PJ's Sexy Shrimp Breeding Thread

[pj86]

This thread was original a thread for my second pico, but soon turned into a thread about me trying to raise sexy shrimp. Therefore, this first post has been edited and now is going to include the whole journey I have had with raising sexy shrimps.

 

I made a setup that was as simple as possible. It is a

- Cylinder bought at Michael's for 12 bucks, with a diameter of 7" and 18" in height.

- A Heater

- Aqualifter as a air pump

- A thermometer

 

 

When I noticed my female sexy shrimp carrying eggs, I knew that I needed to try to raise the young. The first clutch of larva were raised in a similar but smaller setup and was unsuccessful. The second clutch I was more prepared. I learned that the larva are released exactly 14 days after fertilization. So what I did was capture the female a few hours before the lights went out and transferred her to the breeding tank. She immediately released the 150+ larva in the breeding tank after the lights were off.

 

 

These are 1 day old larva

 

About 14 Days

 

Fully formed (~25 days)

 

 

Videos

[will46r]

Like the scape, any special plans for the open center space? Going to leave it BB? What about the setup details.... c'mon you know better than to just put up a FTS and a blurb.

[pj86]

Like the scape, any special plans for the open center space? Going to leave it BB? What about the setup details.... c'mon you know better than to just put up a FTS and a blurb.

 

lol... totally forgot to put details

 

4-5 lbs of base fiji rock seeded with some live rock

moded AC70

theo hydor 25w

Current Satellite 18 watt fixture

 

I was thinking about connecting the open space with a branching rock. But it has to be the right shape, until then it will remain open. Yea going to leave it BB.

[pj86]

I'm really debating if I should convert this into a non-photosynthetic tank rather than a backup tank. Last night I had a revelation while studying for medical pharmacology , on how to take care of them in such a small system but don't know if I want to go through with it. It goes against all conventions of larger is better for these animals. Also, the system would run in parallel rather than in series. It is a rather simple system, so people can actually take care of these animals. Will see....

[.Newman.]

if you think it'd be revolutionary then do it so that other people on here can get inspired and learn. Don't do it if you think it will cramp or cause animals to be cut up frequently lol.

 

I like the layout but youre going to have a tough time keeping the glass clean where the rock is touching or very close to it...

[JBM]

clean side glass isnt that important

 

so far so good

[.Newman.]

only important if its going to be a display tank. if its NPS that meas its a display tank rather than the planned frag tank.

[pj86]

Right now it is set up the conventional way. If I were to go through with NPS it will be literally a tank within a tank. Hard to explain and I have not seen it done yet.

[pj86]

What are the fastest methods out there to get rid of nitrates and phosphates besides water changes. I heard about vodka dosing, anyone have experience with that?

[.Newman.]

macro algae and regular water changes are what I do.

[Chyendra]

you need a good skimmer to do vodka dosing, in order to remove the excess bacteria that grows

 

 

 

And I would NEVER try it in a pico. The dosage for my 30 gallon was like .05 ml so I feel like the dose for a pic would be immeasurable unless you have some lab equipment

[.Newman.]

so thats why I always see it done on larger tanks? maybe if you did it in a larger tank and used water from that larger tank it might work in a pico. but frequent water changes to keep the bacteria numbers constant would still be necessary, and then we're back to the frequent water changes anyway.

[pj86]

Chyendra, how quickly did you see the nitrates drop?

This pico isn't set up yet the way I want it. The skimmer/denitrifying area will take about 50% of the water volume and will be running in series and in parallel with the main tank. I can purchase a micro pipette to measure the quantities needed or just do serial dilutions till I get to a more manageable measurable volume. Just haven't read anywhere yet on how quickly does this method reduce nitrates and phosphates from tanks.

[Chyendra]

It worked really fast. I didn't document it well, and I know I didn't do it very long... I think my Nitrates went from 10ppm to 0 in about a week or two. My phosphates went from 1ppm to 0 as well.

 

I stopped dosing after 3-4 wks because I saw some negative effects on my SPS (started receding at the base)

 

There are some articles on reef central about dosing method. I know you start out at a particular dose and then once you nitrates and phosphates are 0 you keep halving the dose until they come back again to find your maintenance dose.

 

You would have to dilute the vodka and then probably dose like 1 ul or something... (you could probably figure out the dilution if you're taking medical pharmacology right? )

 

becareful and watch your corals for side effects

[pj86]

So I got most of the materials for the non-photosynthetic, but have decided to push it off till I have more time. I'm also running short on cash for such a project. Maybe once I get this little tank full of frags and sell it off, Ill try the non-photosynthetic pico.

[pj86]

Okay, so I'm back from vacations and discovered my sexy shrimp is carrying eggs. So, this non-photosynthetic project now has become a rearing tank for baby sexy shrimps. I have it up and running already. Updated pics will come soon. The tank doesn't looks its best but it will fulfill the function.

[pj86]

photo as promised

 

[.Newman.]

did you do a lot of research for breeding them sexy shrimp? planktonic larva are very tough to rear. GL with it. excited to see if you will succeed!

[will46r]

Heck, he'll probably accidentally do something to make them breed like sea rabbits. I'll bet he's got those poor shrimp glued upside down in his tank somewhere

[.Newman.]

well getting them to breed should be as easy as any other shrimp, just give them good food and water parameters and they'll do their thing. rearing the larva is the really tough part. I kind of wish there was a SW shrimp with direct development like FW shrimp, it would make breeding them so much easier, but alas, direct development is a FW adaptation >_>

[pj86]

will46r, lol. Newman, I found this thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...9458&page=1 and she was very successful with a simple set up. That is why I might give it a go. Now I don't know how I will capture the larva in such a small tank. I will keep vigilant and decide what to do then, maybe syphon then out manually.

[.Newman.]

thanks for the link, it gives me hope now that when I get my sexy shrimp, I'll be able to breed them too

[jdl]

macro algae and regular water changes are what I do.

^this

 

thanks for the link, it gives me hope now that when I get my sexy shrimp, I'll be able to breed them too

that would be interesting. ive heard sexies are pretty tough to breed. they will constantly have an egg sack but they never get fertilized. i would really like to see it done

[pj86]

I have a feeling she is about to release the larva anytime soon. She shuffles the eggs several times now, and seems to be very protective. Also she has been literally hanging on the brim of the water edge quite a bit. Doing final touch ups on the breeding tank.

[brandon429]

I think the larvae will have to be removed from the main tank and reared elsewhere. for nitrate and phosphate binding beyond the norm why not do adsorbtion pads, something meant for a 10 gallon tank or better should ultra bind in your setup. a huge reserve of phosphate and nitrate binder should strip the tank of nutrients lol can also be a challenge for corals but not if you keep them fed like you do