How to Breed Red Nose Shrimp

Red nose shrimp have a long and bright rostrum, which resembles a nose and points toward gravel as it searches for bits of algae to eat. While the main source of food is algae, the shrimp will eat fish food, shrimp wafers and catfish wafers. Each shrimp can grow to between 2.5 and 3.5 centimeters. Despite its tiny stature, red nose shrimp aren't shy like other shrimp, making them a more social option for shrimp breeding.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 fish tanks
  • 2 aquarium filters
  • Air stone
  • Water
  • Java moss
  • Lamp
  • Aerated marine water
  • Conductivity meter
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Instructions

    • 1

      Pour water into a tank. Place a filter inside and plug it in. Put an air stone just underwater. An air stone will limit the damage to larvae by agitating the water's surface.

    • 2

      Place a small handful of Java moss in the tank to avoid cycling the tank.

    • 3

      Set up an identical breeding tank. Identify a pregnant female by looking for noticeable swelling; transfer the pregnant female to the breeding tank. Alternatively, if you know the sex of your shrimp, you can put a male-female pair in the breeding tank and wait for the female to become pregnant; in this case, remove the male once the pregnancy is visible.

    • 4

      Remove almost all of the Java moss from the breeding tank once the pregnant female is isolated. The female won't hold her eggs for very long -- only 10 days or so -- before laying them.

    • 5

      Remove the female once the eggs have hatched.

    • 6

      Keep a light on the breeding tank both day and night to grow the algae. Remove the rest of the Java moss or it will start to damage the water quality.

    • 7

      Remove about a liter of water every day and replace it with aerated marine water, which you can buy at many pet stores. Continue to do this until the salinity of the water is 17 parts per thousand. Measure the salinity by placing a conductivity meter in the water and reading the display.

    • 8

      Keep the water temperature between 72 and 80 degrees F.