# What do amano shrimp eggs look like?



## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Anyone?


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Just like Cherry Shrimp, the egg colors differ. At my LFS, I saw some with brown eggs. So yours isn't a problem.

Btw, they have THOUSANDS of eggs (literally), but the young need brackish conditions to survive so they probably won't survive.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Yeah, I know they won't survive, but the eggs looked so different that I wanted to be sure they were eggs and not some disease or something.

The eggs on my amanos also look extremely large, somewhere around 1/8" - 1/4" diameter. It's like they're carrying a dozen rocks instead of a hundred tiny eggs.

Just so weird.

I guess if they are eggs (what else could they be?), when they hatch, they'll be food for the fish. Nothing like having shrimp feeding your fish extra snacks now and then!


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## skoorbza (Jun 8, 2008)

Complexity, I'd be interested to hear how this ends. I looked all over the web for a picture of an amano shrimp with such large, dark eggs, and didn't find anything. Nor did I find a mention of anything but light-colored eggs (white, green, yellow, gray, tan). Please let us know!


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I will. I'm going to try to get a better picture with the eggs in focus, if at all possible. It might be that I'm seeing just the shadow of the eggs? But even if that's the case, why are they clumped in what appears to be large balls? This isn't how the eggs are arranged on any other shrimp I've had. The eggs were always individual balls, not clumped together to form a larger ball.

All I find about amano shrimp is that they eat algae and require salt water for their babies to go through various larval stages. But I haven't found much that talks about egg production and development. I'm also trying to understand why, after having amanos for somewhere between 6-9 months, this is the very first time I have ever seen this.

Tomorrow, I'll try to see if one of the amanos will cooperate and let me get a good picture of her with my bright lights turned on. If I can get a better picture, that might clear up the mystery.


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## Rev2eight (Jan 11, 2008)

Ive got one right now thats carrying around eggs that look exactly like yours. I thought it was strange too since my cherries carry around tiny yellow eggs and here she is with these big black things in her pouch


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

So you're seeing it too? Is it possible we're seeing some kind of shadow of the eggs? But even when the female moves them, it looks like the "balls" are connected and not just a bunch of small eggs.

I've thought that maybe I'm seeing a shadow with the edges of the amano's exoskeleton giving the illusion of larger balls since that the exoskeleton is curved in that area.

I have another 1.5 hours before my lights come on, and then I'll see if I can get a better picture. I think that's the only way I'll resolve my curiosity. Because if these are just eggs, I'll never know it once she releases them into the water. They'll just die while their too small for my eyes to ever find in that large of a tank.


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## klumsyninja (Apr 16, 2008)

I always have at least one Amano that looks exactly like the one you showed... I'm wondering if because it's not in brackish water they die before they hatch and thats why they're dark.

Otherwise, it may be worth our while to start up a nano brackish Amano tank for babies.. drop em in when they show like this.


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## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

Adult Amano Shrimp do not do well in Brackish water at all. Only the larva need salt water!


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## kutothe (Apr 9, 2003)

Rev2eight said:


> Ive got one right now thats carrying around eggs that look exactly like yours. I thought it was strange too since my cherries carry around tiny yellow eggs and here she is with these big black things in her pouch


I've got a female that looks the same right now as well. Seems like it must be a normal thing


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Okay, looks like it's normal then. I'll still try to get a better picture, but I'm going to chalk this one up to an optical illusion due to the amano's body casting a shadow on the eggs and the scalloped exoskeleton on the amano's side.

Copy that, Watson? 

As far as brackish water, it is my understanding that none of the adult form amanos do well in salt. However, once the babies are born, they are then washed into sea water, not brackish water, where they develop. Once they develop into their adult form, they swim back into freshwater.

So it's only the larval form that can handle the salt, never the adult form. At least that's my understanding of it.

There are questions in which some people have reported finding new, baby amanos in their tanks (adult form) without having done anything in regards to salt. However, others say they must be mistaking their amanos for ghost shrimp. I can't possibly imagine how the two can be mistaken for each other.

Another explanation is that there's supposed to be some mystery amano that is very similar to the real amano by appearance, but can breed in freshwater alone. However, if such a mystery amano was around, wouldn't the scientist — if not a multitude of breeders! — have discovered, examined and properly named such a shrimp by now?

Whatever the case, I adore my shrimp. And these surprise eggs (or whatever they are) are a fun addition to my enjoyment.


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## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

The Amano stories of breeding in 100% freshwater are just myth or shrimp identity confusion.



> However, if such a mystery amano was around, wouldn't the scientist — if not a multitude of breeders! — have discovered, examined and properly named such a shrimp by now?


Simple answer! NO. There are very few scientists that study Dwarf Shrimp. There are MANY species of shrimp that have not been described and I am sure there are a few that resemble Amano Shrimp.


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