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Common Name- Blue Grass shrimp (other
morphs are cherry shrimp, etc.) These have been allowed
to revert to their natural brown color.
Water Conditions- Not Critical. Temp
70-80, Some water movement, must have fine leaved
plants to live in.
Behavior- Do not bother fry or fish.
Eats algea and excess fish food.
Breeding- Prolific once established.
Size- About 1/2- 3/4 inch.
These algea-eating cleaner shrimp are a great alternative to
catfish that may eat fry, or compete with other fish for
resources. These shrimp are hardy, and once established can be fairly
prolific. Many Cichlids and larger fish will eat them.
When first obtained, place any gravid females into a small
container of her own with some Java moss. After up to a month
she will release 30-40 newly hatched
fry that are tiny copies of
the adults. Remove her and raise the young on small
amounts of crushed dry fish food until large enough to fend for
themselves- about 1 month. New small fry may at first
be eaten by the fish in the aquarium.
They are peaceful, not territorial or aggressive in any way, and
blue individuals are produced fairly regularly.
By selectively breeding them the blue line can be re-established.
They are hard working, fairly active and entertaining to
watch. They have been colony bred here for approximately 7 years,
and have generally returned to their natural appearance.
I keep them out of egg layer
breeding tanks as they may eat eggs.
These are very hardy and seem
to survive even when the fish do not. When they do succumb, it
has been because the
temperature exceeded 80-82 degrees or oxygenation within the
aquarium has suffered. Being livebearers, they do not
lay eggs and can be removed from any tank simply by catching and
removing them with a net.
The only issue with them has been that they can be so prolific
that in a heavily planted tank they may
need to be
occasionally thinned out to keep the biological load in the tank
under control. These have proven to me the hardiest
and easiest to maintain animal in the fishroom!
Lastly, because they are in such good supply here, though I
quote
.50 each for these, an order will result in many extras!
See other Care Guides
Here
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