop ph so what is the ph before it goes in the tank, I know that's not the question but something to look at
How old are the shrimp in the tank
Can you give us some closeup photos of your shrimp
Can you see saddles on any if your not sure give some photos of the top of some shrimp
Let's start there
We'll se what JettsPapa can think of as well

Hello!!!

thank you so much for the fast response!
Im at work right now but I’ll get some pictures and do a ph test during my lunch break in an hour!

8 shrimp in there are around 6 months old! I just added 12 others only two days ago and they are doing well.

ill send some pictures and the ph results in a little bit

 

At 6momths old they've only just come to breeding age which is around 5 months, if any have bred their young will be new born and hiding in the plants and may not make an appearance for a few weeks

 

At 6momths old they've only just come to breeding age which is around 5 months, if any have bred their young will be new born and hiding in the plants and may not make an appearance for a few weeks

Hello again!

i will attach pictures of the tank and the shrimp and sadly I just discovered one dead one, would that be a due to a molting issue (see pictures) ?

pH:

tap water: it’s around 8ppm
Tank water: it’s actually between 7.4-7.8ppm

is my water too hard thus causing bad molts?
i have some peat moss in storage, would it be useful?

Will they breed?

thank you

 

That shtimp as definitely died of a moult issue, when any die try and photo them while in the water,
Need to know your temperature,
What filter are you using
What is you water changing routine how much how often is the new water the same temperature

 

First of all, I appreciate the shout-out, and will try to help, but I've only been keeping shrimp for about a year, so I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert. I will, of course, try to help. I have a few more questions in addition to the ones richiep just posted.

• My shrimp are doing fine in 8.2 pH, so I wouldn't think that's the issue, and my GH and KH are both higher than yours.
• What's the temperature of the tank?
• What are you feeding them?
• I just looked at the picture of them in the feeding dish again. I only see females, though I may be overlooking something. If you don't have any males that could certainly explain why you aren't getting breeding.

 

That shtimp as definitely died of a moult issue, when any die try and photo them while in the water,
Need to know your temperature,
What filter are you using
What is you water changing routine how much how often is the new water the same temperature

temperature

24 degrees Celsius

What filter are you using

I’m using a water pump, water goes through one side of the tank (covered with stainless steel mesh to prevent shrimp going through) and passes through 2 layers of sponge and some filter media and get outs the other side by the water pump. There is good flow

What is you water changing routine how much how often is the new water the same temperature

20% per week, I add it using drip method so it takes a couple hours, however I shut off the heater and water pump during the water change so the water does go down to maybe 22-22.5 degrees Celsius

First of all, I appreciate the shout-out, and will try to help, but I've only been keeping shrimp for about a year, so I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert. I will, of course, try to help. I have a few more questions in addition to the ones richiep just posted.

• My shrimp are doing fine in 8.2 pH, so I wouldn't think that's the issue, and my GH and KH are both higher than yours.
• What's the temperature of the tank?
• What are you feeding them?
• I just looked at the picture of them in the feeding dish again. I only see females, though I may be overlooking something. If you don't have any males that could certainly explain why you aren't getting breeding.

Hello! thank you for trying to help I’m glad your shrimp are doing fine in your hard water! That gives me hope

temperature

24 degrees Celsius!

What are you feeding them?

I feed them blanches cucumbers every weeks and vegetable pellets every 2-3 days! There’s a lot of algae in the tank so they graze all day. Should I feed more protein?

Males?

The LFS said they try to give me an equal amount of males/females but I have noticed it is a more female dominated tank! But I am certain I’ve seen at least 5 males

 

A drop in temperature is not really the best if you can leave the heater on it will be much better, its possible that may kill very young yet the older ones can take it a little better, the dead shrimp you are holding could very well be from a temperature change
Just looking at that mesh all your young would go through that mesh and get killed probably by the water pressure on their body

 

A drop in temperature is not really the best if you can leave the heater on it will be much better, its possible that may kill very young yet the older ones can take it a little better, the dead shrimp you are holding could very well be from a temperature change
Just looking at that mesh all your young would go through that mesh and get killed probably by the water pressure on their body

i can totally leave the heater one if that will help! I understand also that the mesh isn’t great? Will there any way to help that? Should I put a thin sponge instead? A stocking mesh?

i though the dead shrimp was caused by the famous 'white ring of death’ but can that be caused by temperature change? If yes, that would explain many things!

