Category: Free Inquiry

Good news! There’s definitely more than one baby. I haven’t been able to capture more than one in a single picture, so I don’t have any proof, but take my word for it! Although it’s difficult to say for sure, I estimate that there are roughly 10 healthy baby shrimp in the tank. Of those 10, it seems that 2-3 have a blue tinge, while the rest are slightly red or orange. At this stage of their lives, their color isn’t fully developed, so I’m interested to keep a close eye on their color in the future. This shrimp below seems to have a blue-greenish tinge, which I am particularly excited about!

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Although I had done my research and knew about molting before adding shrimp to the tank, my first encounter with an exoskeleton got me feeling a little uneasy. However, they’re nothing to fear!

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I know it’s blurry, but see if you can spot the anything interesting! Hint: it’s somewhere below the bigger shrimp in the center of the frame.

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The good news is that Big Blue seems to have given birth, as she is no longer carrying any eggs with her. The bad news is that I don’t see any babies. I’m trying my best to not jump to conclusions either way. I know that even if perfectly healthy, the baby shrimp would still be extremely small, and I sometimes have trouble finding the largest of the shrimp. On the other hand, I know that if water parameters are not stable, there’s a high chance of the eggs not making it.

Those are all the updates I have for now. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and my eyes peeled.

Not much text to add here, just wanted to share a few more videos of the shrimp.

Take a look at Big Blue moving her eggs around in order to oxygenate them!

Also, I noticed another mother-to-be in the tank! I’ve creatively named her “Big Red”

Her eggs are a bit more difficult to see due to her coloration, but you should be able to see them moving around below her.

These past few days, I’ve been feeling pretty anxious about the shrimp. I seem to find them grazing on algae less, and they still are indifferent about veggies or other kinds of food I provide. To make matters worse, I hadn’t seen Big Blue for almost a week. In a tank this large with so many plants or rocks to hide behind, it isn’t uncommon for me to not see a specific shrimp (I can distinguish a few shrimps based on distinct markings, colorations, or size) for a day or two, but never have any been missing for this long. I was almost certain he was dead.

But, after a week of despair, I was met with the best kind of surprise! Big Blue was back, hanging out on the filter. And she wasn’t alone!

I don’t know about you, but I was blown away when I saw this. I’m incredibly proud of this photo. Please click below to see some videos I took as well!

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If I’m being completely honest, there’s not much that goes into breeding Neocaradinia shrimp. Not that I’m complaining! Basically, ensure that your shrimp are comfortable and unstressed. That means proper water parameters, appropriate places to hide, enough food, etc. After that, simply let nature take it’s course!

From birth, a shrimp will need roughly 3-5 months before it reaches breeding age. As long as the conditions above are met, and there are compatible mates in the tank, you should have babies within a month or so. An indication of a female shrimp that has reached breeding maturity is the development of whats called a “saddle.” The saddle of a mature female shrimp can be found right behind their head, and it’s actually undeveloped eggs located in their ovary, although it just looks like a small discoloration at this stage. I tried to take a good picture of this, but I wasn’t able to get a good angle. I’ve attached a YouTube video below which shows it pretty clearly at around 0:18.

I think that the gestation of these shrimp is particularly interesting because they have live births, meaning the mother will carry her eggs until they become fully capable adolescents. Another thing I find fascinating is that you can actually clearly see these eggs underneath the mother as she carries them.

Check out this link for more information about the breeding of these shrimp!

It’s been about a week since the shrimp have arrived, and I think they’ve been settling in really nicely, I think. They all seem to be eating, swimming, and resting totally normally. However, it does seem like they don’t seem to care much for any food I add to the tank, whether it be leftover Repashy gel goldfish food, or blanched zucchini and carrot. Instead, they prefer to just graze on algae in the tank!

Below is a video I manged to catch of Big Blue tentatively nibbling on some zucchini.

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Finally, the shrimp are here, and in one piece! I’m super busy with school and my personal life at the moment, but I just quickly wanted to share some initial photos and videos of the little guys and girls.

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Hey all, just wanted to let you all know that the shrimp have been ordered, and they are on their way! Normally, it is preferred to buy any kind of aquatic pet (or any pet I suppose) locally. Shipping stress and cost aside, shrimp tend to be very sensitive to changes in water parameters, so it’s always better to get shrimp that are already used to the tap water in your area.

I did visit all the pet stores in my area, but unfortunately I was not able to find any that offered the type/quantity of shrimp I was hoping for at a price within my budget. Luckily for me, I was able to get in touch with a shrimp breeder in Calgary (less than a 2 hour flight from Victoria) who was able to offer the shrimp I was looking for. Shipping is expensive for live animals, but it ended up still being cheaper than what I would pay from my local store.

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