Hey everyone!
TLDR summary at bottom.
I've seen a few people on here ask about how to culture marine ghost/grass shrimp species in their tanks, and the responses I've seen have ranged from it's not possible, to use Google Scholar, to you just add them and they breed. Knowing that Ghost/Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.) are important feeders in the hobby (especially for predator tanks), I thought I would just simplify what my research has shown me on the matter. Keep in mind, most of the research I could fine that was done on actually culturing these guys is from 1980 or earlier - most current research I found has been on the effects of different metals/toxins on the survival of the larvae/adults.
1)You absolutely can culture some of the Palaemonetes species in your tank - species like P. pugio (which Rusalty tells you on their page that they keep at 1.022-1.025 salinty to breed) and P. vulgaris are some of the most common for this. There are a few freshwater species that would not be able to survive/reproduce under marine conditions, but there are some that can. Supposedly (and believably), most of these species have higher rates of fecundity/larval survival in brackish conditions (~"17-23%" - actually 17-23 ppt or 1.7%-2.3% salinity) rather than full marine, but you can (and should) still be able to get a good birth rate and survival rate in full marine conditions.
2)They are actually relatively easy to breed, and you only need to culture Artemia to rear a good number of the larvae to maturity. The young eat the Artemia nauplii. I've seen survival rates for just Artemia fed ghost shrimp range from just under 50% up to about 60%. Under brackish conditions (including conditions that weren't brackish enough to be ideal) and fed just freeze-dried squid, about 27% survived. Fed just beef heart or mullet roe, about 1.7% survived. They're really not terribly picky comparatively, so just offer some Artemia nauplii and any other small feeds you feel like offering and they should do fine.
3)Raising the temperature to mimic their natural breeding season should be able to induce spawning (the shrimp are mature after 1 1/2-2 months). 25-30C (77-86F) seems to be the best range. In theory, the females should carry the most eggs at ~30C, but for obvious reasons, this temperature might be too high for your tank. I'm not sure how big of a change in temp would be required, but I'd imagine 75-77 (or 77-80) would be enough.
4)Exposing the broodstock (the parent shrimp) to UVA (315-400nm) increased egg production drastically "(>4-fold)" over 50 days.
5)Depending on how many eggs your shrimp lay (and the quality of your Artemia species), you should (theoretically) get anywhere from ~50-250 larvae surviving to maturity per female broodstock shrimp.
TLDR; Palaemonetes pugio and P. vulgaris. Raising the temp a little should trigger spawning. 77-86F seems to be the ideal temp range for breeding/rearing. Brackish salinity (~17-23 ppt) is probably best, but full marine (35 ppt) works too. Feed them Artemia nauplii and you should have decent rates of survival. Using a UVA (315-400nm) light should drastically increase egg production.
Hope this helps!
(P.s. I do have sources for this info if you want to see them).
TLDR summary at bottom.
I've seen a few people on here ask about how to culture marine ghost/grass shrimp species in their tanks, and the responses I've seen have ranged from it's not possible, to use Google Scholar, to you just add them and they breed. Knowing that Ghost/Grass Shrimp (Palaemonetes spp.) are important feeders in the hobby (especially for predator tanks), I thought I would just simplify what my research has shown me on the matter. Keep in mind, most of the research I could fine that was done on actually culturing these guys is from 1980 or earlier - most current research I found has been on the effects of different metals/toxins on the survival of the larvae/adults.
1)You absolutely can culture some of the Palaemonetes species in your tank - species like P. pugio (which Rusalty tells you on their page that they keep at 1.022-1.025 salinty to breed) and P. vulgaris are some of the most common for this. There are a few freshwater species that would not be able to survive/reproduce under marine conditions, but there are some that can. Supposedly (and believably), most of these species have higher rates of fecundity/larval survival in brackish conditions (~"17-23%" - actually 17-23 ppt or 1.7%-2.3% salinity) rather than full marine, but you can (and should) still be able to get a good birth rate and survival rate in full marine conditions.
2)They are actually relatively easy to breed, and you only need to culture Artemia to rear a good number of the larvae to maturity. The young eat the Artemia nauplii. I've seen survival rates for just Artemia fed ghost shrimp range from just under 50% up to about 60%. Under brackish conditions (including conditions that weren't brackish enough to be ideal) and fed just freeze-dried squid, about 27% survived. Fed just beef heart or mullet roe, about 1.7% survived. They're really not terribly picky comparatively, so just offer some Artemia nauplii and any other small feeds you feel like offering and they should do fine.
3)Raising the temperature to mimic their natural breeding season should be able to induce spawning (the shrimp are mature after 1 1/2-2 months). 25-30C (77-86F) seems to be the best range. In theory, the females should carry the most eggs at ~30C, but for obvious reasons, this temperature might be too high for your tank. I'm not sure how big of a change in temp would be required, but I'd imagine 75-77 (or 77-80) would be enough.
4)Exposing the broodstock (the parent shrimp) to UVA (315-400nm) increased egg production drastically "(>4-fold)" over 50 days.
5)Depending on how many eggs your shrimp lay (and the quality of your Artemia species), you should (theoretically) get anywhere from ~50-250 larvae surviving to maturity per female broodstock shrimp.
TLDR; Palaemonetes pugio and P. vulgaris. Raising the temp a little should trigger spawning. 77-86F seems to be the ideal temp range for breeding/rearing. Brackish salinity (~17-23 ppt) is probably best, but full marine (35 ppt) works too. Feed them Artemia nauplii and you should have decent rates of survival. Using a UVA (315-400nm) light should drastically increase egg production.
Hope this helps!
(P.s. I do have sources for this info if you want to see them).
