Updated Amano breeding experience and questions.

Hello. So I know Amano babies can’t survive in freshwater but adults can sometimes berry in fresh water. I’m wondering if you think these are actually Amano shrimp or something else. If you think they’re actually Amano shrimp, what can I do to help the babies survive?

Heavily planted 16 gallon freshwater tank.
20 ish female guppies of various ages.
Two sponge filters.

First 3 pics of the berried female. Last two pics are of other (not berried) shrimp in the tank.

 

Those are all amano shrimp, and unless you can isolate the larvae to a brackish/marine system once they hatch, the average aquarist cannot do anything for the larvae.

 

Thank you! I have a 7 gallon that I was using for guppy fry but I am no longer breeding them and could transition it for the shrimp. Does anyone have any good resources that I could use to learn more about what I would need to do?

 

Thank you! I have a 7 gallon that I was using for guppy fry but I am no longer breeding them and could transition it for the shrimp. Does anyone have any good resources that I could use to learn more about what I would need to do?

I do not wish to burst your bubble but I worry it would be incredibly difficult to maintain a constant salinity within such a small volume, you would probably need frequent top offs with RO water or any equivalent. At least myself, I haven't found a solid, first person account of breeding them in an aquarium.

 

I have RO water on hand at all times. I have 3 tanks with no lids and my tap water destroys the parameters in my tanks so I regularly use RO to top off tanks anyways. I know it’s going to be super tough and low success so I don’t plan on getting attached but I do really want to try. I’m willing to do daily testing, water changes, top offs, etc.

I just need some help getting started. I’ll probably talk to the shrimp breeder that I bought them from but I know they get amanos imported so idk if they’ll be much help.

 

From what I can find, the optimal salinity is 34ppt and 24 centigrade for the temperature. I believe as they mature, they will require gradual decrease in salinity and eventually to freshwater as adults. I would imagine microscopic algae / phytoplankton would be a necessity to feed during the first stages of growth. Unfortunately I could only find a paper restricted behind a paywall on the study of amano shrimp larvae, and the top google search indexes do not reveal much about the growth and development of them.

 

Hello! I’ve decided to try and raise Amano larvae. I’m basically trying to get the experienced Amano breeders out of hibernation and also trying to share the knowledge I’ve gathered so far from reading other threads. This is my plan. Please give me any tips or suggestions!

My Amano shrimp is berried so the first thing I’m going to do is set up a 1.5 gallon tank using RO water and instant ocean salt. Using a refractometer I will set the salinity to 1.024 checking daily to ensure the salinity doesn’t change (salinity requirements vary amongst Amano species). I will add IO salt to increase salinity and RO water to decrease salinity. I will add a 25 watt adjustable heater set to roughly 78° and a separate thermometer on the other side of the tank to help ensure the heater is working properly (Heater isn’t necessary but will increase metabolism and thus growth rate of the larvae). There will be a strong led light on the tank 24 hours a day to promote algae growth. I have learned that a lack of algae for the larvae to feed on is one of the leading causes of death. I will use an air pump with an air stone to add oxygen to the water. I will not use a filter.

Once the female’s eggs turn yellow or brown, I know she is almost ready to drop them so I will take water, guppy grass and some rocks from the original tank and place them into a 5 gallon tank that will house mom until she drops the eggs. I will do my best not to shock mom bc she may drop the eggs early and the change could affect her health also. The 5 g will have a heater set to the same as her original tank, 10 hour light, and air stone. I may have to use a small sponge filter here as well based on the experiences of others.

Once she drops the eggs, she goes back into her original tank and the eggs are syphoned into the 1.5g saltwater tank that should now have significant algae on the glass and in the water column. I’m done with the 5 gallon tank at this point.

From here, I check everyday to ensure that the larvae are growing; that they have enough algae in the tank to eat; that the salinity and temperature are constant.

Supplemental feeding can be done up to 8 times a day in tiny amounts so that the water doesn’t get polluted. Brewers yeast is suitable in the early stages. Diatoms are acceptable. I think someone recommended phycocure???

I will put a lid over 3/4 of the tank to slow evaporation which can cause the salinity to increase very quickly. The water evaporates quicker when you use a heater.

My big questions are:
- What’s the best way to change the water in the 1.5 g and when do you know you need to change the water?
- How important is it to monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrate for the (1.5g) larvae tank?
- What product is the best for food supplements?

Buried Amano photo for fun

 

There’s a thread somewhere on here where a guy got them to larvae stage , but it eventually crashed . Try having a search as I can’t remember who it was. It was quite in depth though as in salinity / feeding and wc’s.

good luck. I hope you crack it !