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Breeding / Shrimp
Shrimp · Easy

Breeding the bumblebee shrimp

Breeds in fresh water without special care if the water is soft and not too alkaline: females carry eggs about 3-4 weeks and fully developed young hatch; adults do not eat the young.

Full species page

Step by step

Pairing

Keep a group of 15-20 and let them pair up; females moult and then mate within a day or two.

Breeding tank

20-40 L tank with active buffered soil, RO or remineralised soft water (GH 4-6, KH 0-2, pH 5.8-6.8), moss and a sponge filter.

What starts it

Stable soft water and a small cool water change with RO water often triggers moulting and mating.

Eggs and young

20-40 eggs, hatching after 3-4 weeks.

Raising the fry

Shrimplets look like tiny adults and graze biofilm; give powdered food and moss and avoid strong flow.

Common mistakes
  • Using hard tap water
  • Big swings in temperature or TDS
  • Adding copper-containing foods or medicines
Setup blueprint

Home setup

One breeding tank for the bumblebee shrimp, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.

40 cm long · 20 cm deep25 cm1234
  1. 1
    Breeding tank: 20 L · about 40 × 20 × 25 cm, 20–40 L from the breeding guide
  2. 2
    Sponge filter and air pump · named in the guide
  3. 3
    Heater, 17–24 °C · this species' normal range
  4. 4
    Java moss · named in the guide

Water: 17–24 °C · pH 5.8–6.8 · soft water

A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 3 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.

Setup blueprint

Business setup

A 120 cm rack for breeding the bumblebee shrimp in numbers.

12234120 cm rack, 3 shelves
  1. 1
    2 breeding tanks, 20 L each · about 40 × 20 × 25 cm, set up like the home tank
  2. 2
    4 grow-out tanks, 40 L each · about 50 × 25 × 30 cm; twice the breeding tank, never smaller than this species' smallest tank
  3. 3
    Shared air pump and air line · one line along each shelf feeds a sponge filter in every tank
  4. 4
    Heat the room or each tank · 17–24 °C

In total: 6 tanks, about 200 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.

Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.

Male or female

Females grow larger; males stay smaller and slimmer.

Can I breed it in my tank?

  • Good for a first breeding project.

Day-by-day plan

Typical for shrimp

  1. Day 0Berried female

    Eggs are carried under the tail. Keep the water stable and don't move her.

  2. Day 21Hatching

    After about 2–4 weeks tiny shrimp hatch. They graze on biofilm and moss.

  3. Day 30Growing

    Keep a sponge on the filter intake. Feed powdered shrimp food a little at a time.

  4. Day 90Adults

    They can breed themselves at about 3 months.

A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.

Simulator: guided

Stage 1 of 4Berried female

Eggs are carried under the tail. Keep the water stable and don't move her.

Simulator: try it yourself

Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.

About 17 young raised80% hatched · 70% of fry survived
  • A female became berried.

An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.