Aquarium shrimps: varieties, selection, care, breeding

Aquarium shrimp have long won the trust of experienced aquarists and have become full-fledged inhabitants of domestic underwater communities. However, novice fish lovers do not know many of the nuances of the content of these wonderful arthropods, and therefore the question of breeding them is more than relevant.

Aquarium shrimp are omnivorous crustaceans and are highly unpretentious in terms of keeping conditions. In natural reservoirs, they are able to survive not only in fresh, but also in salt water. The Asian continent is considered to be the homeland of shrimp, although some of them were first discovered in Japan, Panama and Venezuela.

In case of sudden danger, it allows arthropods to retreat to a safe place in rapid leaps. The anterior three segments have a dense carapace fused with the head. Thanks to this structure, shrimps are not afraid of attacks from aggressive fish and are able to live in the same territory with predators. The maximum size of aquarium shrimp reaches 8 cm, and females can be one and a half times larger than males.

Shrimps are distinguished by a complex structure of the oral apparatus, consisting of three jaws, which work in conjunction with three front pairs of limbs. Such "jaws" help arthropods to move and at the same time grab food.

They are able to pick up faint rustles and subtle smells of potential food. Gthe manhole is also distinguished by an interesting structure and is able to rotate freely, which allows arthropods to easily find lurking prey. In addition, a wide viewing angle gives them the opportunity to spot the enemy in time and, with the help of their massive and springy tail, quickly gallop for cover.

Females have small paws on their belly - pleopods, intended for movement in the water and bearing eggs. Males also have abdominal legs, but their front pair has been transformed into a reproductive organ. Both have bright, interesting colors and look great in home aquariums. Many aquarists equip shrimp tanks with special lighting, which favorably emphasizes the beauty and originality of arthropods. Due to the wide variety of aquarium species, it is possible to acquire both very small representatives that will be successfully combined with small fish, and large spectacular individuals that can not get lost among other beautiful species, combining harmoniously with them.

The growing demand for aquarium arthropods is due to a number of indisputable advantages of these creatures.

• Shrimps are distinguished by good endurance and often forgive their owners for mistakes when keeping them. They quickly adapt to the proposed conditions and do not require huge reservoirs. Some types of shrimp thrive in nano aquariums with a capacity of up to 1 liter.
• Due to the presence of aquarium shrimps, the water in the reservoir does not become cloudy and remains clean for a long time. This is due to their benthic lifestyle, in which arthropods happily swarm at the bottom and eat up food and plant remains that have not been eaten by fish.
• In the daytime, shrimp lead a rather active lifestyle, which is why it is very interesting to watch them. They funny jump on their tail-fan in case of danger and quickly crawl on the leaves of underwater plants. In addition, after molting, their lost limbs begin to grow back, which is also very curious to see.
• Shrimps are peaceful in nature and do not attack other inhabitants of the aquarium.

However, along with the obvious advantages, there are still disadvantages of keeping aquarium shrimp. For example, they often become victims of larger fish, which is why you need to carefully select neighbors when populating an aquarium.

During such periods, arthropods should be isolated in separate bodies of water or attached to small, non-aggressive fish. The conditional disadvantages include the fact that when good conditions are created, shrimps begin to multiply very quickly. In order to prevent overpopulation of the aquarium, this point must be taken into account and in advance to find a "market" for numerous offspring.

Ornamental shrimp are classified according to several criteria, such as size, habitat and color. Among the wide variety of species, there are both completely unpretentious individuals in the content, and specimens that require the hands of an experienced breeder. Below are the varieties of freshwater aquarium shrimp that even a novice aquarist can handle. All of them are absolutely non-aggressive and will not cause any trouble to their owner.

• Blue pearl is a small arthropod no more than 2.5 cm long with a beautiful blue color. By its intensity, one can judge how comfortable the shrimp lives. So, if she is in a good mood and in good "physical shape", then her color will be bright blue, while when conditions deteriorate, it quickly fades, and the blue tint becomes barely distinguishable.

• White pearl outwardly very similar to blue and differs only in color and a more transparent body. It is the transparent structure that makes it easy to distinguish the female from the male. In the female, the ovaries are clearly visible inside the body, which are absent in the male.

