Ten shrimpy pics

[geckodani]

All I can say is BRAVO!!!

 

[Gailey]

This really is the most awesome thread Kenny. In years to come and someone starts a thread on what the most memorable threads/stories were this is going to be right up there. I hope you keep this going with updates right into the next generation.

I love the pictures of the new babies. Are you still feeding Infusoria? At what point can you move them onto solids? When I had shrimp, they used to love a piece of courgette held down on a pebble with an elastic band.

I would love to see a picture of your camera set up. Is the lens right against the glass?

You know, I just might go out and buy some shirmp myself this afternoon, you''ve filled me with enthusiasm.

 

[kenny]

Date: 4/27/2010 2:56:20 PM
Author: Gailey
This really is the most awesome thread Kenny. In years to come and someone starts a thread on what the most memorable threads/stories were this is going to be right up there. I hope you keep this going with updates right into the next generation.
I love the pictures of the new babies. Are you still feeding Infusoria? At what point can you move them onto solids? When I had shrimp, they used to love a piece of courgette held down on a pebble with an elastic band.
I would love to see a picture of your camera set up. Is the lens right against the glass?
You know, I just might go out and buy some shirmp myself this afternoon, you've filled me with enthusiasm.

Thanks, I'll post updates as the kids reach milestones, like their first step, kindergarten, first trip to Disneyland etc.

Yes, raise some feeder ghost shrimp; just pick out a few of the most pregnant ones.
This has been so much fun and not expensive at all.

I have not gotten a successful infusoria culture but the Japanese Hikari First Bites seem to work well, are convenient, and do not raise Nitrate/Nitrite levels.
Today I'm buying bring shrimp eggs (aka sea monkeys) since the shimpette's mouths are now large enough.

The camera is a Nikon D200 digital SLR with my trusty 30-year old Nikkor 105mm f2.8 micro lens. (Nikon uses the term micro instead of macro.)
Between the lens and the body are two PK-13 extension rings.
They increase the magnification by moving the lens further from the body; they have no glass so they are cheap.

Although I'm pressed against the glass in this pic, all the pics were taken with the lens further from the glass, and handheld, with strobe stopping the movement of the shrimp and my hand.
With strobe you have to be careful to not be parallel to the glass to avoid reflection.
But you cannot be too far off axis because the aquarium glass blurs the pic; I recommend 5 to 10 degrees off axis.

This Nikkor 105mm lens is so groovy because you don't have to be right next to your subject at full magnification, rather you can be around 8 blessed inches away from it.
With the 55mm macro lenses you have to be about an inch away, which scares away little animals and does not let light in.
You can buy these razor-sharp old lenses very cheaply since they don't have autofocus; just make sure you have one of the new Nikon bodies that is compatible with these old lenses.
All my pics were obviously taken through cheap fuzzy aquarium glass, yet some are quite sharp.

 

[treefrog]

Date: 4/27/2010 2:56:20 PM
Author: Gailey

You know, I just might go out and buy some shirmp myself this afternoon, you''ve filled me with enthusiasm.

Me too... all this shrimp talk is making me hungry!

Don''t worry... I stay away from anything smaller than a 31/35 count.

 

[VRBeauty]

Any updates, Kenny?


I''m feeling shrimp-deprived!

 

[Indylady]

Kenny, I was wondering how this thread got to be six pages, until I saw the updated pictures! Lovely! This is definitely one to go down in PS history.

 

[that_someone_special]

P.s. Kenny, I have a Nikon D5000 and I''m wondering if you can recommend a macro lense that isn''t as much as the cost of my camera I love your pictures

 

[ladyciel]

Kenny, what you''ve done is amazing. Poor mama shrimp...

I have to wonder, though...

Let''s assume that 30 of these babies survive and grow up. Let''s say half of them are female. In how many days/weeks will you find yourself to have 15 mommys-to-be??

Dare I ask, "What then?"?

 

[HopeDream]

I''m loving this thread - thank you for all the excellent update photos!

 

[kenny]

Date: 5/5/2010 12:21:42 AM
Author: swedish bean
P.s. Kenny, I have a Nikon D5000 and I'm wondering if you can recommend a macro lense that isn't as much as the cost of my camera I love your pictures

Thanks SB.
Here is a link to a Nikon lens/body compatibility chart.
It is put together my Ken Rockwell who writes wonderful reviews of camera equipment.

Link

Nikon has made several "series" of lenses over the years.
Scroll down to see which lens series are compatible with your body.

