Sexy Shrimp Breeding Project

I did construct a kreisel in a prior attempt, but I used black plastic, and it was too hard to see the larvae and separate them from the brine shrimp when I was cleaning. Also, the water exchange area kept drawing in the larvae, and they got trapped against the screen. However, that shouldn't keep you from trying it--I just didn't do a good job constructing mine.

This website has another nice kreisel example. It will also show you how to decapsulate brine shrimp, which is what the larvae eat. Decapsulating the cysts before you hatch them will insure a clean, quick hatch.

As for filtration--none. Water quality is maintained through water changes. This is the source of most of my issues at this point. The water gets bad pretty quickly, but I can't figure out a way to have filtration and not suck up the larvae. I'm going to put more thought into my larvae tank when this batch either settles or dies.
 
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As anticipated, my out of town trip continues to take its toll. I lost about 80 or so larvae overnight, and I believe more are dead--I just can't get them out. Unfortunately, my technique for removing dead brine shrimp and larvae involves just sucking them out with a turkey baster. Usually, I grab up some live ones as well, which then have to be separated from the dead, sucked back up w/a turkey baster, and re-deposited in the larvae tank. I'm pretty certain this brutal treatment kills a dozen or so every day.

The dead:
5461733704_6d267d6917_b.jpg
 
To prevent trapping against the screen, it recommends a very slow flow, a wide mesh area, and placing the light directly above the larval chamber.

Why not a bit of liverock in the filtration chamber? Sandbed? Cheato? Or will that contaminate the larval chamber?

I wonder if anyone has ever tried a water wheel instead of a pump.

edit: Thanks for the link; that's a great design.
 
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I think it would be great to have biological filtration in the reserve area of the kreisel. I just threw my system together quickly, and didn't give it much thought. When I get through with this batch, I'm going to spend some time constructing a larval tank which will function appropriately. I figure, if I can get even one shrimp to maturity this time, I'll have enough information to move forward in developing a more sustainable and stable rearing system.
 
Ah, proof of concept. Sensible.

For the same reason, I was thinking of starting with just setting up my 10g, cultivating some phyto, and throwing in a nerite snail, just to get a feel for cultivating phyto and determining concentration. Then I want to move on to sexy shrimp, using a kreisel.

If all goes well, I want to move on to Blue Velvet Nudibranchs and see if I can't solve the puzzle of what makes them settle and cue. I don't expect to succeed at that mind you, as I know others much more knowledgeable than I have tried and thus far all have failed. But I do intend to experiment, because I hate flatworms and chemicals both and would really love to crack the BVN code.

It's a fun direction for me to take this hobby in any event. :)
 
Nicely put--crack the code.
I feel that if one larva settles and becomes a shrimp, then I've succeeded. After that, it's just a matter of refining my system. Keep me informed about your progress with BVN. That sounds like a tough one.

BTW, getting even one shrimp out of this is not a foregone conclusion. I've had 60% of my larvae die in the last 24 hours, and I'm not sure if I can get the water parameters back in line before I lose the rest. Unfortunately, since I don't have any biological or mechanical filtration, a small change in conditions can lead to catastrophe. However, I feel certain that with a bit of planning and the right equipment, raising sexy shrimp would be fairly easy.
 
Skimmers are avoided in these setups, tho I'm not entirely sure as to why. Seems like one could put a nano skimmer in the filtration compartment. I must be missing something. HOBs are common, but why not an air driven sponge filter?

Do you know which parameter is having the worst impact? Ammonia, Nitrate, Ph, Phosphate?

I'm thinking of putting liverock in mine. Not sure about an SSB, but I bet it would help keep Ph stable. Cheato seems too slow to be an effective nutrient sink and would only compete with film algae, which might be more desirable anyway.

The example in the link I posted is actually connected to the primary system via the sump. My primary system is in my living room, so that's not an option, but I'll need a separate tank for the breeders anyway, so why not connect the kreisel to that? Then all the natural filtration can be handled by the breeder and a nano skimmer placed in the filtration compartment. What do you think?
 
