# Baby Cherries!!!



## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I saw my first 2 baby Cherry Shrimp today! (My beautiful little babies, lol!) *banana dance

I couldn't get my first batch of cherries to breed, (high nitrates, which I'm working to bring down with a corner mini filter and Nitra-zorb). I went to the LFS and got a second batch (with 2 berried females). My husband saw 1 berried female yesterday, but I haven't seen either of them today. 

I was doing my gravel vacuuming and water change, when I saw 2 teeny tiny little cherry shrimp sitting on the gravel! (Wow are they ever small!! But PERFECT copies of their parents! Crazy!) I left that corner alone in case there were more. (I have a pre-sponge over the filter inlet to keep them from getting sucked into the filter, but I didn't see any on it when I went to rinse it off). They are the only 2 I've seen so far. (I hope I didn't vacuum any up - I moved the vacuum very carefully, giving any babies plenty of time to move). I hope there are more, and can't wait for them to get bigger!! There isn't a cover (pre-sponge) for the corner mini filter inlet (it doesn't have a high air flow anyway), so next week when I do my water change I will dump the little 'thingies' in the bottom into the tank in case they happen to be babies. (I'm sure if they are they will survive as little bits of food are sure to be in there with them).

A week or so ago, all my females lost their yellow saddles, but they didn't have any eggs on their bellies. Today, I spotted a couple cherries with yellow saddles and I'm hoping they will breed and carry some eggs! *w3

Does anyone know how long it takes for the smaller than pin head sized babies to get to a decent size? (ex: you don't have to squint to see them, lol).


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I just spotted about 20 little babies in my 3G breeder tank (surprised and very glad the male feeder guppy did what I wanted him to, which was to NOT eat the babies). They take a few months to reach breeding size, from my experiences in the past with breeding them. They breed like rabbits, so within a year you'll have hundreds.

A word of advice - DO NOT VACUUM GRAVEL! Any water you take out will likely have babies in it, even when you don't vacuum the gravel. I'm glad to hear you're putting a prefilter on your filter - I run a low-tech bubble convection filter on my breeder.

Also, overfeed your tank, if marginally so. That way, your fish won't get hungry and go after the babies. Also, it'll give the babies something to eat aside from algae.

Do you have live plants? How big is the tank?


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

It's a 10g with a giant hygro and a dwarf hygro. There is also a silk plant and lots of decorations in it.

I usually have to vacuum the gravel b/c I have African Dwarf frogs and I have to clean up the frog bites they miss and the blood worms they miss. If I didn't vacuum the gravel each week, the tank would be disgusting. I am doing my best to reduce the amount of food I put in the tank, but the water is still disgusting in the bucket after I've vacuumed the gravel.

Won't they move if they feel/sense the vac? The larger ones do.

I don't mind how long it takes to become breeding size, I just want to know how long it will take until they aren't in danger of the 2 guppies, lol. (The bushy nosed pleco won't accidentally suck them up when she's going along the gravel will she?) The LFS guy said the babies should be fine with the other critters in my tank.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

RCS babies will get eaten by anything and everything except their own kind, pretty much. But I'm glad you're overfeeding. You are REALLY overfeeding though - I would cut back on the ADF's to once a week or twice a week. And I'm pretty sure you're right on the pleco, but I wouldn't be surprised if the ADF's try and munch on them.

As far as vacuuming - #1 plants actually prefer dirty substrate, and #2 the babies are too small to avoid the vac, from my experience.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

I don't think the ADF's can go on 1 or 2 feedings a week. All the internet sites, people on this forum and the LFS people said to feed them every other to every 3 days.

I don't think the ADF's are eating them... they can't see and I think the babies are too small to give off a smell, lol. they are almost smaller than a period on this screen.

So... how long do I not gravel for? 2 weeks? The frogs may get poisoned from dirty substrate..... I mean, there is a LOT of pleco and shrimp poop in the water in the bucket... like.... reeeeally dirty, lol.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

lol, might explain why one of my two ADF's is missing.

I never vacuum my gravel, but I also have a TON of plants and very little in the way of livestock in my tanks. Depends - you could either save a few shrimp babies and risk your ADF's and tank's cleanliness, or you could vacuum every week as recommended by many and hoover up some babies.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Thanks for the tips.

I have three questions for you now: 1. Do you think the vacuuming will suck them all up or do you think that some will make it? (I've only got 2 live plants and one silk one, but here is a huge fake sunken log, a rock cave and a sunken ship to hide in.

2. How long until they are like 1/2 cm? (Safe from the vacuum b/c I can see them, lol).

3. You Have ADFs!!! Good - I'm having an issue with one of mine. (Had them for about a month). I've always given them frozen blood worms, (they won't eat brine shrimp and I can't find glass worms anywhere and daphnia is too small and just floats away, lol). I drop some frog bites in after lights out every other day - not sure if they actually get them though. One of my frogs comes swimming to the front when he hears the 'click' of my feeding tweezers and violently attacks the blood worms. (His belly gets fat). The second one used to come out to eat, but lately he has stayed in the ship and only takes a bite or two and then isn't interested in eating. I even bump his nose with the tweezers and worms but he just sits there and then swims away. He's not scrawny but definitely not as chubby as the other one..... is this normal? Maybe he's just not hungry? (I also noticed that from the sides of his mouth up to where his ears would be and the tip of his nose is a whitish/grey. I can't remember if he was always like that. The other guy has a bit of that colour on his nose, so maybe it's normal. Just wasn't sure if it was some diseased patches of skin). I checked the water at the end of this past week and everything was perfect (except for the nitrates which I am still working on). Go Nitra-zorb! Go!


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