 

Shrimp are very susceptible to any sudden or drastic changes in their environment, temperature change is a killer, if things change to fast as you've seen with the one in your hand it as the white ring this is due to the shrimps body wanting to moult but is unable because the shell is to hard with the result the bodys organs get crushed, with babies the internal organs do just the same but you don't see it and once they are dead the adults eat them and you don't even notice whats happened.
Water flow into any sponge or in your case the mesh is a magnet for all shrimp,this is where there's a great amount of easy food, if you put a stocking over the mesh you will almost instantly see shrimp on there.

 

Shrimp are very susceptible to any sudden or drastic changes in their environment, temperature change is a killer, if things change to fast as you've seen with the one in your hand it as the white ring this is due to the shrimps body wanting to moult but is unable because the shell is to hard with the result the bodys organs get crushed, with babies the internal organs do just the same but you don't see it and once they are dead the adults eat them and you don't even notice whats happened.
Water flow into any sponge or in your case the mesh is a magnet for all shrimp,this is where there's a great amount of easy food, if you put a stocking over the mesh you will almost instantly see shrimp on there.

ah!! So the temperature changed triggered a shrimp to molt even though it wasn’t ready? That explains a lot! I’ve had a few deaths in the past during the same time Emmy temperature dropped.

and I’ll add a stocking to the mesh right away!!!

ive always wondered, would a sponge filter be a better bet?

Thank you so much for your help, hopefully I’ll get some babies soon!

 

The ideal sponge like in my 40ltr or you can add a hang on

 

The ideal sponge like in my 40ltr or you can add a hang on

i love your tanks! They’re beautiful!
I think the best bet for my tank would be a sponge filter like the second picture!

My tank has a strange filter separation in the bag, three different compartments, one for the heater, one for sponge and filter media and one for the water pump, so a HOB filter wouldn’t be the best!

I will be going to my LFS tomorrow to see what they have in stock!

 

The ideal sponge like in my 40ltr or you can add a hang on

I got the sponge filter, I’ll set it up tomorrow! I have one last question!
Where should I place my heater? Near the sponge filter or will it still work if I leave it in the back of the aquarium. I’ll attach an image of the filtration system I have now using a water pump

I will of course add the sponge filter inside the tank and not in the compartments in the back, however will I be able to leave the heater there?

 

Now you've shown a top picture puts a whole new light on things, I can now see whats going on,
The tank looks similar to the fluval flex, that back panel I removed quite easily to make it more shrimp friendly, whatever happens you are going to find shrimp in the bottom of that compartment so be very careful when you clean in there, I was forever pulling shrimp out.
It makes no difference how you set things up but you must run the sponge with the other filter system still working for a month.
You can then take everything out of the back compartment and just use the sponge.
You are still going to get shrimp in the back while that panel is in place so you'll have to siphon them out on water changes and move back to the main part.
Am I right in thinking that panel is plastic

 

Now you've shown a top picture puts a whole new light on things, I can now see whats going on,
The tank looks similar to the fluval flex, that back panel I removed quite easily to make it more shrimp friendly, whatever happens you are going to find shrimp in the bottom of that compartment so be very careful when you clean in there, I was forever pulling shrimp out.
It makes no difference how you set things up but you must run the sponge with the other filter system still working for a month.
You can then take everything out of the back compartment and just use the sponge.
You are still going to get shrimp in the back while that panel is in place so you'll have to siphon them out on water changes and move back to the main part.
Am I right in thinking that panel is plastic

yikes! I’ll have to check if there are some shrimp in the back! Sadly the panel seems to be completely welded to the tank so I don’t think I’ll be able to remove it even if I tried!

perhaps maybe I should find a replacement tank.

