Sex My Rcs?

[tunafax]

Hi, would anyone be able to sex this one:

 

[Zerologist]

I believe that one is a female...

 

[tunafax]

I believe that one is a female...

I asked my LFS guy for a male - he just kind of threw 1 in, said yeah, boy, sure.

Now I have 4 females in my 4-shrimp colony. lol

 

[Demeter]

I agree, female. Give it some time. Perhaps at some point one of the females bred with a male and will hopefully lay fertile eggs.

Next try getting them to let you net your own shrimp. Males are usually much less colorful (clear w/ a bit of red markings) and they are smaller.

 

[tunafax]

I agree, female. Give it some time. Perhaps at some point one of the females bred with a male and will hopefully lay fertile eggs.

Next try getting them to let you net your own shrimp. Males are usually much less colorful (clear w/ a bit of red markings) and they are smaller.

I have no males lol, they are all females.

Though I bought 2 pregnant ones and I saw at least 4 babies. I'm afraid that by the time they grow up, my females would be too old to breed.

 

[Adriifu]

She's so chubby and cute. It makes me happy

 

[smee82]

Its a female but if you bought 2 berried shrimp you will get some males on your own. they won't be too old

 

[tunafax]

smee82 Oh! Thanks! How long will it take until they will be able to breed with my 4 existing females?

 

[Jocelyn Adelman]

It's a female... can't tell from the picture if she is berried though.... I believe smee82 meant that if you buy an already berried shrimp you will likely have shrimplets without having to buy the actual male...

Common mistake is stores sell shrimp as they do fish, the "bright males" and "dull females"... however, with shrimp it's the opposite, the males are mostly dull/transparent, while the females carry all the color

 

[smee82]

smee82 Oh! Thanks! How long will it take until they will be able to breed with my 4 existing females?

They are sexually mature in 2 or 3 months. The hotter the water the faster they grow.

 

[tunafax]

Jocelyn Adelman the babies are already a week old. But I'm not even sure he didn't know, he's been at that lfs for 10 years. I think he didn't care enough to look, just grabbed one.

smee82 aaaand in goes the heater, cracking it up to 83.


thank you very much everyone!

 

[75g Discus Tank]

Cherry shrimp grow super fast. Probably because their lifespan is from 12-18 months.

 

[Zerologist]

I asked my LFS guy for a male - he just kind of threw 1 in, said yeah, boy, sure.

Now I have 4 females in my 4-shrimp colony. lol

LOL... You should have asked him if you can be the one to pick

 

[tunafax]

LOL... You should have asked him if you can be the one to pick

I put my trust & faith into this man... because I have no idea what the difference is lol.

 

[Zerologist]

LOL! Hahahaha...

Here's a little guide for you if you buy next time!

Sexing Red Cherry Shrimp

Sexing the Red Cherry Shrimp is very easy. Females are easy to identify as they are larger than the males, have a much darker red coloration, and also have a curved underbelly. In the photo below you can see how the male is smaller, has very little red coloration and the "under belly" is a straight line with no curved shape. After keeping the Red Cherry Shrimp for a little amount of time you will be able to sex this species without a problem.

Male and Female Red Cherry Shrimp next to each other:



Females will also have a "saddle" which is the common name for eggs which are still in the ovaries, located behind the head on the top of the bottom. It is called a Saddle due to the close appearance to the saddle you would find on a horse. Most "saddles" are yellow in color, however they can also be green. "Saddles" are a sign of sexual maturity as well as soon to come eggs. The theory on why the saddle is green is based on the fact that the wild Neocardina Heteropoda has a green saddle. It is thought that the green saddle re-emerges due to the wild type genetics.

The eggs of the Red Cherry Shrimp are mostly yellow but can be green as well. If the saddle is green then the eggs will be green and vice versa. There is no difference between having yellow eggs or green eggs. One is not better than the other and it is also not a health indicator. Please see the photos below for the different colorations of saddles and eggs on the Red Cherry Shrimp. A photo of this shrimp with yellow eggs can be found at the top of the page.

Female with yellow Saddle





Female with green Saddle





Female with green eggs



Credits:

 

[MiniPop]

Hey all,
I am new to owning RCS. I bought these at a swap meet, and a couple died soon after I brought them home (drip acclimated for 3 hours). I think my survivors are all females, but I'm not sure. What do you think? Thanks in advance!

