# Breeding CRS in small tanks



## argblarg (Aug 7, 2006)

64 F seems really low. Someone posted that its easy to get a berried female but don't count your eggs until they have hatched (and I'm still waiting on my first CRS babies too). I don't see why they wouldn't breed in a small tank as long as your water is fine, but like you said, it is harder to keep parameters in check in a smaller tank, thus the recommendation for as big as you can.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Sorry, typo, that should've been 74. I'm only half way through my cup of coffee today


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

You haven't gotten them to breed until you raise the babbies. Don't speak too soon, you may jinx yourself.


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## aelysa (Oct 20, 2006)

Didn't Kang himself say he had a friend who has close to 100 CRS in a three gallon?


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## kangshiang (Jun 28, 2006)

hahahahaha....that's my friend not me.....
I could only do like this in 10G tank....


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

aelysa said:


> Didn't Kang himself say he had a friend who has close to 100 CRS in a three gallon?





kangshiang said:


> hahahahaha....that's my friend not me.....
> I could only do like this in 10G tank....


I hope my 10g CRS tank will be that nice soon (once I set it up:icon_lol: )

Solstice- Good luck! I really hope they make it!

-Andrew


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## tpl*co (Nov 4, 2006)

I hope my 20 gallon will look like that too soon 

Tina


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Here's a shot of my second pregnant CRS. I haven't been able to get a pic of the first one yet. But I've got two now!!!!  (trying...not...to get...hopes...up) :icon_wink


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## kangshiang (Jun 28, 2006)

Solstice said:


> Here's a shot of my second pregnant CRS. I haven't been able to get a pic of the first one yet. But I've got two now!!!!  (trying...not...to get...hopes...up) :icon_wink


Really nice .....:biggrin: Big tiger tooth....roud: 
Please share more photos with us....:icon_wink


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

kangshiang said:


> Really nice .....:biggrin: Big tiger tooth....roud:
> Please share more photos with us....:icon_wink


I was thinking the same thing! That looks like a great shrimp! Hope the babies look great as well!

-Andrew


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Ask and ye shall receive!!!! 

Here's the first pregnant one:


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

It's possible. Here's the one and only pregnant female in my 1.5 gallon (rest of them turned out to be males :icon_neut ).


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## aelysa (Oct 20, 2006)

That's a fantastic picture! You can see their little eyeballs


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## LGHT (Aug 21, 2006)

Wow great photos!! Can't wait to get my pics up!


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## Matteo_Italy (Aug 11, 2006)

hi!what's the name of the gravel???is it ada soil amazonia?
ciao


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Matteo_Italy said:


> is it ada soil amazonia?


Yep!


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## Matteo_Italy (Aug 11, 2006)

you didn't have any problema about the gravel?I read some post in wich someone told that CRS and ada soil in some cases is a dangerous situation...
Do you have some post that give me a "insurance" that that gravel is not dangerous?Maybe is a well know question,
bye!


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

With ada you just to to cycle, make sure there is zero ammonia when you introduce the shrimp. I use ADA amazonia for my high grade crystal tank.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Yeah, as ianiwane said, you may just have to wait a little longer for it to cycle. Some people have reported ammonia spikes after adding Aquasoil, but as long as you cycle your tank properly you won't have any problems.


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## mr.sandman (Nov 7, 2006)

WHoa shrimps have hair on their bottom?! I didn't know that. That is a great picture.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Got 4 pregnant shrimp now! I'm calling all you doubters out!!! Some of these have to hatch!  roud:


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## aelysa (Oct 20, 2006)

I think they like our San Diego water


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

Solstice said:


> Got 4 pregnant shrimp now! I'm calling all you doubters out!!! Some of these have to hatch!  roud:


nice, haha. But on my first batch of 5 pregnant crystals I had only one baby make it. You just never know until so see babbies survive.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

ARG! Ian! Just tell me they'll be ok! 

I just finished securing the filter with some filter foam and some pantyhose. Nothing will hatch for the next 2 weeks or so (see the positive attitued in action? ) but I figured it couldn't hurt to add it now.

BTW, being a 28 year-old guy asking where the pantyhose is at the grocery store with 2 boxes of instant oatmeal, thread, duct tape and condoms in your hand gets you strange looks. :hihi:


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

LOL.

I really wish you luck though! Then you can tell us what you did the past month or so, to get the babies to survive.