• Green shrimp is a larger species, reaches a length of 3.5 cm and reproduces very slowly.

• Cherry, red and yellow shrimps differ from each other only in color and name. They all grow up to 2.5-3 cm, multiply quickly and are great for keeping in small aquariums.

• Banana shrimp filter feeders are rather large arthropods and grow up to 10 cm. The lifespan of individuals is 2 years, and the color is represented by yellow shades with brown stripes. Unlike other species, it is very clumsy and clumsy, and eats in a special way. She sits down under the stream coming from the filter and spreads her fan-shaped cilia located on the claws. As soon as a piece of food falls into the open fan, she immediately brings it to her mouth and eats it. Such a shrimp is worth a little more expensive than other species, but it is much more interesting to watch it.

The following species can be classified as more demanding arthropods, for the maintenance of which you need special knowledge and a lot of experience. The soil of the aquarium, which contains these species, needs special treatment, and the water must be purified through a reverse osmosis system. In addition, the larvae of some species require salt water, since they do not survive in fresh water.

• Red crystal is a very beautiful shrimp species. Their snow-white body is covered with wide red stripes, which makes arthropods very visible in the general aquarium. Such shrimps grow up to three centimeters, multiply quickly, eat little and require strict adherence to the temperature regime. Optimal for them are +26 degrees Celsius, with warmer water, the arthropod may die, and with colder water, it may stop multiplying.

• Amano. Shrimps of this species are distinguished by a translucent gray-blue or light green body, grow up to 5 cm. The sides of arthropods are often decorated with brown spots, which gives them a very interesting appearance. It is recommended to settle Amano in small companies of 8-10 individuals: they are peaceful and do not cause any damage to the community. The species requires the creation of special conditions of detention and strict control over the hardness, acidity and composition of the water.

• Harlequin. Shrimps of this species have a beautiful multi-colored coloration, in which there are black, red and white colors. This is perhaps the smallest aquarium shrimp, since the size of an adult is 0.6-1.2 cm. The harlequin is considered a very demanding species, it reproduces slowly and is suitable only for experienced aquarists.

• Red nosed shrimp also requires special care, it has a translucent body and a bright red nose. Adults can be kept in fresh water, and only salt water is required for larvae. The length of the red-nosed shrimp is from 3 to 4 cm. In addition to being highly decorative, this species is of practical use: arthropods absorb harmful algae, which helps to keep the aquarium clean.

• Cardinal - a bright and beautiful look, it grows up to only two centimeters. The body of the shrimp is colored in all shades of red, and there are bright white dots on the sides.

• Tiger chrimp although they do not require a special composition of aquarium water, they still need a large tank with a volume of at least 50 liters. Representatives of the species grow up to 4 cm long and have a beautiful bright color.

The choice of shrimp for the aquarium is a responsible business, so you need to approach it with the utmost seriousness. This is especially true for novice aquarists who are not too familiar with the peculiarities of keeping fish and shrimp together. If you already have an aquarium with inhabitants, then you need to familiarize yourself with the compatibility of certain species, using special literature for this. When you start a new aquarium, you can go to the pet store yourself and look at the shrimp neighbors.

If the choice was made correctly, then all the inhabitants of the aquarium will be vigorous and active. In this case, you can safely buy the required amount of shrimp, taking into account the volume of the tank. Experienced aquarists advise not to buy fish that have just been brought to the zoo, but to wait a while. If, after a few days, the shrimp are alive and well, then you can make a purchase. This is due to the fact that most shrimps are brought from Asia, and no one can give a full guarantee that they are healthy.

Growing shrimp is a snap. To do this, you just need to comply with the conditions for keeping arthropods and properly care for them.

Before heading to the pet store for shrimp, you need to start setting up your aquarium. The choice of the tank should be in such a way that each adult should have at least 0.5 liters of water. The smallest species live well in nanoaquariums, but free space is the key to the peaceful coexistence of species. The shape of the aquarium can be any, but due to the fact that shrimps prefer to live a bottom life, it is desirable that the bottom surface has a large area. The best option would be to purchase a rectangular wide tank, which, moreover, is much easier to clean than round options and aquariums "shot".

