# Baby Amanos - ASAP Need Help



## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

I'm all ready for this amano breeding process with the salt and 5.5 gallon tank. Problem is, mom's only laid about half the eggs. How long do I have before I have to start the salt process? I want to keep as many babies as I can, but don't want to compromise the ones already swimming around. Should I move mom and the unborn eggs back into the community tank where they'll have no chance of survival without salt. Please help as soon as possible. Thanks.
Renee


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

The zoes really should be transferred into the full salt tank within one or two days. I've always done it as soon as I see that they've hatched. The best thing to do is to keep the saltwater culture going and simply wait until you have zoes to add to it.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

do you recommend that i just transfer them without acclimation? the stuff i've read says to increase salinity gradually


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

i added a tsp of salt with mom still in the tank. the already born babies got a lot more active. i hope mom's okay with this. if she starts stressing, i'll move her back to the fresh tank and sacrifice the ones she's still carrying.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

she's dropped about 150 already and she has this many left under her swimmerets. see pic.









this is turning into a journal more than a "help me" post. :-/


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

wow - sorry for the huge pic


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## Cassie (May 27, 2006)

sorry, I can't help much...but interesting thread! Keep the updates coming!


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

I'm not sure they're discernable, but the little white specks are the babies.


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Has she dropped any more eggs yet? 

If it were me, I would try and do some with gradual acclimation to salt water and the rest with total salt like Aaron suggested. 

I had good luck with mine doing the gradual acclimation for about a week (maybe two) until I contaminated them with BBS 

I have a spare 10g setup (tank, filter, heater, etc) you are more than willing to borrow if you can find space for it!


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Wow, great journal thread. Keep us updated with pics too!


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

i might take you up on the 10 gallon offer, Matt, if the amano shrimp trial goes successfully. i've got a bamboo shrimp that's carrying. it'll be a while before she's ready though. thanks!

she's dropped more eggs, but she's still got tons. i have been adding salt, but i'm afraid its too much for the mom, so i took her out. i'm acclimating her back to freshwater. i haven't decided where to put her yet. i've got a breeding net thing, but i think the holes would prove to be an excellent escape route (and its the finest mesh i could find). the zoe are TINY.

anyway, i'm still adding salt, but its not enough yet to read on the hydrometer. i'll get there by tonight probably. there are over a hundred babies in the 5.5 gallon. i'm feeding some liquid fry food and some powder fry food and they flock to it every time i drop some in, so i assume they're eating?

i *just* decided to move the mom into a bucket with an airstone so i can keep all the babies she's still holding. i've tried to take pictures of the babies, but they're just not turning out... here's what i've got. the little white specs in the corner are little shrimps.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

i'm still adding salt - i hope to be at full marine salinity by tomorrow night. the shrimps look, um... like specks of dust still. but they're flocking to the food when i feed. i did a rough count and it looks as though i've got about 160. the pics i've tried to take look just like the last one i posted, so i'll wait until there's a difference. thanks for the comments.


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

i woke up pleasantly surprised, so i thought i'd share. it looks like mom is done dropping babies in the bucket with the airstone that i set up for her. i'm going to leave her in there until about noon. on my lunch break, i'll put her back in the 55 gallon and put the new babies on what i'm calling a "super salting". i'm going to catch their salinity up to the older babies and drop them in when i'm home for dinner. hopefully when i get off of work at midnight, everyone will be alive and well.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

I've done this before and you can drop the zoes directly into a full saltwater tank as soon as they hatch. Caridina Japonica Online I followed that article to the 'T' and got 7 or 8 adults on my first try.

Leave the light on 24/7 for the zoes. That seems to be important for their survival for some reason.

On a side note please consider resizing your pictures before posting them to the forum.


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

This thread is a good read for breeding amanos as well: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...eeding-amano-shrimp-3.html?highlight=japonica


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## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

How's it going with the shrimp Renee?


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## duchessren (Sep 16, 2006)

Things are seemingly good. They're up to full marine salinity. I did a water change (about 15%) last night. It looks as though I've had a little die off, but there are still too many to count with any precision. The smaller ones are still free floating, but many of the "bigger" ones have found the glass and are perched against the sides. I've been keeping their lights on 24 hours and feeding liquid fry food, powder fry food, and spirulina flakes that I've crushed as finely as I could. From what I've read, the next week will be crucial as most of the deaths occur on days 8 and 9. If I get any new pictures, I'll post them.


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