Help, breeding whisker shrimp?

[Docsoldlady]

I have a community tank with 4 whisker shrimp there are other community fish in there with them. 2 mollies, 2 blk skirt tetra, 3 blk phantom tetra, 1 oto, 1 bamboo shrimp, a couple ghost shrimp, 3 bb gobies, and amano shrimp (2) but I never see them.

One of the whisker shrimp has been hiding a lot recently. I saw the green in her head. Now she has "saddled" I guess is how you would put it. She has green eggs she is carrying. What do I do? I would love to see the fry live but I don't know if they need brackish water, if I should remove her and put her in her own tank, if the other fish will eat the babies. Is there a larval stage? Do they come out as small adults like with cherry shrimp? I am sooooo lost can someone help me? Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

 

[Veneer]

A couple of different species of Macrobrachium are probably being imported from India as "whisker shrimp", but most of them seem to be M. lamarrei or a closely related species. You should isolate the berried shrimp in another aquarium with a sponge filter. It'll release 80-300 larvae, which will float about in the water column but soon develop into benthic post-larvae (miniature adults), probably within 48 hours. I would return the female to the main tank at this point. While larvae, the young will probably feed on microorganisms; green water should be good. After settling into post-larvae, they can be fed on crushed flake food. Shelter should be provided to minimize cannibalism.