Artificially Hatching Eggs .:. Information on artificially hatching Freshwater Aquarium Shrimp Eggs

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Artifically Hatching Shrimp Eggs

By Ryan Wood

Overview

One day I found a dead Blue Pearl Shrimp female with eggs still present. It was a disappointing sight but I decided to take action. After a few careful steps I managed to artificially hatch baby Blue Pearl Shrimp from the dead female Blue Pearl Shrimp. This is the second time that I attempted to artificially hatch eggs from a dead pregnant female. This was the first time I was successful.

First Attempt with Tiger Shrimp

The first attempt to artificially hatch were with Tiger Shrimp eggs. This first attempt was several months before the successful attempt with the Blue Pearl Shrimp eggs. I placed the Tiger Shrimp Eggs inside of a mesh bag and hung the bag inside of the Tiger Shrimp tank. I read that if you place the mesh bag in the path of flowing water it will help. Unfortunately the snails managed to get onto the bag, not inside of the bag, and literally sucked the eggs out of the bag like you would eat oysters. It was a failed attempt but a good learning experience. I do not recommend the mesh bag procedure for these same reasons.

Dead Blue Pearl Shrimp

One day while observing the tanks I discovered a dead pregnant Blue Pearl Shrimp. She had approximately 20 eggs in her undercarriage. I do not know how long she had been pregnant for nor how long she had been dead for. I suspect that she had been dead for less than 24 hours due to the fact that I routinely check my tanks and had not seen a dead female the day prior. I decided to give the "artificial hatching" another attempt. However, this time I opted to try another method using a separate container.

Separate Container

Due to the fact that the mesh bag was a failure I decided to try a different method. The main problem I felt with using a mesh bag was the threat of snails or other things that may eat the eggs. The mesh bag was not a good defense whatsoever. Instead of placing the eggs inside of the same tank I decided to use a separate container outside of the original tank. There were however a few reasons why I felt that using a separate outside container may not be successful. I was skeptical about using a separate container due to lack of water flow, temperature drop, stale water, etc. I decided to give it a shot anyways because I had nothing to lose.

Container Preparation and Use

I got a plastic container (one in the photo below ), which I frequently use for aquarium water use only (netting for packaging, etc.), so I know it is free of any chemicals/detergents that may containg contaminants. The shrimp eggs are extremely vulnerable so I did not want to risk having any contanimants or other outside influences damage the eggs. It is vitally important to make sure that there are no outside contaminants. Also I use a clear container so that I can observe the inside at all possible angles. I filled the contained to the water level you see in the same photo.

Simple Food Container

Separate Eggs from Female

After preparing the container and filling the water to the desired level it was time to perform the egg extraction from the female. There are several reasons why I decided to remove the eggs from the carcass. I did not want the rotting carcass of the female to produce too much ammonia nor did I want any potential disease to occur. The eggs needed to be completely isolated and in clean water. The female carcass must be separated from the eggs.

Egg Extraction

Preparation: It was now time for what would turn out to be the most difficult part of the entire artificial hatching process. It is definitely not as easy as you may think. I decided that during the egg extraction, I would perform the extraction abover the water filled container in case any eggs accidentally dropped. This way any dropped eggs would fall directly into the water and not come in contact with any other surface. Also, if I managed to get any eggs on the tweezers that I used during extraction, I would just dip the tweezers into the water and let the eggs slide off. It is extremely important not to touch the eggs with bare hands. The acid on your fingers certainly have the potential to permanently damage the eggs. Latex gloves may be a safe option but I did not have any at the time.

Gripping the Female: I removed the female from the tank with a net. I gripped her with a pair of tweezers on the head. I paid careful attention not to squish the eggs when gripping the shrimp. She was "mushy" so I had to be very delicate when handling her. You may think that the eggs of a pregnant female shrimp are not firmly attached, and they can fall off any moment. Trust me, this is not the case at all. They are all held together with a slime/mucus/glue-like substance. This "glue" also attaches to the females undercarriage. It is not an easy task to remove the eggs when they are glued together and attached to the shrimp body at the same time. I had to be delicate when removing the eggs, making sure not to rip the female apart in the process. If I ripped the female apart then I would have had nowhere to grip with the tweezers holding the shrimp. Without anywhere to grip the female it would have been nearly impossible to separate the eggs from the female.

Loosening and Removing Eggs: Once I had a firm but delicate hold on the shrimp with the tweezers I then used a plastic spoon to remove the eggs. Removing the eggs was very tedious. You have to gently loosen the eggs from the shrimp body. Patience is the key. Also, I decided not to attempt to individually separate the eggs from each other once. I left them in the mucus they were all attached to. I just wanted to get them off of the female. Using the spoon I slowly peeled the eggs away from the undercarriage and then into the water below. Once again, patience is vitally important during the process. Do not get frustrated.

Remaining Eggs: After carefully removing the eggs I was able to get almost all of them off and into the water filled container. A very few eggs were still tucked inside of the shrimp and it would have been almost impossible to extract them with the tools I had. I threw the female carcass away and inspected the eggs in the container. I carefully removed any leftover remnants of the female body. All that was left were the eggs stuck together with the mucus.

Isolated Eggs

Plan: Now that I isolated the eggs and they were safely inside of the container I ventured into the unknown. I came up with a simple plan... change 75% of the water every 3 days and refill the container with tank water to the same level as before water change. Also, during the week I would use the dropper (in the picture below) and spray the eggs in the water with tank water. Spraying the eggs was a way of refreshing the water, cleaning the eggs, and creating oxygen at the same time. The dropper is actually an Oral Syringe meant for feeding medicine to babies. You can find it at any local pharmacy.

Dropper

Container Placement: I stored the container right next to the tank to try my best to get the same conditions. I did not test the temperature of the water inside of the container so I do not know what it was. I also placed a lid on top of the container to prevent the air from making the water too cold. I did not snap the lid on, I just place it on top with a small crack left. The reason for not placing the lid on the container was to let some air exchange occur inside of the container.

Daily Routine: I continually checked the container, changed water, sprayed, smelled, and observed the eggs over the past 2 weeks. The water smelled "funny" but the eggs looked o.k. I suppose that the water smelled strange simply because it was stagnant. I compared the coloration and shape of the eggs in the container to the eggs on the live Blue Pearl Shrimp females that were also pregnant inside of the tank. I did not see much difference in coloration or shape so I stuck to the plan.

Success!

Baby Shrimp: Well I went to change the water one day, 2 weeks into the experiment, and there were shrimplets!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! I was shocked. I had heard of others successfully doing this, but I did not think I would get it to work. After looking back at the entire process it seems that keeping the eggs isolated, clean water, and care can help anyone be successful when trying to hatch eggs artifically without a female shrimp. After the original posting of this article there have been other hobbyists who have reported being successful using this same method. It works and I suggest everyone try it out if you find a dead pregnant female shrimp.

Photos: Below are photos of a few of the eggs as well as some of the newly born shrimplets.

Baby Shrimp in Container