I would think a mechanical filter with a sponge for bacteria would be ideal. I also think live rock would be good. In fact, given that the larvae have survived for 8 days in my bare-bones set-up, I think many different schemes could work and that all would be an improvement.

Ammonia is definitely the culprit, and I think salinity swings are my secondary issue. I haven't measured the rest because frankly, I'm not committed to doing anything about them. I must admit that I'm not approaching this in the spirit of rigorous scientific inquiry.

The fact is, I'm a dabbler, and I've only gotten this far because I'm fairly disciplined and I have no commercial ambitions, so it's all just been an amusing experiment.

It would definitely be smart to hook to a primary system. Unfortunately, I've just got AIO nanos, so there's no sump or easy way to hook in. I could do it w/a hang-on overflow and a small sump, but it seems like a lot of trouble at this stage in the game . You've got the right idea to build the brood stock tank and the rearing tank at the same time instead of cobbling them together as an afterthought.

I wish I could offer you more definitive information, but I'm in a holding pattern right now. I've got an out-of-state conference in 22 days--just about the exact time these larvae will settle if any survive. I'm going to try to build a kreisel and have it ready so that I can collect a fresh spawn at the end of March and try it again.
 
I've still got several dozen who seem pretty lively. Here's a picture of one. I'm not sure if there have been any further physical developments or not. It's a bit subtle at this point...

5467637471_aa69e35ae5_z.jpg
 
jayelbloack, that is pretty cool that you are having success. I'm on my second try with the larva that my female sexy released. I was able to capture all the larva by removing it about an hour before she released them 2 nights ago. I have at least a good 200 of them. This time I'm really prepared. I will be following your thread, good luck.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. Unfortunately, the larvae never seemed to recover from my weekend out of town. I may have 4 or 5 still alive, but they don't look strong. I'm going to wait until my travel obligations end in mid-March and try again. Between now and then, I will be building a kreisel which will provide more stable conditions and allow me to spend a night away without a tank crash.
 
I think I'm going to use low density polyethylene sheet instead of a jug . I'm fortunate in that my work involves fabrication with lots of different materials (sheet plastics, resins, carbon fiber), so I can use my lab and the scraps to build the kreisel. I'm an orthotist/prosthetist, which means I custom fabricate braces and prosthetic limbs, and provide the clinical care for people that need them. Our sheet goods and polymers are ideal for the reef-keeping hobby as well, and I have a nice shop with tools appropriate for cutting and finishing plastic.

As for the screen, I've ordered some 500 micron and 1000 micron mesh off amazon, and i'm going to experiment with which size provides the right flow and water exchange. I looked at the jelliquariums, and that's what they use, so I'll see if it works for me.
 
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Don't get your hopes too high--it may not be that spectacular. I've still got some research to do.

On the bright side, it should be relatively cheap to produce; maybe $35 in supplies exclusive of the pump...
 
From what I've seen, the more expensive ones have an acrylic tank and all acrylic baffles and parts that are chemically welded. Mine's going to start with a cheap-o ten gallon tank and be held together with a lot of silicone. I'll do the cleanest job I can, but it's still going to look pretty ghetto.
 
jayelblock, I'm trying to keep it simple this time around with my breeding setup. Just a tall cylinder, with a heater, and air pump keeping everything in suspension. 3 days so far and no loss, still have 200 or so larva floating around and actively eating. Here is a video.

VIDEO
Maximize the youtube screen and set to 1080p and you will be able to differentiate the shrimp from the artemia.
 
pj--nice, clean set up. I will definitely be tracking your project. I'm desperate to start another batch, but I need to put what I've learned to use. If you start your own thread, let me know. I think we should have a breeders' consortium where we work on things together and share our innovations. That the idea behind MOFIB, but no one has been working on sexy shrimp recently.
 
Thanks pj. I had looked at all those before, but I continue to review them. I'm bummed that my shrimp made it 2 weeks. One more week and they would have been close to settling. Can't wait to try it again after my travel for work is over (March 19th).
 
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