# Strange mating behaviour!! Or death knocking??



## flanneryc (Jul 25, 2009)

So today I was acclimatizing a few juvi shrimp from Tamtep (Taitibees and BlueBolt pics attached) and I noticed that the boys in my main tank we're going nuts!! I looked for the usual molt that indicates a lady was ready and was playing hide and seek. No molt, but a CRS lady hiding by the breeding box (pic attached as well). Over the next 5 minutes the occasional male would find her and she would start flopping around playing dead, on her back, looking like a dying fish. She ended up in a corner with a male on top and suddenly she molted! She then went back into her death dance and another male latched on for about 5 seconds. Fortunately I had a net nearby and scooped her up, placed her in the breeding box and she settled right down. I released her about an hour later when the guys stopped acting drunk and as soon as a guy came near her she went back to the dance.

So.... I scooped her up and will leave her in the breeding box overnight to see if she lives, goes back to normal, or even berries up.

It was interesting to watch the molt and the mount but I'd be upset if she dies! She is a nice shrimp. 

Have any of you seen this, or anything like it before?























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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Haven't seen any of my shrimps playing dead like that, but she's got a huge
saddle on her, and I do know males will go after females as soon as they molt.

Just keep and eye on her and watch for berry.


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## flanneryc (Jul 25, 2009)

Here is an update.

I popped by my office last night and actually saw that she was berried up and had survived the evening in the breeder box and actually looked much healthier.

This morning she had somehow escaped her breeder box (inside the tank), and I can't see her in the tank. I leave a very small crack in the lid in the breeder box as I'm always concerned that the water isn't moving around in there (although I'm sure it is). She wouldn't be the first to find the gap and make her way back into the tank.. 

So.. I'm sure she's in their somewhere, just hiding, as I don't see any dead mommies lying around. 

I just took a quick count and there are 4 berried ladies (5 if "death dance" pops her head out) and 1 berried King Kong/Shadow Panda who I thought was a male. Spring is in the air!!

Does anyone else have a hard time sexing the really dark caridina?


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## bettaforu (Sep 6, 2009)

Been there, done that, went mad trying to see if there were eggs under the
body....only way to tell is closer to the due date they seem to look bloated
but that's it.

I couldn't tell my Royal Blue Tiger was berried or my Blue Dream Neos because
the shell covers the bottom part of the body and you cannot see underneath, unless they are hanging upside down from a plant.


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