Hey there! I’m Thomas an aquarium enthusiast who’s been keeping shrimp for over 8 years. Today we’re gonna dive into one of the most asked questions in the shrimp-keeping community – do shrimp eat their babies? Let me tell ya, the answer isn’t as scary as you might think!
The Quick Answer
Yes, shrimp can eat their babies, but it’s not as common as people think! In my experience, it usually only happens when something’s not quite right in the tank.
Why Do Shrimp Sometimes Eat Their Babies?
From what I’ve seen in my tanks and heard from other shrimp keepers there are a few main reasons
- Hunger Issues: When adult shrimp aren’t getting enough food, they might see babies as snacks
- Stressed Out Shrimp: Poor water conditions or overcrowding can make adults more likely to munch on the little ones
- Limited Space: Small tanks can force adults and babies to compete for resources
- Tank Problems: Sudden changes in water parameters can make shrimp act weird
How to Stop Your Shrimp from Eating Their Babies
Here’s what’s worked for me to keep my baby shrimp safe:
1. Feed Your Shrimp Right
- Provide varied diet with proteins and vegetables
- Feed small amounts multiple times a day
- Use specialized shrimp foods
2. Create Safe Spaces
- Add lots of moss and plants
- Use fine-leaved plants like Java Moss
- Include hiding spots like ceramic tubes or driftwood
3. Maintain Good Water Quality
- Check parameters weekly
- Keep temperature stable
- Do regular water changes
4. Consider Separation
If you’re really worried, you can:
- Move pregnant females to a breeding box
- Set up a separate nursery tank
- Use mesh dividers in your main tank
When Do Baby Shrimp Face the Most Risk?
In my tanks I’ve noticed these critical periods
- First 24 hours after hatching
- During their first molt
- When they’re learning to forage
Pro Tips from My Experience
Here’s what I’ve learned from years of breeding shrimp:
- Don’t panic if you see fewer babies than expected – they’re probably just hiding!
- Feed more when you notice berried (pregnant) females
- Leave algae growing in the tank – babies love it
- Don’t clean the tank too thoroughly when you have babies
Signs Your Shrimp Colony is Happy
You’ll know you’re doing things right when:
- Adults are actively foraging
- Females are regularly berried
- You spot baby shrimp on tank walls
- The colony keeps growing
Common Mistakes to Avoid
I’ve made these mistakes so you don’t have to:
- Overcrowding the tank
- Overfeeding (which pollutes water)
- Moving decorations too often
- Keeping aggressive tank mates
Final Thoughts
While shrimp eating their babies sounds scary, it’s really not common in a well-maintained tank. I’ve successfully raised hundreds of shrimplets by following these simple guidelines. Remember, happy adult shrimp usually means happy baby shrimp!
Got any questions about keeping shrimp? Drop them in the comments below – I’d love to help out fellow shrimp keepers!
Would you like me to explain anything in more detail?
Feeding your baby shrimps
In the first few days of life, newly hatched baby shrimp almost do not move from the spot where they left the mother. This behavior can have life-threatening consequences. They can starve to death if there is no food around them. Even sufficient food is no guarantee for successful feeding if there is none in the specific position.
This can be the case with newly set-up and well-maintained aquariums, where every tiny biofilm coating on hardscape and glass is immediately removed. Baby shrimp also feed on biofilm, which is formed in every aquarium. Still, the development of this food source takes time. Therefore, it is advisable to always add specialized baby shrimp food to aquariums that are running for less than six months. Moreover, supplementary bacterial products, such as GlasGarten BacterAE, can be added to increase and stabilize the biofilm.
The food should have the right size and composition for the small shrimps to contain all the necessary nutrients. For this reason, we rely on the GlasGarten Shrimp Baby Food. Depending on how strong your filtration is, a large part of the food may be sucked in directly by the filter.
It is, therefore, advisable to switch off the filter shortly before feeding and keep it this way for about 15-20 minutes. In case of doing so, remember to switch the filter back on; set an alarm clock! This way, the food can settle and has a much better chance of reaching the hungry babies. To make it more targeted, use a pipette to distribute the food.
A few leaves are also quite useful for a shrimp aquarium because dried leaves such as Catappa leaves are a good shrimp food that does not pollute the water. The leaves also release important tannins and humic substances into the water, which are beneficial for the shedding process of your shrimp.
There are a few things we can actively do to increase the survival rate of tiny baby shrimps significantly.
Predators – All livestock species, mainly fish, which feed on carnivorous food, are fundamentally not averse if baby shrimps end up on their menu. It can be assumed that whatever fits into a fishs mouth and does not disappear fast enough will be eaten. Therefore, inform yourself beforehand if you want to socialize dwarf shrimp with other creatures. Like most Boraras species, small-bodied fish are a healthy choice because even small baby shrimp wont fit into their tiny mouths. Except for the predatory Anentome helena, many snail species like Vittina waigiensis, Clithon corona, or Ramshorn snail can also be kept wonderfully with dwarf shrimp.
This category includes filters, water-changing equipment, and skimmers. Among all technical components, some aquarium filters and explicitly their suction point can be titled as baby shrimps number one mortal enemy. Even adult shrimp are not always able to avoid this danger altogether. If you keep shrimp, providing your filter inflow with suitable protection guards is recommended. For filter inflows, there are special filter guards in different sizes. Also, some internal filters, like the Dennerle Nano corner filter, have separate suction guards. Suppose there is no suitable protection device for your filter. In that case, you can also cover and protect most suction sites with a nylon stocking.
