How to Breed Red Cherry Shrimp

This article will teach you how to breed the easiest of the freshwater shrimp: red cherry shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata sinensis). Red cherry shrimp, or RCS, are in a group called "dwarf shrimp". The adults can reach up to 1.5 inches (4cm) in length. RCS need no special tanks, foods, dances, or shamans to breed. Tank conditions are easy to set up. They are a fun addition to an aquarium and eat uneaten fish food.

Steps

1

One type of bubble filter on leftSet up your tank. You will need a 5 to 10 gallon or 20 to 40 litre tank, a heater (to keep temperature at 75F-80F or 24-27C during cool nights), gravel (colour is not important), and a bubble filter that is cycled.

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Another type of bubble filter on right To cycle a bubble filter in a new tank, put the new bubble filter in an old tank, turn it on, and wait for 4 weeks. RCS will not survive the cycling process and will die from high levels of ammonia or nitrites.

A fine mesh cover for the filter intake Do not use a power filter unless the whole intake is covered with pantyhose (or something with similar very small holes) and secured with a zip tie (otherwise shrimp may get sucked into the filter and pureed).

2

A freshwater master test kitBuy a master test kit. This is absolutely required for keeping shrimp. It is impossible to determine the problem with a tank without a master test kit. You will need the following

tests: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Get drop tests, not test strips. Test strips are expensive, and expire after about 6 months of being open. Drop kits are much cheaper per test and last longer.

3Purchase 5-10 red cherry shrimp. RCS cost $1.50 - $3 (US) each at a pet store. They cost much less per shrimp via online on websites and forums, many people also offer free shipping like $20 or so for 20 or so shrimp, it is easy to get a good deal these days. Try to get a mix of clear (males can have some red as well) males and red females. If you get 10 shrimp, your chance of getting both males and females is pretty much guaranteed.

If someone wants to ship with a method that takes longer than 3 days, ask for pictures about how the shrimp are packaged, Cherry shrimp are VERY hard to kill and will most likely have no problem with a week in transit. Take into consideration the weather over the distance it will be shipped, ask for heat packs or ice packs in the shipping container to help counter ambient temperatures if that is a potential problem. Also request breather bags.

Do not buy RCS (or any fish or shrimp) that the pet store received in the last 3 or 4 days. Any deaths from the stress of shipping tend to occur during the 3-4 days after putting them in the store tanks, so buy after this period. Buy only shrimp that have been in the store tanks at least 4 days.

It is normal and desirable for the shipping bag containing shrimp to be filled with 1/3 to 1/2 water. This maximizes the trapped oxygen in the bag during shipping. This only applies loosely to the bags that are just normal plastic. If shipping with these bags, see if seller can use pure oxygen opposed to just air.

4Fill your tank with water that you have added dechlorinator to. Chlorine and chloramines will kill shrimp so make sure you get a dechlorinator that neutralizes both.

5

Acclimating shrimp. Click to enlarge.Get the shrimp used to the water using these steps. Put the bag into the water and clip it to the tank side using a binder clip. Add 1/4 cup tank water to the bag (perhaps use 1 turkey baster full of water). Wait 15 minutes. Repeat 2 more times. (An alternative to this is to test the bag's water parameters and your tank's if it is similar, just acclimate them to the temperature and dump them into the tank, cherries are very hardy and hard to kill relative to other shrimp.)

6Dump the shrimp in the tank. The temperature and water parameters (like pH) should have equalized enough not to shock the shrimp.

7

Shrimp like to hide in broken pots.Set your heater to about 80F or 27C. Use another thermometer (like a digital if you can afford it) to verify your heater is working accurately. Check it daily when you feed them.

8Feed the shrimp flake food, sinking pellets, or blanched squash or zucchini. Shrimp eat anything a fish would. You do not even need small pieces of food as they will rip off a piece of flake and feed it to themselves. Some shrimp do not like algae tablets, some do. (Foods with copper compounds are not ok for RCS.)

If there is still food in the tank when you feed them, skip that feeding and check again later.

Feed very small amounts once per day, especially if you just start with 10 shrimp. A flake the size of your pinky fingernail should last 10 RCS about 2, perhaps 3 days.

To blanch zucchini, put one slice in a microwave safe bowl. Cover with about an inch or so or 3cm of water. Cook on high for 1 minute. Let cool for 20 minutes, then drop into tank. If the zucchini floats, weight it down with a zip tie, a piece of plastic, or a marble, but not metal.