It says your D5000 can use lenses from the following four series:
AF-S
AF-I
VR
G
Unfortunately your body is not as backwards compatible as some others are, so you apparently must buy a lens made after 1992.
If you can find it I'd strongly recommend a macro lens with the largest working distance possible.
Save money by buying a used one if you can, though it is more of a risk.

 

[kenny]

Date: 5/5/2010 1:06:09 AM
Author: ladyciel
Kenny, what you''ve done is amazing. Poor mama shrimp...
I have to wonder, though...
Let''s assume that 30 of these babies survive and grow up. Let''s say half of them are female. In how many days/weeks will you find yourself to have 15 mommys-to-be??
Dare I ask, ''What then?''?

I am teaching them Abstinence Only.

Seriously, we shall see.....

 

[kenny]

VR Beauty, the babies are doing beautifully.
They have been released into the 10-gallon tank and all moms were returned to the main 30-gal tank.
It is impossible to get an accurate count but I'm positive there are over 20 running around.
They are so cute and are really growing.

They hang out on the ground now and slowly roam the tank picking at the gravel.
When one is next to the glass I'll watch it with my loupe.
Once in a while one will get a hair up its butt, jump into the water column, and scamper all the way across the tank REALLY fast.
I'm not sure what prompts this since there are no predators in the nursery.

Another mystery is when one will take flight.
They just seem like they are gliding on currents, perhaps to apprehend floating food.
But it really really looks like a bird that takes off, flies around, and lands.
As they do this they will slowly spin as if they are having fun.
Magical really.

Now that their mouths are larger they can eat baby brine shrimp (BBS).
I made a brine shrimp hatching set up so they eat freshly-hatched BBS 5 times a day.
I have a few bottles on a rotating hatching schedule so the food is alwasy less than a day old.
This way the egg sacks on the BBS are still full so they are more nutritious.

Yes, I know, shame on me for feeding shrimp to shrimp.

And NO, I'm not going to set up tanks to save the BBS that I'm hatching as food.
I'll let one of you do that and hopefully you'll start a thread about it.

I'll get some pics up, tomorrow probably, and I have a surprise for y'all.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/5/2010 2:36:46 AM
Author: kenny
VR Beauty, the babies are doing beautifully.
They have been released into the 10-gallon tank and all moms were returned to the main 30-gal tank.
It is impossible to get an accurate count but I''m positive there are over 20 running around.
They are so cute and are really growing.

They hang out on the ground now and slowly roam the tank picking at the gravel.
When one is next to the glass I''ll watch it with my loupe.
Once in a while one will get a hair up its butt, jump into the water column, and scamper all the way across the tank REALLY fast.
I''m not sure what prompts this since there are no predators in the nursery.

Another mystery is when one will take flight.
They just seem like they are gliding on currents, perhaps to apprehend floating food.
But it really really looks like a bird that takes off, flies around, and lands.
As they do this they will slowly spin as if they are having fun.
Magical really.

Now that their mouths are larger they can eat baby brine shrimp (BBS).
I made a brine shrimp hatching set up so they eat freshly-hatched BBS 5 times a day.
I have a few bottles on a rotating hatching schedule so the food is alwasy less than a day old.
This way the egg sacks on the BBS are still full so they are more nutritious.

Yes, I know, shame on me for feeding shrimp to shrimp.

And NO, I''m not going to set up tanks to save the BBS that I''m hatching as food.
I''ll let one of you do that and hopefully you''ll start a thread about it.

I''ll get some pics up, tomorrow probably, and I have a surprise for y''all.

You aren''t????

 

[Tuckins1]

Kenny I just love to hear about your menagerie!

 

[VRBeauty]

Ooh boy -- sea monkeys!

Date: 5/5/2010 2:31:03 AM
Author: kenny

I am teaching them Abstinence Only.

Good luck with that!

 

[kenny]

Yeah, I've been lecturing them but I think they are ignoring me.

Maybe one way to control the population explosion is to only keep one gender.
I could give the others to my neighbors with Oscars.

But then in a year or two (their lifespan) I'd have no shrimpies.
BTW, the lifespan of shrimp bred to be sold as fish food is very short.
The babies I've raised will have longer lifespans, and their babies even longer.

Maybe I'll keep only one shrimp of one gender and 20 of the other.
If I did this which gender would be better to keep lots of, males or females?

Let's look at this from the point of view of the shrimp...
If you were a shrimpie, would you rather be one of 19 females trapped in a tank with one male or the only female trapped in a tank with 19 males?

 

[VRBeauty]

Date: 5/5/2010 4:07:07 PM
Author: kenny


Let''s look at this from the point of view of the shrimp...

