PDA

View Full Version : So I'm a father?



HAM
06-20-2008, 07:04 AM
I had bought 4 full size ghost shrimp a while back from my local fish store.
Of course all of them were pregnant! or whatever it's technically called for invertebrates. One of them died off about 4 weeks ago, and the other 3 I'm assuming all laid their eggs, since they're no longer under them being fanned. The only problem was I had heard that the eggs would then float and usually be eaten. Yet I could not find ANY whatsoever, naturally I assumed they were eaten, and didn't think much else of it.
Then about 10 minutes ago, I was looking in my tank and I saw a TINY ghost shrimp moving around, it's maybe about a half of an inch long if even that.

Confused I thought one of my shrimps had discovered the fountain of youth and started to reverse its natural process of life, but a quick look around revealed all 3 of my bigger shrimp, and now I have a fourth again.

Is there anything I should be doing in terms of feeding for this little thing other than letting it eat the normal brine shrimp/blood worms/flake food?

Evil Slimy
06-20-2008, 07:11 AM
I'm surprised it's 1/2 an inch long already... Ghost shrimp have very slow growth rates. Four weeks after hatching I would expect it to be much smaller than 1/2 inch. Maybe the little guy hitched a ride in the bag unnoticed. Either way it'll be able to feed on any food crumbs and particles in the tank. You shouldn't have to do anything special for it :)

HAM
06-20-2008, 07:29 AM
I would agree....except for the fact i havent added any fish in about.....8 weeks =P

Abbeys_Mom
06-20-2008, 01:36 PM
It's really hard to breed Ghost shrimp in a tank.
I quote this from another site
"He believes that a major cause of young ghost shrimp death is their propensity to move towards light. When the room is lighter than the tank (at night usually), they jam themselves into the glass and die. To prevent this, he covered the sides of the tank with black paper and kept a light on overhead 24 hours a day. They required feeding every 2 to 3 hours 24 hours a day"
The survival rate of young shrimp is very low. They are also hard to feed (the babies) as shrimp do not eat algae.

HAM
06-21-2008, 01:58 AM
i see...
well regardless i'm not TRYING to breed them, it just so happens as said
all mine were pregnant when i got them
and somehow one survived its larval stage to be well...what it is now
he dosent go anywhere near the glass as far as i've been noticing in the past 2 days