9

The amano shrimp near the top of the picture is larger than a red cherry shrimp. The 2 vertical female RCS have yellowish "saddles" behind their heads, which are their ovaries. The eggs should be under their tail in 7-10 days. Click to enlarge.If water temperature is warm enough and there is enough food, they will simply breed. Female shrimp should get greenish or yellowish eggs under their tail within 30 days of you receiving them, if they don't already have eggs. Female shrimp get a yellowish "saddle-shaped" patch behind their head. These are eggs in their ovaries. The eggs should move to their tails in 7-10 days. Once the eggs are under their tails, the eggs will hatch in 3-4 weeks. You will notice how the mom fans the eggs occasionally to prevent fungus from growing on them. The eggs will hatch faster if the water is warmer. You may wake up one day to find tiny clear shrimp on the plants, or on the bottom. Baby RCS look just like the adults, but they are very small, about 2mm long, and clear. But their shape is the same as an adult RCS. Shrimp will not eat their babies unless they are starving. Besides, the babies are quick to get away.

10Maintain the tank. A 10 gallon or 40 litre tank can safely hold 100-150 adult RCS if you change 25% of the water each week without exception. Do not vacuum the bottom of the tank, baby shrimp get a lot of their daily food out of the "waste". However too much waste will cause a buildup of nitrates. High nitrates can kill shrimp.

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EditTips

The biggest mistake a new person can make is using too many chemicals. If your ammonia=0, nitrite=0, nitrate<50, and ph is 6.0-8.0, you should be fine. You should never use pH up or pH down, stress coat, or other chemicals. They will only compound your problems. The only chemical you need is a dechlorinator which neutralizes chlorine and chloramines.

If your tap water has high levels of bad chemicals, like nitrates, you can use Reverse Osmosis water instead of tap water mixed with dechlorinator. Tap water sometimes contains a myriad of other chemicals that can alter your water's parameters. These include phosphates which is a leading cause of algae blooms. Scientists have linked phosphate levels to higher growth of cyanobacteria. (Discover Magazine, January 2009.)

When adding new water, add dechlorinator to a 5 gallon or 20 litre bucket. The new water should be about the same temperature as the tank water. Use your fingers to feel the temperature. The temperature of the two waters do not have to be exactly the same but it must be close.

RCS can survive a variety of pH ranges as long as they get used to it slowly.

For best results, shrimp should be given their own tank with no other fish. Some fish will eat these small shrimp, like: oscars, angelfish, cichlids, most catfish (except veggie eaters). Other fish are safe with shrimp, like livebearers (guppies, platies, mollies).

RCS can survive cold temps down to 60F for long periods of time, as long as the temperature change was slow (over hours instead of minutes). However they will not breed at this temperature.

In the lower right you see a shrimp shell from a ghost shrimp You will occasionally find whitish, HOLLOW, shrimp-shaped shells in your shrimp tank. This is normal! Shrimp shed their shells so they can grow. A shell (or exoskeleton) will look whitish, clear and hollow. A truly dead shrimp will look pink, or look more solid white. It will likely have friends who are eating it.

Shrimp who are getting ready to molt will form a "u" shape. They will bend and try to touch their tail. If you are lucky will see them shed. It is very fast. They flick out of their old skin in the blink of an eye, leaving behind a perfect hollow replica of themselves.

A darker gravel, like black, makes the shrimp more red as they try to match the color of the substrate.

Red Cherry Shrimp eat many more types of algae than the Caridina japonica (Amano shrimp), which are often regarded as the best cleaners for fish tanks. Perhaps the best way to grow java moss is to simply let your Red Cherry Shrimp pick it clean of any algae.

In a community tank it's essential to provide some shelters for shrimps that have just molted. Even in a shrimp only tank this will be appreciated. There are special shelters for sale but even a few small terracotta flowerpots will do nicely.

Shrimps love a small piece of boiled carrot. It also improves their color. Do remove it within 24 hours or it will pollute the water.

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EditWarnings

Many fish will eat adult shrimp, as well as baby shrimp. Any type of catfish, predator fish, angelfish, oscars, clown loaches, or eels will eat shrimp. If you have lots of cover, more babies will survive. Java moss makes excellent cover and forage.

Adult RCS are safe with guppies, mollies, platies, porkchop rasboras, or any fish too small to eat the shrimp.

Shrimp in general are sensitive to, and can be killed by chloramines, chlorine, ammonia, nitrites, and high nitrates. Make sure your water dechlorinator takes care of chlorine and chloramines.