Water changes are both a blessing and a curse for tiny shrimp. The joy of fresh water is great, but the siphoning of the water must first survive without damage. The shrimp babies are sometimes easily overlooked and involuntary journey through the suction hose. If the water lands in a bucket first, there is still a chance of rescue, but if the extracted water lands directly in the drain, there is no coming back.
There is no optimal solution here because, with a water change, we would like to remove the water and from the bottom as much organic waste as possible. Assuming you tie a fine-mesh nylon stocking in front of the suction pipe. The suction of waste particles is challenging.
Also, aquarium skimmers are tasked with keeping the aquarium water surface clean, but they can become a source of danger for all shrimps. Like the aquarium filters, there are suitable guards for some skimmer models so that, at best, no livestock gets sucked into them. Nevertheless, it is advisable to control the skimmer with a timer so that inactive periods occur. At least stronger shrimps can then crawl out of the skimmer device.
Starting from water temperatures of approx. 25 °C more sensitive shrimps can already get problems with the lower oxygen level, which decreases gradually with rising temperature. Therefore, cooling in summer is usually more critical for a shrimp aquarium than heating in winter. By the way, continuous cooling can be achieved quite well with special aquarium coolers; adult shrimp also benefit from this.
Critical Factors For Success
This point is the first thing to consider. Shrimps prefer heavily planted aquariums with lots of hiding places. Even if there are no predators in the aquarium, shrimp feel more comfortable when they can creep into mosses, plants, roots, and stone structures. You can keep most Neocaridina and Caridina dwarf shrimp species in a 30-liter aquarium or above without worries. Keeping is also possible in very small aquariums. Still, only if using high-quality food, not exaggerate it with feeding, and consistently do water changes twice a week. In that case, such a tiny aquarium should have at least 10 liters. With appropriate aquarium technology, it is quite possible to run a relatively small dwarf shrimp aquarium.
In addition, we can recommend fine gravel, decorative sand, and active aqua soil as substrate, as dwarf shrimp like to pick up and scan gravel grains when foraging. Aqua soil helps to create suitable water conditions, generally. But there are soils specifically designed for shrimp keeping, ShrimpKing Active Soil is such. Whichever substrate you choose, the most important thing is never to use artificially colored substrate, as it can release toxic pollutants to the small aquarium inhabitants.
The following water values are a guideline for keeping Neocaridina and Caridina dwarf shrimp species.
Neocaridina species:Temperature 18 – 24 °C pH value 6 – 9 GH 6 – 30 KH 3 – 30
Caridina species:Temperature 15 – 25 °C pH 5 – 7,5 GH 3 – 10 KH 0 – 3
Shrimp are more sensitive than some other livestock to poor water values. Therefore, you should always perform regular weekly water changes. At this point, we also recommend that you educate yourself explicitly about any livestock species before purchasing to check whether you can fulfill their keeping requirements. Furthermore, it makes sense to ask the retailer under which values the shrimps were kept because they do not tolerate sudden changes in water values well. A very slow acclimation to new water values is more than recommended. How acclimation works, you can read here.
Do Red Cherry Shrimp Eat Their Babies?
FAQ
Do shrimps eat baby shrimps?
No, they will not eat baby shrimp.
Will my ghost shrimp babies survive?
Ghost shrimp are a lower-order shrimp meaning that their babies go through a larval stage. The little ones generally don’t survive unless you have green or really gunky water, as far as I understand. I’ve had berried ghosts off and on for months in my 29g and I’ve never seen juveniles.
What fish won’t eat shrimp babies?
The Otocinclus Catfish is the only fish we know of that is not likely to eat shrimp fry. While most fish will prey on dwarf shrimp fry, a heavily planted aquarium can be very helpful in offsetting this predation.
What do baby shrimp eat?
During the first few days, the baby shrimp don’t eat any commercial food. They live on biofilm and algae. Plants and moss are wonderful for growing algae and biofilm and for accumulating food particles. The babies love to graze on these food particles all day long. During the first few days, the babies generally stay stressed.
Can cherry shrimp eat babies?
As you can see, most of the fish are not suitable for cherry shrimp. Some small schooling fish can live with cherry shrimp, but they might nibble at the babies. So, the babies are generally not safe from any tank mates. That’s why your shrimp tank needs to have lots of hiding places for the baby shrimps to stay safe.
Do baby shrimp need extra food?
Don’t think that baby shrimps don’t need any extra food other than algae and biofilm. Never buy tank mates for your shrimp tank without doing proper research. This will have deadly effects not only on the baby shrimp but also on the adult ones. Using a power filter in the shrimp tank that creates very strong current.
What is a baby shrimp?
When you look at these baby shrimp closely, you’ll find them as a miniature version of adult shrimp. The newborn baby shrimp remain colorless for a short period. Gradually, different types of color appear on the body of baby shrimp according to their species type. These babies are as small as 4-5 mm.
Are baby shrimp dangerous?
Children often try to hold the shrimp in their hands, which can be deadly for the shrimp. Don’t think that baby shrimps don’t need any extra food other than algae and biofilm. Never buy tank mates for your shrimp tank without doing proper research. This will have deadly effects not only on the baby shrimp but also on the adult ones.
How to introduce shrimp to babies?
If you want to introduce shrimp to babies, you must maintain some requirements. The first thing to remember is that hunger is the main reason adults kill shrimp babies. So, you must provide an abundance of appropriate foods for both adult and baby shrimp. Besides, you must provide lots of hiding places for the baby shrimp.