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Cherry shrimp varied growth rate

GraemeVW

Member
Joined
27 Jun 2022
Messages
150
Location
Chesterfield
I have maybe 10 baby shrimp in a 60l cube. Apart from some snails, they are the only creatures in there, the adults are all in my main tank.
They hatched in this tank maybe 3 weeks ago.
The growth rate is very varied though. There is an even spread if sizes from 4mm up to probably 12mm.
It's not like most are one size and a few are lagging behind.
They were all born from the one female, at the same time.

Is this normal?

They seem to be doing well and will go in the main tank once big enough for the tetras not to eat them.
 
I have maybe 10 baby shrimp in a 60l cube. Apart from some snails, they are the only creatures in there, the adults are all in my main tank.
They hatched in this tank maybe 3 weeks ago.
The growth rate is very varied though. There is an even spread if sizes from 4mm up to probably 12mm.
It's not like most are one size and a few are lagging behind.
They were all born from the one female, at the same time.

Is this normal?

They seem to be doing well and will go in the main tank once big enough for the tetras not to eat them.
If guessing, i'd probably assume the bigger ones to be the females
 
If guessing, i'd probably assume the bigger ones to be the females
They vary alot though, a couple are big, a couple are small, the rest are sort of mid way. No 2 are the same size.

I'll try and get some pics of the variety
 
Yes, the size spread seems a bit wide but probably nothing unusual. I rarely notice my shrimplets until they are 5 mm or so as I have lots of hiding places.

Cheers,
Michael
 
20220929_222324.jpg
20220929_222226.jpg
 
Some terrible pics, but shows the size spread between the biggest and the smallest. The other 8 are in between, but they are all different.
 
I don’t think any siblings grow at the same rate. Eggs also could have been abandoned in a cold area. Some eggs could have come from a female you never saw. Some might not have had easy access to food.

I don’t think there is much of a mystery here 😅
 
I don’t think any siblings grow at the same rate. Eggs also could have been abandoned in a cold area. Some eggs could have come from a female you never saw. Some might not have had easy access to food.

I don’t think there is much of a mystery here 😅
They were newly bought shrimp. One came berried, there were only 4 in the tank so 100% all from the same brood.
Pretty sure They were all released by the female on the same day too.
60l cube with nothing to make them hide, they are all only eating what the tank naturally provides. Some just seem to have a much faster growth rate.

These are the first baby shrimp I've had, such a large discrepancy in size just puzzled me.
 
Unless it’s an empty tank you’ll never see all of them 😅 buried females look different depending on gestation, but as you’ve said you only had one. And finally, as said siblings do not grow at the same rate in any species that I know of. Environmental factors alone can have great effect.

In truth. I always observed lots of small sized shrimp in my tanks, but I assumed they were from multiple females, maybe not!
 
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Unless it’s an empty tank you’ll never see all of them 😅 buried females look different depending on gestation, but as you’ve said you only had one. And finally, as said siblings do not grow at the same rate in any species that I know of. Environmental factors alone can have great effect.

In truth. I always observed lots of small sized shrimp in my tanks, but I assumed they were from multiple females, maybe not!
I'm still not 100% sure how many are in there. At one point I counted 12, i know at least one has died as i found it, and the most I've been able to count now is 10.
The tank has one anubias on a rock and one bit if wood, both in the center. Still gives them enough places to hide though.
All the adults were taken out after the female released the eggs. I've been studying them every day since, the tank is next to the sofa. I thought they were all growing quite well then noticed a few tiny ones. Pretty sure it's not possible for released eggs to sit in the tank and hatch 2 weeks later?
Creatures grow at different rates, but the same genetics, the same environment, the same food source.
I wonder if the small ones are just not very healthy and won't make it. They are colouring up at the same rate though and no less active.
 
I could see the biggest, and smallest, so I caught them for a pic in a jug. Smallest is about 4mm, biggest is about 12mm
20220930_140759.jpg
 
There is an even spread of size between.

I'm not looking for any answers here. I'm not particularly concerned, just a little surprised at such a difference in growth rate so thought I'd discuss it.

If it was one runt, or one metabolic powerhouse, id understand it more.
 
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