Uncoated heavy metals like zinc, lead (from plant weights) and elemental copper will kill shrimp, especially copper. If a tank has ever had elemental copper in it, you will have a hard time keeping shrimp alive. Copper sulfate in fish foods is safe as it is a copper compound in low amounts. The dangerous stuff

is elemental copper (copper metal). The copper compound found in snail killing concoctions is toxic to shrimp and inverts because it is so concentrated.

Some copper COMPOUNDS seem to be safe for shrimp. For example, tiny amounts of copper sulfate are commonly used as a preservative in almost all fish food. It is safe to feed shrimp the food with copper sulfate since it is not elemental copper.

Despite a persistent myth, an iodine supplement is NOT needed for freshwater crustaceans. There is no scientific support that freshwater shrimp use iodine in the water column. They get enough iodine from their food. Saltwater crustaceans MAY have a need for supplemental iodine.[1]

Do NOT remove any empty shells of molted shrimp. Many will consume this to get back valuable minerals.

Cherry Shrimp Breeding and Care

I've seen a lot of people asking questions about cherry shrimp and breeding requirements, tank setup, water parameters, etc.

I thought I'd take a little time to talk about what has worked for me. I got into the hobby a little over a year ago and found this site and a few others and quickly became interested in freshwater shrimp. I bought my first batch of 10 cherry shrimp and 10 amano shrimp and rest is history.

It wasn't until my second batch of cherry shrimp before I realized how easy they were to breed. My second purchase contained a pregnant female and she ended up having the babies in a small pint cup when I was moving her into her permanent home.

I started with a 10 gallon tank with various plant clippings from my main 65g tank and I noticed more and baby shrimp each week. I soon had nearly 100 and I ended up giving some away and selling some to other hobbists.

I set up a 20 gallon planted tank and moved a bunch of the shrimp into it and now I have successfully bred nearly 1,000 very nicely colored cherry shrimp.

Here is what has worked for me and what I suggest for other people if they want to try their hand at breeding cherry shrimp.

1. Tank size should be at least 10 gallons to support up to 100-150 shrimp (based on weekly 30% water changes).

2. Temp should be between 75-78F.

3. Moderate water hardness seems to work the best for robust breeding and coloration.

4. I highly recommend the addition of live plants to maintain good water quality.

5. Sponge filters are the best since they do not pose a danger to baby shrimp.

6. PH of 7.6 has worked well for me.

7. Keep up with water changes! Cherry shrimp are highly prone to nitrate poisoning and they need good water to maintain good health and molting. I do weekly 30% water changes. I use plain tap water (moderate hardness, PH 7.6) and I treat it with declorinator (Amquel).

8. I use full spectrum lighting...10 hours a day on a timer.

9. I DO NOT dose liquid iodine as the shrimp will get all they need from a proper diet.

10. I feed them HBH Vegetable Wafers and HBC Crab & Lobster Bites exclusively. Any invertebrate food will suffice as long as it does not contain any large amounts of copper (READ those labels!). I will occasionally drop in a piece of boiled vegetable (squash or spinach). I feed my shrimp once a day in small amounts.

11. I also recommend you maintain genetic diversity after a few generations of breeding. You can easily do this by introducing new cherry shrimp from other sources. This helps reduce the occurance of inbred deformities or weak shrimp. I have traded shrimp with other hobbist a few times.

I hope I haven't forgotten anything. Please feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions.

Thanks!!!

I thought I'd add some recent pics to show my breeding population and tank:

Dwarf freshwater shrimp and nano aquariums (the two of which are often associated) are rapidly growing and rewarding segments of the aquatic hobby. The availability of new shrimp varieties has increased greatly over the last couple of years, along with the number of dedicated shrimp tanks being cultivated throughout the country. A relatively small initial investment in time and money will allow the beginner to explore this exciting hobby and reap success. The many new varieties of dwarf shrimp being introduced to the United States market make this hobby vibrant, interesting and challenging.

There are three categories of decorative freshwater shrimp that are widely available to the hobbyist today: Sulawesi, Neocaridina species and Caridina cantonensis. I will concentrate on the Neocaridina species and Caridina cantonensis. They are referred to as neos and bees, respectively. (See the "Neo and Bee Varieties" sidebar for more information about available shrimp varieties.)