From above, the reservoir must be covered with a glass lid or mesh to prevent the inhabitants of the reservoir from jumping out onto the carpet. If it is supposed to contain not only shrimp, but also aquarium fish, then as many shelters and labyrinths as possible should be installed in the container, decorations and moss should be laid. This will help arthropods hide from their pursuers, who often mistake them for food. Therefore, the best solution would be to equip a shrimp, where only arthropods will be kept.

The next step in starting the aquarium will be the preparation of the soil and water.

It is pre-washed and calcined in an oven at a temperature of 220 degrees for 30 minutes. As for the water, you can use regular tap water for the unpretentious shrimp. There will be nothing wrong with the fact that it has a slightly increased rigidity, since the elements present in such water will be needed by the shrimp to build a shell during molting. However, if the level of hardness is too high, then there is a risk of slowing down the reproduction process.

As for the temperature of the liquid, it should be within + 20 ... 28 degrees Celsius. When it rises to +32 degrees, shrimps begin to die, and when it drops below + 15 ... 18, they lose their mobility and stop multiplying. However, a temporary decrease in temperature is not fatal for arthropods, and after normalization of conditions, they quickly restore their functions.

Too finicky species require water with a neutral pH and zero hardness. Such indicators can be achieved by passing the liquid through a reverse osmosis system, and then adding special salt to it.

Further fluid changes are carried out once a week by taking 1/4 of the total volume, followed by adding a fresh portion.

And you should also monitor the state of the air in the room, and avoid the use of sprays and other volatile compounds in it. This is due to the occurrence of surface gas exchange, during which chemicals can enter the water. Besides, most species do not tolerate elevated nitrogen concentrations, which must also be taken into account when choosing aquarium water... Javanese moss, pistia and hornwort are used as algae.

The next step in setting up the aquarium will be the selection of underwater decorations. When keeping shrimp in a common tank, the number of all kinds of houses, grottoes and other shelters should be maximum.

but when buying the latter, you should make sure that there is no paintwork on the surface of the products... New wooden decorations should be placed in water for several days. This will promote the release of coloring pigments from the wood and prevent further cloudiness of the water.

Next, you need to start choosing the necessary equipment, such as a compressor and a filter. The first is necessary to saturate the aquarium liquid with oxygen, and the second ensures the purification of a closed ecosystem from accumulated organic and mechanical debris. However, if only shrimp will live in the aquarium, then you do not need to buy a filter system. If there are too many inhabitants, then the most suitable option would be to purchase an external canister or internal sponge filter. A sponge should be put on the tube of the device, which will help prevent small shrimp from being sucked into the filter and save livestock.

Shrimp are diurnal, and therefore need a long day of light. If the aquarium is located at the back of the room, and its inhabitants lack sunlight, then additional lighting must be used. As a backlight, it is recommended to use fluorescent or LED lamps, which are capable of providing high-quality lighting, do not cause heating of water and consume little electricity.

And you should also take care of ensuring the optimal temperature regime of the water. This measure is more related to several thermophilic species that require a stable temperature of +26 degrees. To do this, you will need to purchase a special aquarium heater equipped with a thermostat. However, completely relying on the device is quite risky; it is better to measure the water temperature from time to time with an ordinary thermometer.

On especially hot days, when the temperature in the aquarium naturally rises, it is necessary, on the contrary, to use any equipment that can lower it to the desired values. For these purposes, you can use a conventional fan or a special refrigeration unit. And you should also get a bottom siphon designed to clean up waste from fish and shrimp from the ground. If the bottom is not regularly siphoned, then the decomposing organic matter will begin to release a large amount of ammonia, which will lead to the disease of the livestock.

After the container is prepared, you can proceed to the most important stage - the settlement of the shrimp. This must be done very carefully, so that the arthropods experience as little shock as possible from entering the new habitat. Young shrimps are advised to purchase: although they are less beautiful than adults, they are easier to transport and adapt faster in a permanent place. You can transport shrimp in a plastic bag or in a transparent container filled with water from a previous aquarium. It is advisable to take with you a few branches of underwater plants, also taken from the previous tank.

