# Harlequin shrimp pregnant again



## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

*Harlequin shrimp pregnant again [YOUTUBE VIDEO UP]*

feels awful. 100% of them will die. that's another thousands of life dieing in my tank in 24 hours.

D: D: D:

i know i know bacteria dies all the time... but the frys are cute and already starts to move and eat and swimmm

if you are impatient fast forward to 1:26


----------



## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

it just happened and i got it recorded!

will post video in the next 2 days!


----------



## PACMAN (Mar 4, 2010)

what aspect of your tank is preventing them from surviving?


----------



## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

PACMAN said:


> what aspect of your tank is preventing them from surviving?


The nems and other inhabitants, if I recall from the last thread about this.

Why not setup a small rearing tank with a rock and some sponge filters.

You know that they have almost no chance of surviving in the main tank.


----------



## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

my tank is only a 6.6 gallon.
I guess it comes down to funds and equipment.

at this moment I simply dont have the resource to TRY to save some of them.
I've read a webpage about harlequin shrimp in depth. even that expert never got to the point where the shrimps would become adults.


----------



## matti2uude (Jan 10, 2009)

What about using a fry saver?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

If you PM me your address, I will mail you an old magazine with an article on Harlequin keeping and breeding.

I agree, a netted fry saver and a brine shrimp net will at least give them a chance, for under $15.


----------



## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

I don't think predation is the main issue - it's more getting the planktonic larvae to survive independent of worrying if they're going to get eaten! 

Marine crustaceans are extremely hard to culture owing to their very long pelagic stages before the meta and settle. As much as it might be a great project, unless you're an expert, I have the feeling it would be a fruitless project.


----------



## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> I don't think predation is the main issue - it's more getting the planktonic larvae to survive independent of worrying if they're going to get eaten!
> 
> Marine crustaceans are extremely hard to culture owing to their very long pelagic stages before the meta and settle. As much as it might be a great project, unless you're an expert, I have the feeling it would be a fruitless project.


Considering they were all eaten overnight last time they were spawned, I think that _is _the immediate problem. He can't even worry about the planktonic larvaes survival, if they are devored within hours of being spawned.

Sure, preventing them from being eaten isn't the hardest part of the task, but it is his first to solve.


----------



## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

if I had a traditional tank where i can hang a fry saver i would do it. However, I am running a edge tank with mod lighting (a nightmare-ish choice i came to regret) there's only a 8 inch by 5 inch opening on the top of the tank. hard to clean, hard to feed, no room for any HOB stuff.

I actually had a extra 5 gallon laying around. but I only mix about 4 liters of salt water for water change and by the time I see that the harlequin is pregnant it's too late. I only knew that she was pregnant because she lives in a "cave" and rarely comes out. Even if I had tank +water prepared, I cannot run a filter because the larve will surely die going thru....

there's a million reason why I didn't go through with any project, taken in the factor of the rate of success... otherwise at $10 a harlequin (bought mine for $25 each) I could earn a sizable sum if I can get even a 1% of them to survive.


----------



## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

also! they are already bouncing around avoiding the Yellow clown goby! They jump around 3 inches in the water quite quickly even at "plankton" stage.


----------



## ThaChingster (Feb 25, 2011)

Hoyuen said:


> there's only a 8 inch by 5 inch opening on the top of the tank.


What people have down with their edge's is actually cut off the top pane of glass, so that it looks like a normal rimless aquarium. I believe with the top off, there will be a lot more space available for apparatuses on the outside.

You may lose, in essence the "edge" in the tank, but the functionality and practicality may be worth it


----------



## Hoyuen (Jun 23, 2011)

yeah i also thought about that. but doing that i am decreasing my water volume by around a litre. (plus the evaporation issue gets more serious) I am cramming my brain thinking of ways to either increase water volume/ or increase water quality.

I am leaning towards upgrading from a aquaclear 20 to aquaclear 50 and use it as a fuge for chaeto. But I dunno if chaeto is worth taking out the rowaphos+purigen+filter floss for.


----------



## 50seven (Feb 14, 2010)

True chaeto refugium FTW! 

You can always drop a nylon stocking filled with Phosban into the refugium and change it once a week if phosphates become an issue. Filter floss just becomes a nitrate factory.


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, just think of them as nutrition for your fishies. In the wild 99.9% of them would be anyway, so don't feel too bad.


----------

