Michi Henning wrote:
Hmmm... According to the description at
http://hem.bredband.net/micnor/breeding_yamato.htm,
that's not true:

Actually, if you bother to read the whole page:

In nature, adult Amano-shrimp live in mountain streams, but the larvae
are washed out into the sea, where they feed on marine plankton and
grow. After metamorphosis they migrate back up into the streams. We must
mimic this cycle in order to breed the shrimp. Therefore the larvae have
to be transferred to salt water as soon as possible, at the latest at
the 8th day after hatching, because after that they become unable to
live in fresh water - or in insufficiently salty brackish water, for
that matter. There is no need to gradually increase salinity, the larvae
have no problem being unceremoniously dumped straight into salt water.
To make the salt water, I would suggest using either filtered natural
seawater, or a quality commercial salt mix intended for coral reef
aquaria, e.g. Instant Ocean, which should be aerated vigorously prior to
use.

While there are numerous reports of Amano-shrimp reproducing in
freshwater, my own experiments at using pure freshwater met with total
failure. I believe most such reports are cases of mistaken identity
(e.g. Tow Fui's guide, which surely concerns some smaller species with
direct development, not Caridina japonica). Still, there are so many
trustworthy reports of spontaneous low-level reproduction in freshwater
aquaria that I must conclude that occasionally some larvae may survive
to adulthood even in pure freshwater.

One guide suggest that 17 ppt (parts per thousand) is a good salinity
for raising the shrimp, but when I first tried 17, and then 25 ppt, I
saw 97% losses in the first three weeks, with the bulk of losses
occurring day 8 and 9, and very slow growth. By contrast, when I used
full marine salinity (35 ppt), I have not had any noticeable losses, and
growth has been rapid. Another guide on the net who, like me,
experimented with different salinities come to the same conclusion: any
salinity below 30 ppt will result in heavy larval losses!

I've used an airstone with reduced flow for circulation. One guide
advised against this, on the grounds that the shrimp larvae get trapped
in the surface tension. With my first batches I had no such problem, but
with a later batch I did indeed experience losses because larvae got
trapped in the surface and died. The main difference was that I had not
changed water as frequently, and a surface film had formed. I removed
the film mechanically and increased circulation and airflow, and larvae
no longer got trapped. I also suggest frequent, small, water changes to
maintain water quality - I tried to change 20% every two days.

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Victor Martinez
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