Then, little by little, the previously prepared settled water is added and the behavior of the shrimps is observed. If the arthropods bend and rush around the aquarium, it means that the problem is in poorly settled water or in violation of the temperature regime. In this case, the error is corrected, and, without haste, they continue to start the aquarium.

It should be noted that the water for shrimp must be kept in a dark place for at least 1-2 weeks, since only in this case the necessary microflora develops in it. Also, you should not install the shrimp in a smoking room. Shrimps are very sensitive to the smell of tobacco, and in such conditions they will not last long. Shrimp should not be placed in shared aquariums where medicines or water stabilizers have been used shortly before. The launch of arthropods is possible only after its complete replacement, since any contact with chemicals can be fatal.

Shrimps are absolutely picky about food and eat whatever is offered to them.

They forgive the owner who has forgotten to feed them and can snack on algae particles that are found in the ground or on the surface of the leaves. Among the special feeds, compositions in the form of flakes can be noted.

They are easily digested by shrimps and contain all the substances necessary for their growth and development. In addition, these feeds contain components necessary to strengthen the shell and color intensity. In addition to ready-made formulations, crustaceans can be fed with natural products, for example, cucumbers and spinach. They feed the shrimp 2-3 times a week, as with more food they become lazy and refuse to clean the aquarium.

Breeding shrimp at home is quite simple. To do this, you just need to familiarize yourself with the basic rules of reproduction, and strictly follow the recommendations of specialists.

• Before starting breeding, large and healthy female and male are selected from the livestock. Determining the gender of a shrimp is easy. To do this, it is enough to pay attention to the size of the body, color, habits and the presence of a "saddle". So, males are much smaller than females and have a paler color, and sometimes they are completely colorless. In addition, they are much more active and do not have a so-called “saddle”. The saddle is called the white formations - the ovaries, which are clearly visible through the shell.
• To accelerate the maturity of females, it is recommended to change the water in the aquarium to fresh more often. This will promote the speedy molt, which, in turn, precedes the release of pheromones. However, even without assistance, shrimp reproduce normally, often without requiring additional stimulation.
• A sexually mature female begins to secrete enzymes. They attract the male, and he proceeds to fertilize the eggs formed under the tail of the female.
• After fertilization takes place, you need to monitor the characteristics of the water, since when external conditions deteriorate, the female sheds eggs, and the breeding process is interrupted.
• The female carefully bears fertilized eggs, often shakes it up and removes empty eggs. 4 weeks after fertilization, the eggs form in the eggs, which are clearly visible in the belly of the female. Soon after the appearance of the eyes, fry 2 mm in size hatch from the eggs, one to one similar to their parents.
• The female lays up to 30 larvae at a time. As soon as they come out of caviar, they immediately begin to feed on their own and move on to an adult lifestyle. However, small shrimps grow and develop very unevenly, which is why larger individuals devour weaker ones, thereby regulating the number of livestock.

You can notice babies by their eyes and mustache. During this period, inexperienced aquarists often confuse fry with parasites and replace the allegedly polluted water with clean water. As a result, they dump all the shrimp, and cannot understand why they were left without replenishment.

Shrimps are very peaceful creatures and behave roughly in community aquariums. This is primarily due to the self-preservation instinct inherent in all crustaceans. After all, in order not to attract attention to themselves and not be eaten, arthropods try not to stand out from the “crowd”. In this regard, shrimp should be selected as calm fish as they are. Shrimp can be housed in the same aquarium with neons, guppies, zebrafish, microraces, gracilis, paratocyclus, micropecilia, ampullia and helena snails, siamese algae, ancistrus, adherent catfish and otocinkluses.

With swordsmen, rhodostomus and corridors, joint cultivation is allowed provided that a large aquarium is provided, which avoids competition for territory and food. It is undesirable to settle shrimps with cichlids, char, goldfish, gourami, scalars, barbs, boci and aggressive varieties of catfish. It is undesirable to place brightly colored and pale types of shrimp in one tank. Neighborhood can lead to their crossing and loss of color intensity.

About aquarium Cherry shrimp - their reproduction, keeping, feeding and compatibility with fish in the general aquarium can be found below.