As for the sponge filter, can I remove my water pump and add the sponge filter in the tank? I would keep the other sponge and filter media in their compartment of course, just remove the water pump (thus its water flow)

 

You can't remove the pump as the present media is relying on that for the circulation to keep the cycle going i can't guarantee the cycle will stay by removing the pump, this is why you keep the two going so the new sponge gets seeded, it will probably seed inside two weeks but I like to give it a month.
A 10gal tank without the back compartment would be spot on it you can go that route

 

You can't remove the pump as the present media is relying on that for the circulation to keep the cycle going i can't guarantee the cycle will stay by removing the pump, this is why you keep the two going so the new sponge gets seeded, it will probably seed inside two weeks but I like to give it a month.
A 10gal tank without the back compartment would be spot on it you can go that route

that makes a lot of sense!! Thanks! I’ll check for a 10 gallon and I’ll add the sponge filter today!

 

I got the sponge filter, I’ll set it up tomorrow! I have one last question!
Where should I place my heater? Near the sponge filter or will it still work if I leave it in the back of the aquarium. I’ll attach an image of the filtration system I have now using a water pump

I will of course add the sponge filter inside the tank and not in the compartments in the back, however will I be able to leave the heater there?

E
When adding the new sponge filter, be sure to keep the older one for a week or 2, don't lose your bacteria!

Oops I jumped in before reading, that advice was already given. The cycle is so important!

 

Good catch richiep a picture is often worth a thousand words. Baby shrimp could very well be back there living the good life with all that good food on the filter media.

I agree about the length of time. I always recommend running both filters for at least a month before removing one but when both filters can be run without a problem running both all the time is a good thing.

In this case a different tank may be the best option. The media in the back compartment of this tank could be put in a HOB with a prefilter on the intake tube if we made the move right away. If we wait a month for the sponge filter to get well seeded the sponge filter alone may be all that is needed. The media can be left in this tank if we wanted to run both tanks. This one will be cycled and ready for fish should we choose that route.

 

Good catch richiep a picture is often worth a thousand words. Baby shrimp could very well be back there living the good life with all that good food on the filter media.

I agree about the length of time. I always recommend running both filters for at least a month before removing one but when both filters can be run without a problem running both all the time is a good thing.

In this case a different tank may be the best option. The media in the back compartment of this tank could be put in a HOB with a prefilter on the intake tube if we made the move right away. If we wait a month for the sponge filter to get well seeded the sponge filter alone may be all that is needed. The media can be left in this tank if we wanted to run both tanks. This one will be cycled and ready for fish should we choose that route.

yes I have actually decided I will get another tank! A 7 gallon without compartments in the back! I have found one that’s not too expensive and will probably buy it in the next couple days.

a HOB filter is a great idea to keep the filter media!!

the only thing that bothers me slightly is how to do the tank swap! Should I transfer all the water? Can I reuse the same substrate? Will I lose many cherry shrimp due to stress?

thank you

 

yes I have actually decided I will get another tank! A 7 gallon without compartments in the back! I have found one that’s not too expensive and will probably buy it in the next couple days.

a HOB filter is a great idea to keep the filter media!!

the only thing that bothers me slightly is how to do the tank swap! Should I transfer all the water? Can I reuse the same substrate? Will I lose many cherry shrimp due to stress?

thank you

Yes, you will want to transfer everything from this tank over to the new tank. You may lose some shrimp but hopefully not. I would just carefully net them and keep them in some of the water from the tank while making the switch. If you really have no shrimplets the move should be fairly easy. Once you get the adults out it might be possible to siphon babies if there are any in there.

You will want to put your plants in a holding container filled with water from the tank. Pull the plants and put them in the container. Once plants and decor is out of the tank siphon water from the tank into the container. If there are shrimplets hopefully they will end up in the container with the plants. If the container is big enough you can also put your media in there. Whatever you do you need to be sure to keep as much of the water from this tank as you can and keep the media wet.

Once the media is removed look into the media compartment for shrimplets. If you see some, siphon them out. Once shrimp, plants, decor, filter media and most of the water is out of this tank add a couple of inches of the original tank water to the new tank. Now you can move the substrate over to the new tank. after farther reading, to be on the safe side it is better to add new substrate when moving shrimp to a new tank. Replant your plants and add any other decor. Finish up by putting the rest of the water in the tank. Once done add your shrimp.