In this article, we'll explore the basics of shrimpkeeping and how to successfully maintain dwarf freshwater shrimp in a nano aquarium. The mission — if you choose to accept it — is not just to keep shrimp alive in a nano tank but to also achieve and maintain a healthy shrimp colony through successful breeding. Because dwarf shrimp have such short life spans (typically 12 to 18 months), a shrimp tank that is not well-maintained to foster breeding will soon either be an empty tank or a very expensive tank as the shrimpkeeper continually replaces shrimp as they reach maturity and expire.

Basic Training

Water

The single most important factor for a successful shrimp tank is water quality and stability. A fully cycled planted tank is an ideal shrimp habitat. Neos are being raised across the United States in conditioned tap water of varying pH and hardness. Neos can live and thrive in a variety of water parameters: a temperature range of 60 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit, pH from 6 to 8, and varying degrees of water hardness. To keep your water pristine, weekly water changes of 10 to 30 percent of the tank volume are recommended. Ideally match the new water temperature to your tank water temperature before the water change.

Bees, on the other hand, are more demanding. They originate from mountain creeks in southern China where the water is soft and clean. They do best when kept with reverse osmosis (RO) water. Commonly accepted breeding parameters for bees include a temperature from 72 to 77 degrees and pH of 5.5 to 6.8. Measured water parameters should be: KH between zero and 2, GH from 3 to 6, and total dissolved

solids (TDS) within the range of 100 ppm to 200 ppm (parts per million). With a nano shrimp tank, a 5-gallon RO water bottle can last a few weeks to a month.

There are several products on the market that can be used to reconstitute the RO water to the target GH and TDS levels without raising the KH. Many beekeepers install an active substrate to buffer the pH in order to ensure the desired range. Adding driftwood or Indian almond leaves will also assist in lowering the pH. Be careful when adding rocks as hardscape to your tank. Some rocks will affect water hardness and directly impact bee breeding.

Bee shrimp tend to do better when there are fewer water changes and when smaller amounts of water are exchanged during each cycle. This is not because the bee shrimp like dirtier water; on the contrary, bees require cleaner water than neos. The reason to avoid large water changes is because a large water change can drastically affect the water parameters. Five percent every week or 10 percent every other week is sufficient in a mature shrimp-only tank. Your water target is stable and clean.

Stability

As you may gather, the greatest challenge in a nano shrimp tank will be water stability. A minimum tank size of 5 gallons is recommended to maintain temperature stability. A heater can be used to regulate temperature during winter, and a fan blowing across the top of the water can be used in warm summer months. A higher average temperature within the tolerable range generally results in faster-growing shrimp and better breeding conditions, but the higher temperature also leads to a measurable reduction in the life span of the shrimp. The optimal temperature for egg and baby survival is 75 degrees. Stability is the key for baby shrimp survival. As a final note on water stability, it is recommended to replace evaporated water with distilled or RO water to maintain a stable water hardness level.

Plants

Plants are highly recommended in a shrimp tank to assist with maintaining water quality. Plants remove ammonia and nitrates from the water. Plants also provide places for baby shrimp and expecting mother shrimp to hide. Avoid adding carbon dioxide to nourish the plants, however, unless you are an advanced shrimpkeeper. Without carbon dioxide, the plant selection will be more limited, but the shrimp colony will be protected. Mosses, Java fern and crypts are great choices for shrimp tanks. Floating plants, such as duckweed, frogbit and water lettuce, are also great plants that will help keep your water pristine. A piece of driftwood tied with some moss on it is commonly used as hardscape for tanks.

Try to strike a balance between the number of plants in the tank versus the tank surface visibility. Ideally you need to be able to see the entire tank so that you can quickly detect any dead shrimp. Remove dead shrimp immediately; a dead shrimp will quickly foul the water quality, and in the worst case, it could have died of a bacterial infection that will be contagious if it is eaten by other critters in the tank.

Click image to enlarge

Blue Tiger (Caridina cf.cantonensis). Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Red Fire dwarf shrimp (Neocaridina denticulata sinensis). Photo credit: iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Equipment

Filters suitable for shrimp tanks include canister filters, hang-on-the-back (HOB) filters, undergravel filters and sponge filters. Ensure that the intake of any canister or HOB filter is covered with a sponge prefilter to prevent shrimp from being sucked into the filter. Sponge filters are great options because in addition to filtration, they increase the dissolved oxygen level in the water, thus directly enhancing shrimp breeding capability. Shrimp especially "enjoy" and thrive with massive amounts of biological filtration with minimal flow. Use a canister or hang-on-the-back filter in conjunction with a small sponge filter if you want to see your shrimp population really explode.

