calvin415 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 (edited) Of course, knowing my luck I will post here and things will crash, but hopefully someone will learn from my mistakes... I'll try to keep this log updated so you keep checking back to this original post for updates, but before I get into my log here is some info... How to determine if you have a pair? To distinguish Male from Female see the picture below. Note the stripe between the body and the tail, if it is broken it is a Female, if the stripe is solid it is a Male. Pretty simple; of course there are other characteristics, but this is the easiest way to tell. Tank parameters are as follows: Temp 78 degrees F no variation at all. Salinity 1.025 Ammonia 0 Nitrites 0 Nitrates undetectable pH 8.2-8.4 Calcium 400 ppm Alkalinity 3.5-4.0 meq Magnesium 1200-1250 ppm Phosphates .02-.04 ppm Feed New Life Spectrum 1mm pellets Here is my timeline: May 2011 3 Female Sexy Shrimp added to my ADA 60P Nano Reef: One of them: 11/5/2011 Decided to try breeding my shrimp but after researching how to tell Female and Males apart I was disappointed to discover that I had 3 Females in my collection. What luck huh? 11/8/2011 Went ahead and purchased a 4th Female Sexy Shrimp locally, figured you can't have enough girls. 11/11/2011 I was off to Denver to find 2 males to ensure someone would get freaky with my girls. 2 Male Sexy Shrimp added 11/27/2011 Noticed this strange behavior, 4 Females around 1 Male 12/3/2011 Discovered EGGS!!!! Sorry for the crappy pics, I didn't have time to clean the glass as she was in the perfect position to get some quick shots... I'm currently working on a kriesel system for raising the fry, but don't think I will have it finished and cycled in time for this batch... Time to get creative... 12-4-2011 Lost one F, not sure what happened but she was covered in nassarius snails this morning, 3F, 2M remain. So, I have 1 with eggs overflowing her tail (picture above) another that has a male protecting her so I believe she is either carrying eggs or is in the process of laying them. The last female is smaller than the others and is a little reclusive. The remaining male is smaller than the other male and continues to hide under a small lobo's edge. 12/5/2011 What the flip!!!!! I've kept these shrimp for months without issue, I come home from work today and I can only find 1 female carrying eggs, and my smaller female with a partially damaged body... ???? Both males are MIA and down another female!!!! 12/6/2011 Moved the remaining F which is carrying eggs to a make shift nursery using 2 magnets, an inverted 1L bottle with a brine shrimp screen over the cap and the bottom cut off. An airline bubbling approx 45 BPM provides flow, and some plastic sewing mesh for the F to hold onto. Added some live BBS which I hatched that day just in case... 12/7/2011 Checked on the tank this morning to find the F had molted, and all the eggs have hatched... I now have countless little sticks floating in the nursery along with more BBS for them to feed on. I was able to remove the F with some luck, and she is now hanging on the outside of the nursery... She clearly knows what is up as when I removed her, she went to the bottom of the tank, and was climbing around on some rock work. 30 min later, and she is hanging on the bottom of the bottle where the cap attaches. ??? Decapsulating more brine eggs, for another hatch culture. You can get an idea of the size here... The small ball is a brine shrimp egg, the fuzzy one is a BBS. 12/11/2011 So I think my babies have had their first molt, they appear larger to me, and seem to look more red. 12/13/2011 Built a second nursery just like the current one and transferred everything to the new so I could clean the old... The screen was pretty clogged so it was a good thing I changed it. Still a lot of BBS left over tonight, hope I'm just overfeeding on accident, cut my BBS dosing to 20ml from 30. Also setup a picotope for grow out once they start to settle. Used water from my main tank, and moved a single piece of LR I added to the display tank about a month ago just for this purpose. Going bare bottom for easier cleanup since I'm going to be doing lots of water changes to keep up with this one. I'd like to plumb it into the existing system, but not ready for that commitment, nor do I want have to buy a new return pump for the additional pull. 12/14/2011 Took a stab at some pics, and while they suck, they reveal something sweet, EYE STALKS!!! You can clearly see the eyes on Day 1, but they are on the body, now on day 8 they are elongated! Woo Hoo! Proof they are growing!!! Still tiny though, here is some plastic sewing mesh for comparison: And some density shots from 2 days ago... Only the bottom region is in focus, but there are many more floating in the middle and upper regions as well. I pulled the bubbler so you can see how a lot of them collected on the screen at the bottom. Edited December 15, 2011 by calvin415 Quote Link to comment
Lalani Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Nice, I'll be watching this one. Quote Link to comment
dknydiep Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Keep us updated! Quote Link to comment