When I do water changes on my shrimp bowl I drip the fresh water back in there. I make sure the parameters of the water I am replacing is as close as I can get it to the water I took out but still refill very slowly. It can take an hour or more to drip in a gallon of water. The way I do it may be over kill but it works for me and my shrimp.

I use a length of air line tubing with a control valve on the tank end. Some folks tie a knot in the tubing but I find it is easier to control by using a control valve instead of a knot.

 

Yes, you will want to transfer everything from this tank over to the new tank. You may lose some shrimp but hopefully not. I would just carefully net them and keep them in some of the water from the tank while making the switch. If you really have no shrimplets the move should be fairly easy. Once you get the adults out it might be possible to siphon babies if there are any in there.

You will want to put your plants in a holding container filled with water from the tank. Pull the plants and put them in the container. Once plants and decor is out of the tank siphon water from the tank into the container. If there are shrimplets hopefully they will end up in the container with the plants. If the container is big enough you can also put your media in there. Whatever you do you need to be sure to keep as much of the water from this tank as you can and keep the media wet.

Once the media is removed look into the media compartment for shrimplets. If you see some, siphon them out. Once shrimp, plants, decor, filter media and most of the water is out of this tank add a couple of inches of the original tank water to the new tank. Now you can move the substrate over to the new tank. Replant your plants and add any other decor. Finish up by putting the rest of the water in the tank. Once done add your shrimp.

When I do water changes on my shrimp bowl I drip the fresh water back in there. I make sure the parameters of the water I am replacing is as close as I can get it to the water I took out but still refill very slowly. It can take an hour or more to drip in a gallon of water. The way I do it may be over kill but it works for me and my shrimp.

I use a length of air line tubing with a control valve on the tank end. Some folks tie a knot in the tubing but I find it is easier to control by using a control valve instead of a knot.

ahh thank you so much for all the information! I screenshotted it so it will come handy in the future. I think what I will do for now is add the sponge filter inside my current tank and wait one month! Im a student so I have to save up some money. I will do the tank change when there is enough bacteria on the new sponge filter for the new tank!

if I understood well, while doing the tank change, I can put all of my old tank water in the new one? So no need to add too much dechlorinated tap water?

Yes, you will want to transfer everything from this tank over to the new tank. You may lose some shrimp but hopefully not. I would just carefully net them and keep them in some of the water from the tank while making the switch. If you really have no shrimplets the move should be fairly easy. Once you get the adults out it might be possible to siphon babies if there are any in there.

You will want to put your plants in a holding container filled with water from the tank. Pull the plants and put them in the container. Once plants and decor is out of the tank siphon water from the tank into the container. If there are shrimplets hopefully they will end up in the container with the plants. If the container is big enough you can also put your media in there. Whatever you do you need to be sure to keep as much of the water from this tank as you can and keep the media wet.

Once the media is removed look into the media compartment for shrimplets. If you see some, siphon them out. Once shrimp, plants, decor, filter media and most of the water is out of this tank add a couple of inches of the original tank water to the new tank. Now you can move the substrate over to the new tank. Replant your plants and add any other decor. Finish up by putting the rest of the water in the tank. Once done add your shrimp.

When I do water changes on my shrimp bowl I drip the fresh water back in there. I make sure the parameters of the water I am replacing is as close as I can get it to the water I took out but still refill very slowly. It can take an hour or more to drip in a gallon of water. The way I do it may be over kill but it works for me and my shrimp.

I use a length of air line tubing with a control valve on the tank end. Some folks tie a knot in the tubing but I find it is easier to control by using a control valve instead of a knot.

ah yes and i forgot to add I also do water changes using airline tubing and a control valve! Very useful, although it takes a loooooong time

 

That sounds like a very good plan. Getting the sponge filter well seeded will help when it comes time to make the transfer.