Lighting

Lighting should be kept low to minimize hair algae — a common nuisance in a tank that has no carbon-dioxide supplementation and too much lighting or too long of a photoperiod. As mentioned earlier, there are active substrates on the market that were originally designed for plants that will also help reach target water parameters.

Neo & Bee Varieties

Varieties of neos

(Neocaridina)

are relatively plentiful and include:

Cherry

Yellow

Snowball

Fire Red

Sakuras

Red Rili

Blue Rili

Green Rili

Pumpkin

Chocolate

Varieties of bees

(Caridina cantonensis)

are more expansive and include:

Bumblebee

Princess Bee

Crystal Red

Crystal Black

Golden

Snow White

Tiger

Blue Tiger

Black Tiger

Red Tiger

Tangerine Tiger

King Kong

Panda

Wine Red

Blue Bolt

Pure Red Line

Pure Black Line

Shadow Panda

Feeding

Feed shrimp a varied diet for optimal health. Plant matter dramatically improves the color that shrimp exhibit, and a high-protein diet improves growth rate and breeding. Sinking tablets and veggie tabs are common staples for a shrimp tank. Shrimp also love blanched leafy greens. Pinch off a pea-sized piece of boiled spinach, and watch your shrimp go crazy for their home-cooked meal.

Feed only a tiny amount every day or every other day, depending on the number of shrimp in your tank, and feed protein at least once per week. Do not overfeed your shrimp colony; only feed what they can consume in a six-hour period. Rotting, uneaten foods foul the water, so it is important to remove any uneaten food after that time period to maintain water quality. Shrimp can actually survive for long periods without any feeding if the tank has plants, algae on the glass and natural microorganism film. They will scavenge for microscopic particles that are always present in a mature tank. Don't clean the glass of your tank for a few weeks if you plan on leaving for a trip.

Anticipated Resistance

Now that we've gone over the basics of shrimpkeeping, here are a few questions and concerns that many new shrimpkeepers have.

Where to begin? Many people wonder where they should start if they want to begin keeping decorative freshwater shrimp. Neos are considered to be easier to raise, suggesting that a neophyte shrimpkeeper will be happier and more successful starting with neos. Neos accept a much wider range of water parameters, breed more easily, grow faster and are less sensitive to changes in their environment than their bee counterparts.

Fire Reds, Yellows and Rilis are considered beautiful shrimp, and their more affordable price (as found on Internet forums, local clubs and shops) makes them the shrimp of choice for first-timers. To start a colony, five to 10 shrimp will likely provide good starting stock for a nano tank.

Should you wish to start with bees, be aware that they require much more specific water parameters to breed. High-grade bees are considered among the most sensitive creatures kept in aquariums today. Bees are also considered some of the most valuable and beautiful creatures you can keep in an aquarium. Obviously they are tempting and certainly are available, but be advised that you will likely have to "pay your dues" by losing a few shrimp in the process of learning before these beauties can realistically become part of your colony.

Fish Tankmates?

One question that always seems to come up is: What types of fish can be safely introduced into a shrimp tank? The sad answer is that fish are generally not recommended for a shrimp tank, nano or otherwise, with the possible exception of Otocinclus species. The reason is that any shrimp that can fit in a fish's mouth will be at risk. Newborn shrimp are not much larger than the tip of a sewing needle, and the shrimp babies will have higher survival rates in a shrimp-only habitat. The presence of fish will also stress the adult shrimp in the colony, reducing pregnancy rates and egg clutch size. Shrimp are also likely to be much more active and visible in a shrimp-only tank.

If you insist on keeping a few fish in your nano shrimp tank, it is best to first let your shrimp colony become established and then add the fish at a later time. I have kept chili rasboras and pygmy cories in my nano with no observed aggression toward shrimp. However, the increased fish bioload and activity did reduce the number of pregnant female shrimp and their egg clutch sizes.

Shrimp tankmates?

The previous question leads to another frequently asked question: What types of shrimp can be kept together? Most dwarf freshwater shrimp have been selectively bred for color and pattern. A yellow and red shrimp that breed together will not give you an orange shrimp. It is not advised to house neos with other neo varieties in a successful breeding tank. The result of their offspring will be wild neos — their coloration will revert to a clear or pale brown as they are found in the wild.

Bees likewise should not be kept with other bee varieties, unless cross-breeding is intended to create some sort of visually interesting hybrid. Bee cross-breeding will usually (but not always) result in a hybrid bee rather than a wild one. For example, cross-breeding a Crystal Red with a Tiger will result in a Tibee hybrid.