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## ianiwane (Sep 7, 2004)

As long as your water quality is good you will be ok. You may want to look into some elite replacement sponges. That is what I am using over my intakes. They work very well, they will not allow babbies to get sucked up.


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## aelysa (Oct 20, 2006)

Solstice said:


> BTW, being a 28 year-old guy asking where the pantyhose is at the grocery store with 2 boxes of instant oatmeal, thread, duct tape and condoms in your hand gets you strange looks. :hihi:


ROFL!
I was just at walmart buying a pair of pantyhose to cover the intake of one of my filters, and black was all sold out. The first thing I think of is... hmm, I wonder who else is having shrimp and fry...


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

> I was just at walmart buying a pair of pantyhose to cover the intake of one of my filters, and black was all sold out. The first thing I think of is... hmm, I wonder who else is having shrimp and fry...


:icon_conf :icon_neut :smile:   :icon_mrgr :hihi: Now I get it!


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

LOL!! What? NO tampons? hehe


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

CaN crystal shrimp do ok if the bottom tank was bare? an with plants.


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## turbomkt (Jun 9, 2004)

A bare bottom tank with moss is fine.


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## h20 plant (Dec 21, 2005)

Just keep up on those water changes with lower hardness. I have the crystal bees and I am just starting to see 5-7 larger babies or teenagers after about 5 months. I think part of it is that it takes time for them to really become acclimated. Now once the second generation starts to breed I think I will see more survivors. But it is true about counting your shrimp before they are hatched because if all my egg survived I would be over run by shrimp. Sorry its just a fact but getting them to breed is a good first step.

turbomkt- have you got your crystal bees to breed?


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## turbomkt (Jun 9, 2004)

Yeah, I've had a few come through. Nothing spectacular yet. I'm going to start back up with water changes in force when I'm done with this trip.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Hows everything going with the shrimp?

-Andrew


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

> Of course, keeping water parameters in line in small tanks is more difficult that it is in smaller tanks and* water quality is of the upmost importance* when breeding CRS, but overall it's been relatively painless. I do 25%-50% water changes twice a week, which in a tank this small takes me all of about 10 minutes.


I so agree with this!


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Fish Newb said:


> Hows everything going with the shrimp?
> 
> -Andrew


Good! The tank is at work so I always get a little nervous coming in Monday mornings to see how everybody is doing, but all 4 berried females are still holding their eggs. Tomorrow will be 2 weeks since I noticed the first berried female, so hopefully another week or two and there'll be babies swimming around


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

What do you guys treat your tap water with? Seachem Prime?


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## LGHT (Aug 21, 2006)

Tap water? Wow that's not an option for me here in LA I use RO all the time.


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

So you suggest using RO water for crystal shrimp?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Finch_man said:


> What do you guys treat your tap water with? Seachem Prime?


I personally just top off my water. I might do RO water when I first set up my 10g for CRS but untill then they are in my 55g.

-Andrew


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

I use 1/2 RO and 1/2 tap treated with Prime. Another alternative is to use RO and reconstitute it with Seachem Equillibrium, but I find the hardness of my water here with that mixture makes it easy to keep about 6GH/8KH which is working for me so far.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Hey I found my bee shrimp mating in my 2 gallon, so you're not alone! Hehe. I hope I get eggs soon. My cherry got eggs today, so I'm guessing the water is AT LEAST good enough for cherry pregnancy. I wish you luck! I just use Aquasoil to soften/acidify my water. No RO. Working great so far...

I can't wait until your babies come out! I have a very great feeling your babies will hatch... Just need them to survive!!


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## LGHT (Aug 21, 2006)

Well i'm not sure if you want to use all RO water or not. I just know the water in my area is treating with a TON of things and I would NEVER put any in a tank of CRS. I don't use all RO on my other tanks, but I do put that water through a 3 stage .99 micron filter that goes directly into the tank. I wanted to be extra safe with the CRS so only use RO water since they are more sensitive and it's only a 10 gallon tank.


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## aelysa (Oct 20, 2006)

Bah, I use tap treated with prime. Everyone's happy.


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

I don't have a RO unit but well this work if I go to the store and buy the drinking water that you refill. The machine says that the water is filter by a RO unit and uses a UV light.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Yeah, that's what I use in my 10g. I have 2 5gal bottles that I fill up every 3 weeks (lasts me 2 weeks worth of 50% changes) and works well. Note though that I don't use RO for anything other than lowering the hardness. San Diego water is ridiculously hard. If you don't have a reason to use RO, I don't think it's necessary.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

sandiegoryu said:


> I can't wait until your babies come out! I have a very great feeling your babies will hatch... Just need them to survive!!


