Mysis Shrimp Propagation

[leliataylor]

Well I finally figured out how to post pictures without the MAAST attachments option. I will get some pictures of the system asap. Here are a couple of pictures of the newborn shrimp. They are very tiny and hard to see or catch at this stage. The easiest way to spot them is to look for the shadow they cast when lit from the top.

[leliataylor]

This is a photo of the top of the adult tub. The black cable ties can be moved around to direct the airflow over the sieve. They are not currently adjusted the way I want them, however is does show how the system works.



The next two photos illustrate my temporary mysis nursery until I can finish building the boxes I want. This tube was built for another purpose although it does seem to be working well. A small portion of the return enters the tub to give a gentle circular flow. I am seeing the young mysis staying in plain view oriented with their heads into the flow. This behavior allows them to catch food as it drifts by without exerting much energy.



This system actually contains 2-20 gallon nursery tubs, the 30 gallon cube tank (pictured) and a 29 gallon sump. If the population continues to increase I will begin adding adult mysis to the nursery tubs. I have a large number of pods in these systems and their numbers are continuing to increase despite the predation from the mysis.

[leliataylor]

Well the temporary mysis nursery is working great. I did add more rubble rock to provide them with more places to hide. I also add a second trap to the adult tub patterned after figure 5 in this article. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production...ringmysids.pdf The first trap has been working well until this morning. While removing the cover on the trap I dropped it back into the tub. In the few seconds it took to pull it out it contained 5 adults and only two babies. It looks like it is time to get my mysis generator, that I built a few years ago, out of the storage shed and get it cycled. It is a similar design to this system http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/9/breeder

On a side note, I watched one of the adults catch a copepod today. It was hysterical, to bad I didn't catch a video of it. The shrimp targeted the pod which went into predator evasion mood. The shrimp looked like a receiver juggling a football until it finally made the catch.

[leliataylor]

I modified the way I had the trap so that one return flows over the top of the trap and air flows over it from the other side. This really worked a lot better and had a number of tiny shrimp in the trap this morning. I need to get a ring to go over the top and glue the micron mesh onto instead of using rubber bands.



This is a small section of the tub showing some of the adults.

[leliataylor]

A close up of a adult female take a few years ago. Her pouch is visible in this photo.

[leliataylor]

My favorite species of copepods for seahorse fry and mysis love them also. These are Apocyclops panamensis. I have found them to be easy to propagate and they do well on phytopaste. The females look like they have two balloons on either side of them below their bodies which are their egg sacs.

[leliataylor]

Things are working better than I planned. After seeding my other tanks with mysis I and depleting the population in the tub it is now full of mysis again. I have been taking the filter sock out daily and letting it sit into the 30 gallon tank to release the pods trapped in it. Today I found a number of juvenile mysis in that tank, as well as a large number of pods. I figured there had to be newborn mysis in the filter sock, although I was never able to see them. Now I have mysis in 3 tanks that are not housing seahorses and will add some to another nursery system today. I stopped trying to trap the newborns 5 days ago since I had not set up another nursery for them and they are obviously surviving well without any help from me. What seems to be working is keeping them well fed, giving them plenty of hiding places and removing a large number of adults as the population density increases. This is not the best way to propagate mysis, however it is providing my seahorses with live food that they truly enjoy.

[leliataylor]

Well I am slowly getting smarter than the average shrimp. LOL I removed all the larger mysis from the nursery 2 days ago and added some very pregnant females. Today I removed the females and found a number of newborns. Tomorrow I am going to place 730 micron mesh in the top portion of the nursery and add more pregnant females. They are easy to catch, just hold a white net near them and they dive in. Yes they are strongly attracted to bright white objects. Using the same prinicple I added a white sieve to the main tank to use as a trap for any babies born in the primary tank, replacing the blue one I had previously used. I am also getting large numbers of pods and some newborn mysis in my filter sock that I am releasing into a 30 gallon tank, that population is doing well. I have another nursery in the works, just double checking it to make sure it is clearing ammonia like I want before I add the shrimp. The system is already full of pods so I am sure it is ready. Just being cautious.

[devildog1986]

Well I am slowly getting smarter than the average shrimp. LOL I removed all the larger mysis from the nursery 2 days ago and added some very pregnant females. Today I removed the females and found a number of newborns. Tomorrow I am going to place 730 micron mesh in the top portion of the nursery and add more pregnant females. They are easy to catch, just hold a white net near them and they dive in. Yes they are strongly attracted to bright white objects. Using the same prinicple I added a white sieve to the main tank to use as a trap for any babies born in the primary tank, replacing the blue one I had previously used. I am also getting large numbers of pods and some newborn mysis in my filter sock that I am releasing into a 30 gallon tank, that population is doing well. I have another nursery in the works, just double checking it to make sure it is clearing ammonia like I want before I add the shrimp. The system is already full of pods so I am sure it is ready. Just being cautious.

Is there a blog or post you are following? I'm interested in doing the same. I also want to grow phytoplankton. Keep us updated!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[leliataylor]

Nothing that I am following. I first started keeping mysis over 10 years ago to supplement my seahorses diet, this is my first serious attempt to propagate them. Over the years I have read everything I could find about this species, Americamysis bahia. During this time I have also worked on improving my copepod propagation skills. Mysis are a natural food source for many species of seahorses. Newborn mysis are a excellent food for older seahorse fry. Copepods are the best food source for newborn pelagic seahorse fry and a excellent source of food for adult mysis. Mysis and copepods both need phyto in one form or another in their diet. I use to culture T. iso, Tetraselmis and Nano to feed my pod cultures and began experimenting with different types of phyto paste, since live phyto cultures are labor intensive. The best phyto paste I have found so far for propagating pods is Shell Fish diet. I am also finding it works well for mysis when used in conjunction with other coral feeds and caulerpa. There are several threads on MOFIB and other websites regarding this. I started working on this to provide tiny pelagic seahorse fry that were too small to consume BBS and adult WC seahorses that did recognize ABS as food with a suitable diet. Rotifers do not work well for seahorse fry and many other marine species due to their lack of recognizable color and their spinning behavior which does not stimulate a feeding response. This is based on scientific research that has been done. Hence, my journey to find a way to propagate some optimal foods for seahorses from fry to adulthood, on a hobbyist level.