straydog Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I've been curious about raising sexy shrimp, so they can eat baby brine upon hatching, thought they needed something smaller like rotifers, this may be easier than I thought. Quote Link to comment
CLR Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 pictures pictures pictures lol Quote Link to comment
altolamprologus Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 I demand pics of the babies right now Quote Link to comment
TheUnfocusedOne Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 This looks cool. I think I'll be adding some sexies first thing for the new year! Quote Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Awesome thread --- moar pics please! Quote Link to comment
animalmaster6 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Can't wait to see how this turns out! Quote Link to comment
pj86 Posted December 7, 2011 Share Posted December 7, 2011 Congrats, you will have a blast. I really enjoyed raising the sexy shrimp last year. Here is the journal I kept, http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=50570 . You seem to be off to a really good start. Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 Nice, I'll be watching this one. Thanks! Keep us updated! Will do. I've been curious about raising sexy shrimp, so they can eat baby brine upon hatching, thought they needed something smaller like rotifers, this may be easier than I thought. Not from what I have read... BBS from day 1. pictures pictures pictures lol lol I demand pics of the babies right now This looks cool. I think I'll be adding some sexies first thing for the new year! They are cool, but lately stressful. Awesome thread --- moar pics please! Thanks! Can't wait to see how this turns out! Thanks, me too. Congrats, you will have a blast. I really enjoyed raising the sexy shrimp last year. Here is the journal I kept, http://www.mbisite.org/Forums/tm.aspx?m=50570 . You seem to be off to a really good start. Thanks! Are you still breeding? Appreciate any advice you have... I updated my log with more pics, so all you picture fanatics, take a look. Quote Link to comment
pj86 Posted December 8, 2011 Share Posted December 8, 2011 (edited) Nice set up. That is pretty much all you need. Feed them daily. They molt every 3-4 days. In 24-29 days you will have small adult sexy shrimps. Haven't had a chance to raise another batch, but most likely will. I have a female that has been spawning every 14 days. Edited December 8, 2011 by pj86 Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 8, 2011 Author Share Posted December 8, 2011 Nice set up. That is pretty much all you need. Feed them daily. They molt every 3-4 days. In 24-29 days you will have small adult sexy shrimps. Haven't had a chance to raise another batch, but most likely will. I have a female that has been spawning every 14 days. Any aggression issues? Still trying to figure out what happened to 4 of mine? My only theory is they jumped into the MP10. ??? They have been sticking to the rock work and corals forever, once they started spawning, I found them hanging out in the water column, higher on the glass, on the overflow box, and even on the base of the MP10. Definitely different behavior when they are spawning. Also, did you remove your extra BBS between feedings? There are far too many babies, and BBS to try a siphon... Did you also try to remove molts? Water changes are easy, I just raise and lower the bottle, water goes out the bottom, and comes back in the bottom, but worried about it getting really dirty after almost a month... Already working a replacement design for this (so there is room for them to settle) but I don't have a solution for clean up. Quote Link to comment
Pickle010 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Calvin - as for dirty bottles would it be easier to have a couple of bottles and to transfer them from one to the other? I cheat my tank cleanings on my fry that way sometimes - if I have an empty clean 10 gallon tank I transfer the fry and their water over to the new tank. I could never get it as clean with all the fry in the tank. Quote Link to comment
pj86 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 I did daily water changes, but didnt start syphoning anything till a week and a half later. The most important thing is changing the water. You have the bottle in the tank which is a plus, dissolved nutrients will be low and water changes are going to be super easy. Dont worry to much about the artemia, they usually don't die because the conditions to raise the sexy shrimp are almost the same as raising artemia, so the artemia will eventually get eaten at one point. Molts from the sexy shrimp will also get eaten. About the sexy shrimp getting injured. Every time I have seen my sexy shrimp spawn, the female always chose the highest point in the aquarium and the strongest current. Most likely instinct so the young have a better chance of not getting eaten and are carried by the current. My guess is that your mp10 is the highest point. Quote Link to comment
