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Shrimp no longer breeding

Mark Webb

Member
Joined
27 Nov 2008
Messages
365
I setup my shrimp tank back in Sept 09 with 6 CRS. All settled in nicely and they started breeding until I eventually had about 300! Along the way I added a few Cherries and they eventually multiplied well. However, now neither are breeding at all and numbers are dwindling. I setup another tank and transfered just 12 CRS into that last March but they have not bred at all. I started by using RO water but changed to an HMA filter. I think that this may be why they have stopped breeding? PH is 7.5 in current water so I am guessing this is too high and maybe the cause?
 
Hi Mark,

Sounds like you had something right to start with if they were breeding and shrimplets surviving past 1-2 weeks.

I would advise thunking back to exactly what you had in the tank and how you prepared the water.

Or, it could be purely down to overcrowding in the tank? IMO both crs and rcs will slow down breeding when stocks are high.

Why did you switch from RO to HMA and what are your water parameters please as it comes out of the tap? Hopefully we can help you.

Cheers,

Mike.
 
Thanks Mike. I switched because of the waste with RO and also the cost of remineralising for my 260 litre. Which parameters shall I check?
 
I can see your pH is a little on the high side for CRS although probably better for Cherries.

Assuming you'd rather have the CRS breeding well, you could start by trying to bring this down a little. Ideal range being 6.5-6.8 for CRS. Would try natural products first before going down other route. Indian almond leaves are very good and cheap. Loads on ebay, but i tend to buy from a user called winzita she is pretty quick on delivery and is a fellow shrimper! Boil before use to remove the tannin stain and add 3 or 4 to a 260l tank.
 
Thanks Basil. Can I avoid using RO if I reduce the ph using the indian almond leaves? Shrimp are in a 60litre.
 
Yes, if you are only using RO to get your pH down there are certainly cheaper ways of doing this. My water as it comes out of the tap is pretty good with ph 6.8 and gh a little over 3. For me using RO would not make sense, so i use HMA to rid any chlorine and heavy metals. You may find that you also have a pretty good gh as it comes out of the tap? Do you have a test kit to measure the gh?
 
I think its something that all shrimp keepers face eventually. I had the same issue and I just thinned out my stock and added fresh bloodlines after 6 months.
This enabled them to start breeding again.
 
Should I chnage substrate. Started with ADA Aquasoil which is now 26 months old?
 
Soil does make a difference. I met some breeders in singapore earlier in the year and many of them swear by changing the substrate to shrimp friendly stuff every year.
But softer water and less gh etc is a must.
 
Mark Webb said:
Should I chnage substrate. Started with ADA Aquasoil which is now 26 months old?

It's a very complex subject and everyone has their own strong opinions - some right, some not so.

Yes, it could be that the ADA has started to loose it's buffering capacity and that your ph has crept up. It's unlikely to effect the cherries though as they are much less fussy.

I would advise getting a gh test kit first off though and getting your head around whats coming out of the tap. You might be lucky like me and not need to RO the water etc. HMA is good alround as it removes the chlorine and metals, but will not alter ph and gh.

If you like I can test your gh if you want to post me a 10ml sample of tank and seperate 10ml of tap water. Should be able to establish a pretty good idea for you from that. Otherwise your local fish shop should be able to do this for you foc?

In the mean time some almond leaves will be a quick fix to start getting the ph down a nudge.
 
I would also agree on Almond Leaves, Does wonders for fish and shrimp. I have plenty of this if needed, in leaf and rolled form.
 
basil said:
Mark Webb said:
Should I chnage substrate. Started with ADA Aquasoil which is now 26 months old?

It's a very complex subject and everyone has their own strong opinions - some right, some not so.

Yes, it could be that the ADA has started to loose it's buffering capacity and that your ph has crept up. It's unlikely to effect the cherries though as they are much less fussy.

I would advise getting a gh test kit first off though and getting your head around whats coming out of the tap. You might be lucky like me and not need to RO the water etc. HMA is good alround as it removes the chlorine and metals, but will not alter ph and gh.

If you like I can test your gh if you want to post me a 10ml sample of tank and seperate 10ml of tap water. Should be able to establish a pretty good idea for you from that. Otherwise your local fish shop should be able to do this for you foc?

In the mean time some almond leaves will be a quick fix to start getting the ph down a nudge.

Thats very kind of you but my LFS is very good so I'll ask them.

Gill said:
I would also agree on Almond Leaves, Does wonders for fish and shrimp. I have plenty of this if needed, in leaf and rolled form.

Thats great I would like to try some Gill. Let me know the cost?
 
Dincho said:
Its normal for breeding activity to slow down around this time of year. Is your KH reading 0? If it is then you have 2 options, Mosura Eros or Benibachi Breeding Liquid.

KH is 4. Shrimp stopped breeding about 1 year ago.
 
A YEAR!!!!! You need to get you kh down before you do anything else. In the wild shrimp always breed after a heavy rainfall, keeping your kh at 0 will help imitate this and promote breeding. Have you got anything in your tank that could be causing the high KH? do you use RO water?
 
What would cause a high KH? I dont use RO but I did when they were breeding well.
 
Okay, I am back on RO now. I have stripped out the tank in which the CRS stopped breeding and moved them into another 10L tank with Flora Base substrate and sponge filter. I have done several water changes with RO and although I added 2 large Almond leaves on 12 December (thanks again Gill) PH is still high at 7.6. GH is 6 and KH is 3. I have 20 CRS in this tank but they are all fully grown. Are they likely to start breeding again or should I add new stock to this tank? Should I add more Almond leaves until PH decreases?

In the original tank I have used Akadama and filled with RO and using a cannister filter. PH in this tank is 7, GH5 and KH0. Added 10 Red Cherries to this tank.
 
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