Thanks Ryu! We'll have to trade stock when we both have good sized breeding colonies!


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## LGHT (Aug 21, 2006)

well I don't think RO water is mandatory, I have just learned the hardway that it's better to be safe than sorry so it's a small precaution that i'm willing to take, but that's just my preference.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

*Success!!!!!*

I found 2 baby CRS in the tank today! :biggrin: 

I'm sure there are more, but they're so tiny I haven't been able to spot them. They're hanging out in the Pellia in the back of the tank.

Pics to follow shortly... roud:


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

Congrad Sol!!! roud: Great news!! Happy for you!  With your first batch too!! WoooHooo!!


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

Solstice said:


> I found 2 baby CRS in the tank today! :biggrin:
> 
> I'm sure there are more, but they're so tiny I haven't been able to spot them. They're hanging out in the Pellia in the back of the tank.
> 
> Pics to follow shortly... roud:


Congrats man! That's awesome!!roud:


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

I demand pics! Sorry Solstice I can't join you in the CRS production in nano tanks. Two died. Two left :-(. If they prove to be male/female, then maybe there is some hope :-D.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Thanks guys! My budding is bringing his DSLR today, so I'll snap some pics if I can find the little guys. The two that I spotted yesterday have, of course, moved and I haven't found them again yet this morning, but I'll keep looking. It's got the office here in quite a stir, so I'm sure I'll have some help from co-workers roud:

Ryu, that sucks dude. We'll work something out after I have a generation or two.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Ok, pics as promised. My buddy doesn't have a macro lens so these shots were taken with a huge lens (I'm not a camera guy, don't ask) from about 4ft away from the tank. As such, focusing is just about impossible, but at least you can get a sense of scale from these shots and see how TINY these little guys are. I didn't have time to really clean the tank up, so these are just "normal" shots and not anything to show the tank off with. I was only able to find one this morning so here are a few shots of him:



















Here's a shot of the entire tank for size comparison:


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

Cool , very nice:icon_bigg !


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

Awhhhhhhhhhh... I see the lil candy canes!! You lucky dog you!!! I'm soooooooo jealous!! :tongue: Keep on breeding Sol!! :biggrin:


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## Finch_man (Mar 21, 2006)

Congrats, nice tank!!


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Man, it is on like Donkey Kong. I can look at just about any section of the tank now and spot at least 2 baby CRS. I'm estimating that I've got about 50 of them in there now, and 2 of the females are berried again. I guess once these guys get going, they're as prolific as cherries! 

I really need to move some of them to a larger tank. I think that'll be a priority for the week...


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

AWESOME!! Congrats Grandpa!

I had my berried CRS die... but all other CRS females now have saddles... So it's the waiting game now!

Is that pellia in the back?

-Andrew


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Sure is. With my RCS, the mommas hatched the babies in some java moss and the babies seemed to hang out there a long time. In this tank, they babies hatched in the pellia but spread out all over the tank really quick. Maybe they know they have no predators here....


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

I thought I'd bring this thread back just to show some pics. I looked in my tank on Friday and saw probably 40+ CRS babies all gathered together in a spot only 3=4" in diameter. It looked really cool, but by the time I ran out to the car to get my camera and came back in they had dispersed. Nonetheless, I thought I'd snap a few quick shots of my babies, so here they are:

A bunch-o-swimmers 









Hanging out in the Pellia and rocks (color distorted because I had to use the flash):









As always thanks for looking. I estimate there are about 60-70 babies in there now and more already on the way.


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

Nice pictures! I like the 'bunch-o-swimmers' picture


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## absinthe_fi (Nov 22, 2006)

beautiful pictures!


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

OMG!!! That sure didn't take long huh? Wow! Good job providing a place where they flourish!  Must be something in our San Diego water? hehehe

Ok Sol, where does the line begin to start buying?  hehehe

BTW, do you have a full tank shot posted yet? I see the pellia has taken off from the last pic you posted. I'd like to see an updated shot on your entire CRS tank there.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Hey Color!

There are a few full tank shots in the 3gal link in my sig, but nothing really new. I'll try to get some more up in the not-too-distant future. 

