# crystal shrimp breeding



## gstatus (Apr 2, 2010)

so how do you breed crystal shrimp do i need to do anything special besides make sure theres a male and female? in my tank right now i basicaly just have neon tetras rubber lip plecos and a yoyo loach should i be woried about them eating the eggs or baby shrimp when they reproduce

i dont have any yet but i did find a guy selling them for 2$ each how many should i start off with


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## hamsterman (Sep 19, 2006)

The fish might bother/kill the shrimp and eat the babies. If you wish to breed them I suggest giving them their own tank. You should start off with however many you want, but to increase the chances of success you should get more than a couple. Hope that helps!


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## Karebear (Oct 6, 2008)

Hi gstatus,

Get rid of your yoyo loach, it will eat the adult shrimp.


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## gstatus (Apr 2, 2010)

Karebear said:


> Hi gstatus,
> 
> Get rid of your yoyo loach, it will eat the adult shrimp.


really he dosent bother my cherry shrimps


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## goddessjen (Dec 30, 2009)

The yoyo loach is definitely capable of eating adults and will probably love the babies. I would also consider the neons threats. They will even go after adults by picking appendages off them. I wouldn't even trust the plecos. If your goal is to successfully breed them I would give them their own tank.


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## AquaDean (Oct 29, 2009)

If you really want to breed CRS you should take all of the fish out of the tank. The only proven fish that you can keep with CRS when breeding them is otto's. Sure it is easy to say this fish and that fish don't bother the shrimp. But that is in your eyes not the shrimps. Could be that they scare the crap out of them and shrimp romance will never happen. 

So if you really want to breed CRS loose the fish and buy a dozen or two young shrimp. Keep your water clean and well filtered with the right parameters. Feed every other day and do weekly water changes without fail. 

In about four months if you've done everything correctly you should have some berried females and a month later your first shrimplets.


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## gstatus (Apr 2, 2010)

thanks guys i think im gona see how the shrimp do with the fish and if nothing in a few weeks ill probably set up a 10 gallon


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## tex627 (Nov 2, 2008)

I have to agree with aquadean. CRS are too expensive to experiment with unless you have money to burn.

heres a post I made on another thread couple of months ago I think this will help when you setup a new tank for CRS

"heres what i think is actually NEEDED:

1.heater
2.substrate
3.a filter that is able to turn your tank's water around more than 5times/hour and that will not suck in baby shrimp(i.e. if you're using a 20 gallon to breed your filter should be able to filter 100gph or more)
4. water parameters-as long as its stable you will be able to breed in the following conditions:
TDS: ~200
gH: ~5-6
pH: 5.5-7.2 (the guy at brian's tropicals breeds his in a pH of 7.6 as long as parameters are stable they will adapt and breed)
kH: doesnt directly effect the shrimp but will alter the pH
nitrate <20
nitrite and ammonia 0
5. 30% water changes once a week
6.food w/o copper(flake, algae wafers, crab cuisine)
7. last but not least, a tank(any size but bigger the easier)

the following are the things that will make breeding a lot easier:
-bigger tank(20 gallon reccomended)
-ada soil(will set water param to what CRS prefer automatically)
-good light(2-3 wpg) will support healthy growth of plants and will help soak up nitrates and other nutrients therefore minimizing water changes
-CRS food
-calcium supplement
-chiller
-purigen(this stuff is amazing! takes care of all my problems)
-2 filters that will turn your water around 20-40 times ( i have 2 HOB filters with a sponge over the intake of course, one with lots of sponge and purigen for mechanical filtration and the other for biological filtration with all media.
-hiding places:driftwood, plants, biomedia(what i use) and other things that wont effect water parameters

well this is basically it. i hope this could help people on a low budget. my point is a lot of things that people reccomend arent necessary. dont get me wrong though i agree with everything jlo says its just not NEEDED.

as for the undergravel filter, it will shorten the lifespan of soil if used with soil. its definitely not need but will increase biological filtration. you could always do that by adding another canister filter with good media in the long run you'll be saving money using an extra canister filter attatched to sponge filter because then you wouldnt have to change the aquasoil on a yearly basis."

good luck!


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## DBL TAP (Apr 21, 2008)

I've seen CRS thrive and breed like rabbits in a tank with Rasboras, Serpae tetras, Neons and a couple other breeds. The catch being the tank was a heavily planted 30 gallon.

As for successfully keeping and breeding CRS, this might start an argument but I keep it simple.

Feed every other day HBH Crab bites
Cycled and aged 10 gallon tank with an Aquaclear HOB filter
Top off tank with tap water to replace evaporated water.

Don't blast me but I don't check my water parameters. 
Initially when I culled/removed the babies, the shrimp were prolific breeders. However I stopped culling and the population hasn't grown too much since. I do see shrimplets though.

Good luck and don't over think it.


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