Housing the two types, neos and bees, is often successful in the same shrimp tank. Typically one variety of neo and one variety of bee can be intermingled. When keeping neos and bees together, target the water parameters for the bee shrimp. However, be aware that ghost or glass shrimp should not be kept with neos or bees. Ghost shrimp, in particular, are aggressive and will kill many of the young shrimp.

Mission Accomplished

The lesson to carry from this exploration of shrimpkeeping is to enjoy the process. The reward will be a healthy, viable and thriving shrimp colony, as well as the pleasure of watching the colony grow and change over time. Be forewarned that shrimpkeeping can become addictive. Once you find success, you will want more shrimp to add to your collection. There are several shrimp-dedicated forums online for additional information and advanced techniques of shrimpkeeping. Due to the increasing popularity of shrimp, most planted tank forums have added a shrimp and invertebrate section with a lot of good information. If so inclined, join a local club like SCAPE (Southern California Aquatic Plants Enthusiasts). You will likely find shrimpkeepers in these aquatic clubs that will be more than happy to help you out. Enjoy this exciting and fast-growing segment of the aquatic hobby.

Good luck on your shrimp mission. With good care, water discipline and feeding, your dwarf shrimp colony will not self-destruct. AFI

Growing Adult Brine Shrimp

By: William Berg

General Info:

Brine shrimps or artemia is a zooplankton used as fry food although Brine shrimps can be grown to about 20 mm (0.8 inch) in length and be a valuable food source for adult fishes. What makes brine shrimps such ideal fry food is their good nutritional value, that they can live 5 hours in fresh water before they die and the fact that the eggs can be stored for many years as long as they are kept away from water and oxygen. Once the tried eggs are returned into oxygenated saltwater they resume their development and hatch. This is an adaptation to living in dessert lakes that dries out.

The hatching time is depending on the temperature and takes 15 to 20 hours at 25°C (77°F). A Higher temperature shortens hatching time. The optimal hatching temperature is depending on the origin of the brine shrimps however temperatures between 25-30°C (77-86°F) are to be recommended.

- Recommended salinity is 30-35 ppt (1.022-1.026 density)

- PH 8.0 (pH 6.0-9.0 is acceptable)

Once they hatch they enter the Umbrella stage during which the larva doesn’t feed since they don’t have any developed mouth or anus. They survive on their yolk sack during this time.

After 12 hours they enter the second stage if development and start feeding by filtering micro algae from the water. The nauplii grows fast and can reach adulthood in 8 days. Brine shrimp can live for up to 3 month.

Since this article is focusing on growing your brine shrimp to adulthood I will not address the question of how to hatch brine shrimp.

Caring for your Brine shrimp

There are several factors that contribute to the successful raising of brine shrimp to adult size. The two most important besides given the brine shrimp the above stated water perimeters are:

• Feeding: brine shrimp are not hard to feed. They accepts most foods the can filter out of the water as long as it’s not to big and doesn’t dissolve in water. There are brine shrimp food available in pet stores that contains micro algae for the nauplii to eat however there are quite a few cheaper alternative that you can by in your regular grocery store. Examples on this are Yeast, wheat flour, soybean powder, egg yolk. It’s hard to know how much to feed the nauplii however the transparency of the water can be of help. The first weeks you should be able to se about 15 cm in the water. When the nauplii grows the food concentration should be kept a little lower and a water transparency of 25 cm is recommended. Food levels should be kept constant so frequent feedings are required.

• Aquarium maintenance: Brine shrimp are usually kept in small tanks which means that water quality may deteriorate quickly. This means that water changes are of utmost importance. I recommend changing at least 20% two times a week. This is to prevent low oxygen levels which will be a result of poor water quality. It’s also important to clean the bottom of the tank since brine shrimp moult very often during their way to adult hood which leaves a lot of remains on the bottom of the tank which may deteriorate the water quality. This should be done by night using a flashlight to draw the brine shrimp to the surface. Brine shrimp are drawn to light and the light from the flashlight will attract the brine shrimp to the light source keeping them safe while you are cleaning the bottom of the tank.

Breeding brine shrimp

If well cared for and kept in a low salinity then your adult brine shrimp will (might) spawn in your aquarium. Every adult female is capable of producing 75 nauplii a day or rather 300 nauplii every 4 days. They will be able to spawn 10 times during a normal lifespan. However if well cared for they can as I stated earlier life for as long as 3 month and during that entire time spawn every 4 days.