How to Breed Coral Shrimp

The banded coral shrimp (Stenopus hispidus) is a favorite shrimp in the reef-keeping hobby. It is a large, active shrimp with bright red and white bands across its body. The shrimp will mate in the home aquarium but raising the larvae is extremely difficult, even for professional breeders. Invertebrate larvae are not like fish fry and require extra care and attention. Although the coral-banded shrimp will mate in an aquarium, the larvae are usually eaten by other fish and corals, sucked into the filtration system or removed by a protein skimmer.

Things You'll Need

  • Breeding aquarium
  • Rearing aquarium
  • Mated pair of coral-banded shrimp
  • Live rock
  • Argonite sand
  • Small light
  • Aquarium air pump
  • Limewood diffuser
  • Live baby brine shrimp
  • Finely crushed flake food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up a dedicated breeding aquarium for the coral-banded shrimp. The temperature of the water should be 75 degrees, the pH should be 8.2 and the specific gravity should be 1.024. You will also likely need to use iodine supplements. Add live rock and create a cave in which the shrimp can hide. Use argonite sand or aquarium gravel for a substrate.

    • 2

      Set up a 10-gallon rearing tank with no rocks, substrate or filters. Use an air pump with a limestone diffuser set on the lowest setting to provide a very slow current. Cover the front, back and sides of the rearing tank with black plastic to prevent light from entering. Leave the top open and place a light above the water. The water parameters of the rearing tank should be the same as the breeding tank.

    • 3

      Select a mated pair of coral-banded shrimp and add them to a dedicated aquarium. You can find mated pairs at some local fish stores and online. Coral-banded shrimp are territorial and will kill each other if they are not mated pairs.

    • 4

      Feed the shrimp a variety of meaty foods. Coral-banded shrimp are carnivores and will accept chopped fish or shrimp, blood worms, brine shrimp and other meaty frozen foods. The shrimp must be well-fed to produce viable larvae.

    • 5

      Add a small light over one area of the aquarium and turn off the other lights when the female has an egg-sack. The larvae will be attracted to the light and will be easier to remove.

    • 6

      Scoop the larvae from under the light with a clean cup and transfer it to the rearing tank.

    • 7

      Feed the larvae of the coral-banded shrimp baby brine shrimp and finely crushed meaty flake food in small quantities up to 10 times a day. Some sources suggest having a continuous supply of food entering the rearing aquarium.

    • 8

      Keep the water in the rearing tank free from ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The constant addition of food will cause these levels to spike very quickly. You may need to use an ammonia sponge in the tank to absorb ammonia and prevent it from becoming nitrite.

    • 9

      Siphon any uneaten food from the bottom of the rearing tank with air-line tubing. The small tube will help ensure you do not suck in the larvae. You should do this several times daily to prevent the food from rotting and spoiling the water.

    • 10

      Transfer the larvae that have metamorphosed into small coral-banded shrimp to grow-out tanks. Mated pairs may form and the shrimp may become aggressive with each other. Keep them separated. Grow-out tanks are small aquariums or shallow trays connected to a filtration system.

    • 11

      Continue to feed the coral-banded shrimps meaty foods until they are about 3/4 inch long. At this point you should be able to sell or trade them to a local fish store.