 

[richiep]

They are females and the one on the filter looks berried, if another dies take a photo close up while the shrimp is in the tank teo see if anything can be identified

 

[upinak]

The one on the filter is berried. It looks as though you have all females and some littles on the way

 

[richiep]

Although the one is berried they all look as if they are getting on a bit and may be worth sourcing a Male or two and get a couple of broods out of the other females

 

[MiniPop]

I think it might be the lighting making that one look berried, because I'm looking at them now closer up and I don't see any eggs. I have one more shrimp not in the pics but it looks just like the others.

My ghostie however..


Thanks for letting me know they're old. I had no idea. Looks like I'll be looking for boyfriends for the old ladies lol.

Oh and a question for y'all. Do they need a male to lay eggs? Is it possible for a female to berry without males present? Like hens do.

 

[richiep]

No they must have s Male the female will not pass the eggs down until the Male as deposited his little package, is that a ghost I see?

 

[upinak]

I think it might be the lighting making that one look berried, because I'm looking at them now closer up and I don't see any eggs. I have one more shrimp not in the pics but it looks just like the others.

Thanks for letting me know they're old. I had no idea. Looks like I'll be looking for boyfriends for the old ladies lol.

Oh and a question for y'all. Do they need a male to lay eggs? Is it possible for a female to berry without males present? Like hens do.

Nice crystal! I don't think they are old... maybe about to molt? I'd grab a few males and females. Nothing wrong with adding more to the mix.

 

[richiep]

That ghost is definitely berried

 

[MiniPop]

richie.p Thank you that's good to know! The berried one is a ghost shrimp, yes. I only have 2 ghost shrimps, 1 male 1 female. Glad to know the male is doing his part! This female berried twice for me now, but the first time she ended up dropping her eggs. She's berried right now but no idea if it will hatch.

upinak Thank you! But it's just a lowly ghost shrimp. Unless crystal is a fancy way to call ghost shrimps which I didn't know about. I will definitely try and find some more RCS to add to the mix. Would love to have shrimp babies.

 

[ETNsilverstar]

richie.p Thank you that's good to know! The berried one is a ghost shrimp, yes. I only have 2 ghost shrimps, 1 male 1 female. Glad to know the male is doing his part! This female berried twice for me now, but the first time she ended up dropping her eggs. She's berried right now but no idea if it will hatch.

upinak Thank you! But it's just a lowly ghost shrimp. Unless crystal is a fancy way to call ghost shrimps which I didn't know about. I will definitely try and find some more RCS to add to the mix. Would love to have shrimp babies.

Ghost shrimp are well known for eating their babies since they're pretty defenseless. If you want them to survive, lots of hiding places or removing mom and dad once the babies are born will help. Once they're free-swimming, they'll better be able to escape.

 

[MiniPop]

Ghost shrimp are well known for eating their babies since they're pretty defenseless. If you want them to survive, lots of hiding places or removing mom and dad once the babies are born will help. Once they're free-swimming, they'll better be able to escape.

Ohh. That's good to know. Thank you. I never actually saw the babies. I think maybe the eggs were underdeveloped when she dropped them. Never saw the little eyes on the eggs.

 

[MiniPop]

OMG you guys were right about that one being berried. I see a baby shrimp!!!

 

[ETNsilverstar]

OMG you guys were right about that one being berried. I see a baby shrimp!!!

Aren't they so cute??? If you want them to survive, definitely pull out mom and dad once you see she's dropped all the babies. I had at least 30 that didn't seem to be touched by the adults, but they all went missing. It's been a while now, and I counted 8 babies for sure that survived. Pretty good for not trying, but they might have all survived if I'd pulled out the adults as they dropped the babies.

 

[MiniPop]

Aren't they so cute??? If you want them to survive, definitely pull out mom and dad once you see she's dropped all the babies. I had at least 30 that didn't seem to be touched by the adults, but they all went missing. It's been a while now, and I counted 8 babies for sure that survived. Pretty good for not trying, but they might have all survived if I'd pulled out the adults as they dropped the babies.

Sorry, I should've been more specific. The baby is a cherry (I have both ghosts and cherries in the same tank). But it IS SUPER CUTE watching it forage while being so tiny.

Spot the baby cherry.


The ghostie mom dropped her eggs some time ago but I never saw the babies. I don't have space to pull out the adults. Could I put berried ghost shrimp in a breeder box, then take out the mom once the eggs hatch? I have another female ghost berried right now.

 

[ETNsilverstar]

The ghostie mom dropped her eggs some time ago but I never saw the babies. I don't have space to pull out the adults. Could I put berried ghost shrimp in a breeder box, then take out the mom once the eggs hatch? I have another female ghost berried right now.

I would actually go the other way and leave her in the tank till the eggs hatch, then move her to the breeder box along with any other adult ghosts. Unless you have a ton of them. The cherries will leave the baby ghosts alone.