I have this tank at work and I actually already have a few co-workers lining up to buy some too!  Good to spread the hobby! 

If you'd like some, send me a PM. I will be selling most of these babies but probably not for another 3-4 weeks so they're a little bigger and a little hardier. 

I'm still trying to decide what I would like to sell them for. I'm not out to make a huge profit, but at the same time I need to make my investment back. I'm also a little back and forth on whether or not I'm willing to sell them for less than what I paid for (from Kangshiang). This has nothing to do with greed, simply the fact that I believe he is a fantastic vendor and I do not want to undercut his prices. I would like to offer them for less because I want other people to be able to enjoy them as much as I do, but at the same time, I'm a little uneasy getting great stock from Kangshiang and then potentially taking some of his business because my prices are a little cheaper.

I'll have to think about it for a day or two, but if anybody is intersted and would like their names on the list, please PM me.

EDIT: and Color, you're in SD so I would be more than happy to arrange pick-up and you'd save quite a bit on shipping right there. Shipping these guys is surprisingly expensive if you plan to offer a no DOA guarantee (which I will).


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## kzr750r1 (Jun 8, 2004)

Although I would love to get my hands on some my time is limited in the coming months. I have to be realistic.  Plus I'd have to set up an individual tank for these, I have some of the parts for the new shrimp tank but not the whole enchilada. Again a timing issue...

Thanks for thinking of us on the forum.

I love the look of the Pellia in contrast to the shrimp.


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

PM sent!


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Solstice those are awesome shots! I hope my CRS tank in the works can become that good! Will you be needing to trim your pelia any time soon? I'm probably going to need some:hihi: .

Thanks for sharing! And If you decide to sell them, I'm with you on keeping the price the same as what you bought. Can't give everything away:icon_wink (And plus, if you did it you would start ruining the market! :tongue: :hihi: )

-Andrew


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Thanks Andrew! Yes, I definitely need to unload some Pellia. I'm waiting until the shrimp get a little bigger so I don't accidently chop any in half while trimming the plants. I'll let you know as soon as it's a good time to trim.


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

Solstice said:


> Thanks Andrew! Yes, I definitely need to unload some Pellia. I'm waiting until the shrimp get a little bigger so I don't accidently chop any in half while trimming the plants. I'll let you know as soon as it's a good time to trim.


Alright sounds good. I could deffinatly trade some moss or pay you some, Let me know!

-Andrew


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## Haeun (Mar 9, 2007)

Wow, I just joined this forum because it had some awesome information, and I realized that you had CRS babies! And you live in San Diego! Where I live too! And I've been wanting CRS for a long time. 8) Awesomeness.

Any chance I can maybe swing by and buy a few CRS when you're ready to sell? Would save me shipping cost at least, considering how broke I am (yes, I'm a typical poor college student).


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## gabeszone247 (Jul 8, 2006)

I think any size tank you can breed CRS. I have a friend here in Japan that breeds CRS in 1gal tanks. The key is water changes weekly and water temp. This is coming from a book I'm reading written by a Japanese CRS breeder. He says you can keep up to 1000-1500 CRS in 15gal tank with good clean water.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Haeun said:


> Any chance I can maybe swing by and buy a few CRS when you're ready to sell? Would save me shipping cost at least, considering how broke I am (yes, I'm a typical poor college student).


PM sent. I'm always more than happy to meeting PT members face to face and will welcome any pick-ups. 

*Gabe*
Wow, that's incredible.


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

Man, looks like you are doing something right!!

I might get me some CRS since you're making it look so easy!


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## oblongshrimp (Jul 26, 2006)

Lets hope I have as much sucess with the ones I ordered


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## absinthe_fi (Nov 22, 2006)

my CRS tank is 13l...and so far, one of my females has given birth and there are 30+ baby shrimps walking around.  just in the past few days, 3 out of my 5 adult CRS are pregnant..so I'm guessing the other 2 are male 

Here's a picture of my tank, please don't mind the mess and lack of aquascaping..i dont' want to really disturb the tank when there's babies in there 



one of my pregnant CRS with some babies



one of the other pregnant CRS


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Well I really hope you start getting aquascaping soon absinthe_fi! I mean its an ADA tank for crying out loud! 

