A Detailed Guide to Ornamental Shrimp Breeding Methods and Technical Points

Ornamental shrimp is a general term for a class of shrimp with ornamental value, often favored by aquarium hobbyists for their beautiful appearance, becoming pet species kept in aquariums. So, how do ornamental shrimp breed?

1. How do ornamental shrimp breed?

Ornamental shrimp reproduce by laying eggs. There are many species, and their breeding methods are mostly similar, so here the cherry shrimp is used as an example. After the female shrimp matures, the male shrimp will mate with it; the male shrimp injects sperm into the female shrimp's reproductive organ, and the female shrimp's ovaries gradually develop and mature. When the female shrimp lays eggs, she squeezes out a small amount of sperm to achieve external fertilization, and then begins to carry the eggs. At first the carried eggs are golden yellow; if they turn black or green, it means the eggs have matured and the baby shrimp are about to hatch.

2. What kinds of ornamental shrimp are there?

There are 38 species of ornamental shrimp in total, including the cherry shrimp, black-shell shrimp, red swamp crayfish, extreme fire shrimp, Amano shrimp, Australian freshwater lobster, sky blue devil shrimp, bee shrimp, tiger stripe shrimp, golden giant hand shrimp, golden rice shrimp, wolf shrimp, slender white shrimp, tennis shrimp, red-nose shrimp, green crystal shrimp, dragon-striped crayfish, zebra shrimp, black devil shrimp, three-band bee shrimp, diamond shrimp, orange rice shrimp, blue moon lobster, white-headed bee shrimp, blue tiger shrimp, lean shrimp, Guangdong rice shrimp, Manning crayfish, Hong Kong, China wild rice shrimp, serrated Neocaridina shrimp, spiny-limbed Neocaridina shrimp, Zhejiang rice shrimp, star-spotted pearl shrimp, heteropod Neocaridina shrimp, hoof-limbed Neocaridina shrimp, red-gold-backed rice shrimp, Ryukyu Neocaridina shrimp, and blue diamond shrimp.

1. Cherry shrimp: adults are about 2 cm in body length; males are transparent with a slightly bluish tint, while females are bright red all over. Distributed in Taiwan, China, they are kept in planted tanks, will not harm other organisms, and can also clear away food debris and do detailed cleaning work on the algae attached to aquatic plants.

2. Black-shell shrimp: adults range from 2-3 cm in body length, with highly variable body color, and have two pairs of small chelae; the inner surface of the two fingers of each chela is concave, slightly spoon-shaped, and the tip of the spoon-shaped finger has brush-like setae. They live in clear streams in mountainous areas in various places, are very gentle in temperament, and their brush-like setae are an excellent tool for scraping and eating algae, which can suppress algae outbreaks in fish tanks.

3. Extreme fire shrimp: adults are 2.5-3.0 cm in body length, and the shell is opaque red all over. Distributed in Taiwan, China, they are kept in planted tanks, will not harm other organisms, and can also clear away food debris and do detailed cleaning work on the algae attached to aquatic plants.

4. Bee shrimp: adults are 2.5-3 cm in body length, with four black and white stripes interspersed across the body, resembling the markings on a bee. Distributed in the southern provinces of China, including Taiwan, China, they prefer clean water rich in oxygen and grow better at a water temperature of 16-28°C.

5. Zebra shrimp: body length can reach 12-20 cm, with black and white alternating patterns on the back, just like a zebra. They are extremely widely distributed, found along the coasts of China, and grow in low-temperature sea areas; they are slightly larger than ordinary prawns, with more delicate and firm flesh and richer nutrition.