How To Know if Ghost Shrimp Eggs Have Been Fertilized

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Ghost Shrimp are popular because they’re excellent for those who’d like to use them as fishing bait or natural fish tank cleaners. Hatching Ghost Shrimp eggs can be tricky, so it’s essential to know the process, especially knowing when Ghost Shrimp eggs have been fertilized. By knowing when your ghost shrimp eggs have been fertilized, you can do whatever is necessary to ensure the fertilized eggs are doing okay.

Here’s how to know if ghost shrimp eggs have been fertilized:

  1. Determine the color of the eggs.
  2. Check the shrimp’s underside. 
  3. See if the ghost shrimp avoid the bottom of the tank.

Keep reading to learn how you can determine if your ghost shrimp eggs have been fertilized. 

1. Determine the Color of the Eggs

If you’re going to be breeding Ghost Shrimp, it’s very important to know the difference between fertilized and unfertilized eggs.

You can know whether or not your ghost shrimp eggs have been fertilized or not by checking the colors of the eggs. 

Unfertilized Ghost Shrimp eggs will be more green in color in addition to being quite small. 

They’ll also be towards the top of the Ghost Shrimp in the abdomen, which is also referred to as the saddle. If you see small green spheres that are more toward the top side of the shrimp, those are indeed unfertilized eggs.

2. Check the Shrimp’s Underside

Fertilized Ghost Shrimp eggs will be a white or pale yellow color with two black specks. They’ll also be on the underside of the shrimp in an area known as the swimmerets.

Fertilized eggs will also be fairly larger than unfertilized eggs.

Aside from color, the location of the eggs is also a dead giveaway that they’ve become fertilized. Fertilized eggs will be towards the back of the Ghost Shrimp on the bottom side.

3. See if the Ghost Shrimp Avoid the Bottom of the Tank

Pregnant Ghost Shrimp that are close to giving birth will behave slightly differently than usual. The behavior change won’t be drastic, though. But the behavioral change is a good sign that fertilization has already happened and shrimp spawns are on the way.

Before a Ghost Shrimp gives birth, the pregnant female will most likely avoid the bottom of the tank. You may notice the pregnant shrimp swimming away from the bottom and begin to hit or rub the eggs with her forelegs. The pregnant Ghost Shrimp does this to help the spawns leave their embryonic sacks and enter the water.

Seeing a pregnant Ghost Shrimp moving the eggs around and hitting or rubbing them are signs that the eggs have been fertilized and are in the final stages of the pregnancy.

Fertilization Involves Both Male and Female Ghost Shrimp

In order for eggs to be fertilized, the female Ghost Shrimp needs a male Ghost Shrimp counterpart to complete the job. It’s a good idea to decorate the tank with objects similar to those found in Ghost Shrimp’s natural habitat.

Tank decorations such as fake moss, fake plants, and rocks will provide a more natural feel and help promote mating, which means fertilized eggs. Once you’re sure the Ghost Shrimp eggs have been fertilized, the next step would be placing the female into a spawning tank.

It’s important that you set up a separate tank strictly for spawning so you can then remove the female after the eggs have hatched. You’ll want to do this because Ghost Shrimp are scavenger feeders and will most likely eat the newly hatched Ghost Shrimp.

It’s also vital that the conditions in the spawning tank are similar to the conditions from the previous tank the female was in. Here are some conditions that should be similar:

  • Water temperature
  • pH balance of water
  • Tank decoration
  • Lighting

Be sure the pregnant Ghost Shrimp is alone in the spawning tank and is comfortable. Feeling safe and secure in the spawning tank is very important if you want the hatching process to go as smoothly as possible.

Conclusion

Knowing when Ghost Shrimp eggs have been fertilized is very simple once you know what to look for. The most important signs of fertilized eggs are color and location. Fertilized eggs will be light-colored with black specks and will be located on the bottom side of the Ghost Shrimp in the swimmerets. 

Once you see both signs, you can rest assured the eggs have been fertilized, and now all that’s left to be done is the birth itself.

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