If you were a shrimpie, would you rather be one of 19 females trapped in a tank with one male or the only female trapped in a tank with 19 males?

I think that would depend on whether you were a female shrimpy or a male shrimpy...

 

[Callisto]

Oh my gosh I hadn''t been through this thread since it first started and I just sat and read the whole thing. Seriously what a soap opera you have in those tanks! Very informative and entertaining though. I love having fish but I hate watching them die. I had a few fish over the course of a year on my desk a few years ago and just couldn''t keep them alive very well. My boss has 2 fish tanks that I monitor pretty regularly that I enjoy. I tried to save a sick one earlier this year and his health improved so dramatically when I moved him to the other tank (with no other big fish to compete with) and then he was just dead one day... wah wah. At least he didn''t seem to suffer much.

 

[kenny]

I finally got a pic of a shrimp exoskeleton right after a molt.
Shrimp grow but their shells don't, so when they outgrow it they literally crawl out out their skin.
My goal is to get a pic of this but it happens at night.

It hinges open between the head and the body.
Their new shell is soft for a day, during which they hide since they are very vulnerable to attack.

BTW look at that tiny creature in the middle of the pic next to the left edge.
I think it is a rotifer, little pond wigglies that are great food for shrimp.
They must have come from eggs on the plants.
They're multiplying, which I think is a sign of a healthy tank - and they are free shrimpie food.

 

[kenny]

Close up of above pic to show Rotifer on the left.
They look a little like freshly-hatched ghost shrimp but are a third the size and move with weird fast jerky motions.

 

[Cehrabehra]

wow kenny - how long until they are all in general population?

Personally I''d rather be with a lot of women - that testosterone could get overwhelming lol Of course only one female means slower propagation but if she died - none whatsoever lol

 

[Diamond*Dana]

Kenny, I have enjoyed this thread very much, your pictures are awesome!

 

[Tuckins1]

Neat!

 

[Maddie3]

I was feeling really out of sorts until I came across this thread. Thanks for putting a smile on my face, Kenny.

 

[kenny]

I feel ill.
I was about to post some updated pics.
Another female became preggers so I moved her into the maternity tank with around 30 thriving growing babies.

The next day there is one, perhaps two babies left.
I read in many places that adult shrimp, if well fed - and she was, don't bother babies.

This really should not bother me so much.
It is just nature.
They are just cheap shrimp.
Still, I feel ripped off and angry.

I was sooo looking forward to them growing up and keeping the offspring, then keeping their offspring.
Now I'm not sure if I want to keep her spawn or not.

 

[Tuckins1]

Oh no, Kenny!! Poor shrimp babies!

 

[Cehrabehra]

I''m really sad for you and all of them... the only non emotional thing I can say is - survival of the fittest - thankfully there are still a couple of the strongest still around! Don''t let them near all of these bitches. Think of it this way - maybe all of the ones still alive are from the dead mama that was killed - and WTF is wrong with these things?? Freaking cannibalistic meanies!!!!

 

[kenny]

Update.

I had another batch of babies growing and after great effort and love I finally got four almost up to maturity.
They were almost large enough to introduce to the main tank with the goldfish and their ancestors.
That's when the nursery tank got a hydra infestation.
The hydra must have hitched a ride on Java Moss.
I did not take this pic.
In fact I too NO pick of the dang hydra. I was demoralized and pizzed!



I introduced a Pear gourami to their tank to address a hydra invasion.
I read it is the only fish that will eat hydra.
The hydra multiplied like crazy when I fed my baby shrimp freshly-hatched baby brine shrimp, aka sea monkeys.

That dang gouirami ate my 4 kids.
I was sure they were large enough to dodge the gourami.
I was wrong.

More shrimpie drama.

Anyway fast forward to today.
6 new babies hatched last Saturday and 16 more just hatched tonight.
I've been up late (it's now 1 AM) transferring them to that floating cloth-net-nursery thingie and feeding them.

So my friends, once again I beseech thee for shrimpie dust.

 

[Tuckins1]

I was wondering how the shrimp were doing... Too bad about those babies! Please post more pics when you can. It's such a cool and unusual hobby, raising shrimp.

 

[kenny]

Thanks.
Last night between catching babies I noticed a bump under a mother shrimp so I grabbed my camera.
Here are pics of the underside of mom's belly during the birth process.

Under her belly are things called swimmerets.
They are how shrimp propel themselves and she moves them even when she is standing still to oxygenate the eggs.

In the first pic, just left of center, you can see her inserting a leg between two swimmerets, apparently to assist the hatching of an egg.
Hanging down in the background just to the left of that, out of focus, is a baby's head that is emerging from an egg.