The amount of fresh water you will need to add depends on the difference in tank size. Going from a 7 gallon tank with built in filter to a 7 gallon without it built in you won't need to add much but you are going to lose some in the transfer. I would probably go with 75% used tank water and 25% fresh water. By using the original water your little guys will just feel like they've gotten a 25% water change.

You could even go 50/50 should you choose to do so as long as the fresh water closely matches the tank water.

 

I just lost a tank full of blue shrimp moving them from their 5.5 gallon tank to a new 10 gallon tank. Below is the process I used:

• I caught them.
• Put them in a container with water I had removed from the tank
• Moved their old tank and replaced it with the new one
• Moved most of the old substrate to the new tank
• Moved the sponge filter, plants, leaves, and light from the old tank to the new one.
• Added more of the old tank water to the new tank and filled it with new water
• Added the shrimp to the new tank. This whole process took less than a couple hours, so there should have been minimal temperature change.

They've been slowly dying after the first few days. Early on I checked my parameters, and while it's difficult for me to see the subtle differences in the colors, it looked like maybe there was a little bit of ammonia and nitrites. I did 50% water changes on two consecutive days, refilling slowly and temperature matching the water. It didn't seem to make a difference. What's so puzzling is that they didn't all die at once, but it's been one or two or ten every day.

I have previously set up brand new tanks with shrimp, adding plants from established tanks so there's be something for the shrimp to graze on. I lost a few, but nothing like this.

The point of all this is that if you have the room and time, I would strongly suggest setting up the new tank and letting it run for a minimum of 2 months before moving the shrimp over to it.

 

I just lost a tank full of blue shrimp moving them from their 5.5 gallon tank to a new 10 gallon tank. Below is the process I used:

• I caught them.
• Put them in a container with water I had removed from the tank
• Moved their old tank and replaced it with the new one
• Moved most of the old substrate to the new tank
• Moved the sponge filter, plants, leaves, and light from the old tank to the new one.
• Added more of the old tank water to the new tank and filled it with new water
• Added the shrimp to the new tank. This whole process took less than a couple hours, so there should have been minimal temperature change.

They've been slowly dying after the first few days. Early on I checked my parameters, and while it's difficult for me to see the subtle differences in the colors, it looked like maybe there was a little bit of ammonia and nitrites. I did 50% water changes on two consecutive days, refilling slowly and temperature matching the water. It didn't seem to make a difference. What's so puzzling is that they didn't all die at once, but it's been one or two or ten every day.

I have previously set up brand new tanks with shrimp, adding plants from established tanks so there's be something for the shrimp to graze on. I lost a few, but nothing like this.

The point of all this is that if you have the room and time, I would strongly suggest setting up the new tank and letting it run for a minimum of 2 months before moving the shrimp over to it.

Oh my goodness. This has to be so heartbreaking for you. As soon as I feel assured there are no more assassins in my main tank I want to move my rabbit snails from my 5.5 gallon tank. Once done I want to move some of my shrimp over to the 5.5 from the 2.5 gallon bowl they are in right now. It won't be the same situation since this tank has been running for several years but I am still nervous about doing it. It seems things can go wrong more easily when it comes to shrimp 'specially compared to snails and fish. I will do a very long acclimation but things could still go wrong

I think your suggestion about waiting for the new tank to get established before making the move is a very good suggestion.

 

Oh my goodness. This has to be so heartbreaking for you. As soon as I feel assured there are no more assassins in my main tank I want to move my rabbit snails from my 5.5 gallon tank. Once done I want to move some of my shrimp over to the 5.5 from the 2.5 gallon bowl they are in right now. It won't be the same situation since this tank has been running for several years but I am still nervous about doing it. It seems things can go wrong more easily when it comes to shrimp 'specially compared to snails and fish. I will do a very long acclimation but things could still go wrong

I think your suggestion about waiting for the new tank to get established before making the move is a very good suggestion.

I have been pretty sick about it, but the move you described should be fine. I often move shrimp back and forth between tanks and have never had a problem with it.

 

I have been pretty sick about it, but the move you described should be fine. I often move shrimp back and forth between tanks and have never had a problem with it.

I have setup up 5+tanks using this method with 100% success but what I dont do is move the substrait I always put new in