Well my wild bee shrimp is still holding onto her eggs. According to Silane at shrimpnow.com, this is the formula Incubation Period = 63 - (temperature in °C x 1.6), and it's been just 23 days at 25 degrees celcius! My heater is constantly heating at 25-26 degrees celcius. Nitrates are around 10 ppm when high. I hope I will get my shrimplets soon! I don't see nay changed behavior from my pregnant female. She's just in the sponge of the intake just sitting there as always, sometimes moving to the bottom of the sponge.

I just hope the offspring will survive! Any chance they will compete for food with RCS shrimplets?

Also does anyone know if wild x domestic bee shrimp = hybrid? or is it all wild? Or some of both? Some of both would be very nice :-D.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Nevermind, I found the answer to my question. Apparently, people crossbreed CRS with wild bee shrimp to widen the gene pool, and people actually get better color for the offspring. Well I have a C grade black diamond male and wild female. Which means, higher grade black diamonds I suppose!

Sorry for being OT.

And Solstice, that means I will get some black diamonds and maybe we can trade? :-D. Of course I will pay or trade for more because you have higher grades.


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Another question that I guess could be answered here. Well today this morning my wild bee had released her eggs and I saw two baby shrimp!!! I know they are hiding everywhere, like all other babies. Well how long does it take that you can call your tank shrimp breeding capable? 

My main question is, if the baby shrimp are alive right now, does it mean I have succeeded? or do I have to wait longer. Do they not die immediately?

Also another question. I have many cherry shrimp juvies/babies in there as well. I'm guessing that the baby bee's might starve over competition for food, so could I sprinkle in some baby fry food? The really small powder stuff that Hikari makes. I guessed that this would make food available for all.


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

I've never had any babies just up and die after hatching. And as far as the food competition goes, just toss in an extra pellet or half a wafer and they'll do fine. They'll scavenge and find food just fine and if they don't they'll pick at algae. You might consider feeding them some spinach that the larger shrimp can't just pick up and run off with....


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

My goodness demand has been high!!! I've completely sold out my first batch of shrimp without ever really advertising them (not in Swap-n-Shop at least). Unless there are cancellations, the first round is all gone. If anybody has to back out for one reason or another, I'll offer the shrimp to the followers of this thread before I post them in Swap-n-Shop. Thanks!


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

We're crazy about CRS! LOL They just look so darn cute! 

Sol: You have bees with your CRS, so have any bees been produced from your 1st batch? I was wondering how this worked actually. I figure there is a percentage of bees that would be produced from the mating of CRS and bees....true?


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

I only have 1 bee and he wasn't lucky enough to reproduce (poor guy :tongue: ). All of my babies are red/white CRS. They will evenutally interbreed, but I'm not worried about it. I like bees too and the genetic diversity will only make my stock stronger in the long run.


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## Color Me Blue (Nov 10, 2005)

Awwww..poor lil bee. LOL 

I was just wondering how to get more bees (besides the obvious of course-bee on bee). I have some bees too, but not high grade ones, probably B at best. I wonder if they too (their offspring) will improve with higher grade CRS?? Hmmmmmmmmm....I say yes? LOL


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## Solstice (Jan 9, 2006)

Yeah, they would...


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## dhavoc (May 4, 2006)

i keep about a 1 to 3 ratio of black diamond to CRS, though they are all A to S grade like the reds. most breeders add one or two to strengthen the genetic lines, me i just like them as much as the reds. when they breed i get about 1/3 black, 2/3 red so the population stays pretty constant.


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## adrianng1996 (Dec 1, 2009)

haha...good for you...i just bought 5 of them few days ago...1 of them died off 2 days ago ...but im also trying to breed them in a 3-5 gallon...hopefully they will.
cheers 

temp = 73-75
pH = about 7
plants = java moss,peacock moss,narrow leaf java fern
driftwood and bog wood and rocks
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/shrimp-other-invertebrates/97599-3-5g-crs-rcs-orange-shrimp.html


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

This is one hell of a resurrection... 

Wow... 

What a great thread this was...

-Andrew


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## adrianng1996 (Dec 1, 2009)

hey again,i just got a new tank for my CRS and CBS...its a 5 gallon with regular substrate and plants,i have 5 RCS(1 B grade,2 A grade,2 S+ grade) and 4 CBS ( all S+ grade )
but the temp in kinda warm...its about 25-27C...can they breed in that sort of temperature?
and they are just about 1/3 and half inches...so i guess i have to wait for them to reach about 0.8inches....i really hope that my CRS and CBS will have shrimplets ^^


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