Breeding Shrimp

[ElGuappo]

Has anyone tried this???

i have a breeding pair of cleaners and wonder how hard it is to raise them... they are both carrying right now and this is why i ask... i have a tank set up for breeding something else right now but it is currentlly empty so i could dedicate a tank to them...

[Delphinus]

It's been done with peppermints but I don't think it's been done with cleaner .. AFAIK anyhow. From what I understand it's reasonably easy to get them to live for a few days but then the colonies usually crash. Of all things one problem is they get stuck to each other. After that I think ammonia is probably the next most obvious problem. Feeding usually done with rotifers.

Been a while since I followed anyone's attempts though so things could have changed in the last couple of years.

Worth doing IMO if you have the time and stuff all ready to go. Can't find out how to push the envelope without trying!

[ElGuappo]

When i took down my last nano tank i had a pair of pepermints( since deceased) in there and were the last thing to remove... htye were in there with one piece of rock, a heater and a k2... when i took the adults out and went to dump the water i noticed tons of baby shrimp... it was however too late at that point so into the new display they went as food.... great meal for my fish.....

any way the point i am trying to make is that i was totally neglecting that tank when they started breading... i think the bigges thing may be no fish in that tank so they dont get eaten... i also find my cleaners eat dried algae sheets so i am hoping that i may be able to get them on this train with some rotos...

anyway i think i may give this a shot.... the hard part is going to be getting the cleaners out of my 72 bowfront... i may have to lure them out with food... i have far too many canopies in my scape they hide under.

[ScubaSteve]

To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been accomplished in captivity as the larva are plantonic for nearly 6 months before becoming benthic. In an aquarium this means that your new little shrimps are gonna get sucked up by your filters. With a very specialized set-up you could probably do this but I think it'll be tough. I considered this a while back myself as my shrimp will breed almost every 15 days when they're happy and well fed... but I decided againt it for a while...

[Veng68]

Great book. I bought it years back when Ocean Aquatics cleared them out.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0966778421/?tag=yahhyd-20&hvadid=48068670011&ref=pd_sl_57tyn3kma_b

Looks like they have a second edition

http://www.amazon.com/Raise-Train-Your-Peppermint-Shrimp/dp/0966778448/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

Cheers,
Vic

[ScubaSteve]

Peppermints are easy, cleaners are another beast. If you're serious about having a go at this and are willing to take on the long planktonic stage I can show you some interesting tank designs designed for this purpose.

[ElGuappo]

please do show me these tank designs... i am always interested in tanks designed for a specific purpose..

[ScubaSteve]

I'll try to post something up if I can find time in the next few days but start with googling Kreisel tanks and planktonic aquariums. You find a bunch of different designs there.

[ElGuappo]

cool thanks i will check them out...

[ScubaSteve]

Here is one of the good ones (http://plankt.oxfordjournals.org/content/12/2/397.full.pdf) I found if you are a DIYer.

Also, do some reading on the development of cleaners, that'll give you a good idea of the requirements. If you can only find published articles and can't access them let me know and I can send them to you... it's great having university access.

[Veng68]

Great book but $$$.

http://www.amazon.ca/Marine-Ornamental-Shrimp-Aquaculture-Conservation/dp/1405170867/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1287693199&sr=8-1-fkmr0

Cheers,
Vic

[globaldesigns]

If you are successful at this, I would take a bunch, if the price is right. Good luck!