FishEyeAquaculture Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Fantastic thread....subscribed Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 9, 2011 Author Share Posted December 9, 2011 Calvin - as for dirty bottles would it be easier to have a couple of bottles and to transfer them from one to the other? I cheat my tank cleanings on my fry that way sometimes - if I have an empty clean 10 gallon tank I transfer the fry and their water over to the new tank. I could never get it as clean with all the fry in the tank. Yeah, bottle is easy, was just worried about all the gunk in the water column... Sounds like it may not be an issue. I did daily water changes, but didnt start syphoning anything till a week and a half later. The most important thing is changing the water. You have the bottle in the tank which is a plus, dissolved nutrients will be low and water changes are going to be super easy. Dont worry to much about the artemia, they usually don't die because the conditions to raise the sexy shrimp are almost the same as raising artemia, so the artemia will eventually get eaten at one point. Molts from the sexy shrimp will also get eaten. About the sexy shrimp getting injured. Every time I have seen my sexy shrimp spawn, the female always chose the highest point in the aquarium and the strongest current. Most likely instinct so the young have a better chance of not getting eaten and are carried by the current. My guess is that your mp10 is the highest point. Excellent! Guess I'll upgrade them to a 2L bottle this weekend, at least until I have a better setup built. Thanks for the thought on the MP10, sounds like that is likely it. Not sure why the males would have jumped in as well... Fantastic thread....subscribed Thanks! Quote Link to comment
pj86 Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 (edited) Not sure why the males would have jumped in as well... Another behavior I noticed is that the female will begin a new batch immediately the day after. The male till that time will guard her and await the moment to fertilize the eggs. Pairs reproduce/spawn like clockwork every 14-15 days. By far the most fun I have had in this hobby so far is seeing a complete life cycle. Edited December 9, 2011 by pj86 Quote Link to comment
Hoosierfan Posted December 9, 2011 Share Posted December 9, 2011 Great thread. I'm going to have to give this a try sometime next year! Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 Another behavior I noticed is that the female will begin a new batch immediately the day after. The male till that time will guard her and await the moment to fertilize the eggs. Pairs reproduce/spawn like clockwork every 14-15 days. By far the most fun I have had in this hobby so far is seeing a complete life cycle. Yeah, wish I still had a male to fertilize another batch... Kinda have all my eggs in this basket. Been in the hobby for over 20 years and i have to say this is definitely the most rewarding experience thus far! Great thread. I'm going to have to give this a try sometime next year! Thanks, it's fun! So I think my babies have had their first molt, they appear larger to me, and seem to look more red. Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 12, 2011 Author Share Posted December 12, 2011 PJ any density issues? Wondering how much grow out room I might need? What kind of success rate did you have? Thanks! Quote Link to comment
pj86 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 PJ any density issues? Wondering how much grow out room I might need? What kind of success rate did you have? Thanks! You might need a larger container down the road, but during their planktonic stage that container should be sufficient. Once they are grown a 2.5 gallon should suffice for their early adult stage. Success rate was about 5-10%, but I believe you will most likely have a higher success rate, because of your setup. Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 13, 2011 Author Share Posted December 13, 2011 Cool, was going to setup a Picotope tonight for grow out... Single piece of LR, and the mini filter that comes with it. Figure I'll just do large water changes on it, and use a lid to minimize evap. When did you switch them to pellet food; at 60 days when you moved them? BBS until then? So I hope I'm not getting lazy, I checked on the babies last night, did a quick water change by moving the bottle up and down and added some fresh BBS. Dumped the previous days brine (seems like such a waste) and started a new hatch culture for tomorrow. Took about 15 minutes... Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Built a second nursery just like the current one and transferred everything to the new so I could clean the old... The screen was pretty clogged so it was a good thing I changed it. Still a lot of BBS left over tonight, hope I'm just overfeeding on accident, cut my BBS dosing to 20ml from 30. Also setup a picotope for grow out once they start to settle. Used water from my main tank, and moved a single piece of LR I added to the display tank about a month ago just for this purpose. Going bare bottom for easier cleanup since I'm going to be doing lots of water changes to keep up with this one. I'd like to plumb it into the existing system, but not ready for that commitment, nor do I want have to buy a new return pump for the additional pull. Quote Link to comment
calvin415 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Added a pic of the Picotope... No other major updates to speak of. Quote Link to comment
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