# Amano Breeding Failure



## Gardenho (Dec 7, 2009)

I have tried to breed my Amanos 4x, with the same sad results... I hope someone can shed some light on this. 
I haven't had the opportunity to work with the zooeys - They are never hatched out! The female is removed from my planted Discus/shrimp tank when I see the eggs turning dark. She is placed in a 2 1/2 gal tank, with a bubbler turned on low (1 bubble per second) & the temp kept @75 degrees. A day or two later, I can see her fiddling with the eggs -& they are dropped one by one to the bottom of the tank. They appear white - No spots for the zooeys' eyes. I assume they were fertile, as the eggs had turned darker in color, indicating hatching time is near. The eggs turn fuzzy with fungus if left in the tank. (I thought they might still hatch out) I even tried placing the dropped eggs in salt water, but nothing happened. I assume they are dead.
Any idea why this would happen? This has occurred 4 times already. I tried to keep the conditions close to he big tank, but obviously something is amiss.
Thanks in advance~
Julie


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## Big_Fish (Mar 10, 2010)

Hi, Julie... 
the 2.5 gallon tank needs to be brackish/salt water... 
Baby Amano's do not hatch as miniature adults, like a Red Cherry Shrimp does.....
they hatch as larva. These larva require salt water to grow to metamorphosis and become freshwater shrimp again.

http://www.theshrimpfarm.com/articles/breeding-dwarf-shrimp/

Hope that helps!


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## James He (Aug 24, 2009)

Detail steps,check this:

http://caridina.japonica.online.fr/English/Elevage.htm

Good luck!


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## Gardenho (Dec 7, 2009)

I have read through as many sites as I could find on breeding Amanos - To recap: The zooeys are hatched in fresh water, then pipetted into salt or brackish water to continue their growth to shrimp-hood. The pregnant female is not to be placed in the salt water, as far as I understand. (I did see one person who had, & the eggs immediately hatched) If she is kept in the salt water more than a few hours, she will die. I considered doing this, but I don't want to chance losing her. I can watch Mrs. Amano picking out the white eggs, which she then discards. The eggs fall to the bottom, & never hatch at all. I even tried pipetting them into salt water, but nothing happened. I don't think the eggs would have grown & darkened if they were not fertile. The fact that they turned white may mean they are dead - for whatever reason. I was doing 1/3 water changes each day in the 2 1/2 gal breeder tank, but perhaps I need a larger tank. I really have no idea at all!
Julie


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

I'm guessing some are hatching and you just don't notice the larvae. Out of 100's of eggs, not all are fertile and you're likely seeing the bad ones.

I just bred my amanos and the newly hatched shrimp are VERY VERY VERY small. We're talking specks of dust size. There is no way I'd ever find many or any in a 2.5g. I let my female drop/hatch her eggs in a catch cup that floats inside the tank she is kept in. (of course we do water changes on it).
Once she drops the eggs I pull her out and pipet the larvae into brackish water. 
I would NEVER put the female in saltwater. Yikes, that would really stress her out and definitely kill her if in there too long. Not worth it IMO! 

Once you get to this point, feed the larvae daily with powdered spirulina. I can help you further once you get them hatched out and alive.


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## James He (Aug 24, 2009)

what's the color of the eggs, do you see the black spots which is the eyes of larvae.

I don't breed my Amano, but I do see the eyes of eggs in the last stage under female's belly.

Other thing may be the breeding tank is too small which will stress the female.

Also buy some Amano from different source. and make sure you have male. male is smaller than female, so don't only pickup bigger ones.

James


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## Gardenho (Dec 7, 2009)

I kept trying to see any larvae with a magnifying glass, but I never saw a single one. I will try a catch trap next time. I know growing the zooeys is a challenge - And I really want to attempt it. Seeing the eggs all over the floor of the tank (all 4 times) was discouraging. Perhaps I will have better luck with the trap in the main tank.
I can see the eggs are darkened, & I see dots, but I don't know if they are eyes - I just can't get enough magnification. Somehow if I can see the eyes, I would think it would be easy to see the actual zooey? I have both males & females - Probably about 5-6 females, & about 14 males. They are from 2 sources. The females are always gravid - I thought the hatching would be the easy part!
I did have one theory: I have plants, injected CO2, & lots of living things in the big aquarium. Could the lack of CO2, live plants, & other fish alter the water enough to stress the female? I am grasping!
I appreciate everyone's input - Good to know that others have been successful!

Julie


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