Breeding Shrimp Babaulti Green (Caridina Cf. Babaulti Var. Green) In The Aquarium

Location

This species lives in slow-moving reservoirs of India. It was artificially placen in most south Asian countries e.g. Burma, Malaysia.

Body description

Basic colour of the body is green but this species can change this colour under the influence of external factors: water conditions, type of plants, tank mates, stress, diet etc. So our shrimp can be brown-orange or brown-red. This is normal and this species adapts in this way to defend against potential predators. Female is somewhat larger and more colourful than male. She often has white stripe on her back from her head to base of the telson.

Characteristics and temperament

Shrimp prefers to live in a group of 5 minimum. Then it is less shy and it doesn't hide all the time. This is peaceful and friendly species. It molts in order to grow. Then the shrimp is apathetic, it doesn't feed and it hides until its a new carapace will harden.

Aquarium decoration

This species prefers very clean, oxygen-rich water with gentle flow. We should systematic do a partial water changes and we should use a spongy filter. The aquarium should include lot of plants and hiding-places among roots, stones, pots or coconut shells. We should keep this species with small fish which don't feed crustaceans. We shouldn't keep it with other variants of Babaulti shrimps because they will interbreed.

Breeding

Reproduce this species is easy task but feeding young shrimps is difficult. This species reproduces sexually and this is incomplete metamorphosis. The female is ready to reproduce just after her molt. The mating takes place in the evening or in the night. Male intensively circles around the female. Next he nears to her and he connects with female for a brief moment. Then male deposits his sperm and his role in reproduction ended. Next the female lays green eggs one by one. She puts fertilized eggs under her abdomen in her pleopods until their hatching. She fans the eggs her uropods and she shifts their in her pleopods all the time. The eggs hatch after 20-28 days. The young look like parents but they are very small and they grow very slowly.