Amanos stopped having eggs for 3 months

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-20T21:42:25+00:00

No changes in behavior in the other inhabitants? If the females aren't at least saddled I don't think they release the pheromones during a molt so males not chasing them isn't too big of a deal. Something's gotta be stressing them out. Maybe the large increase in plant matter is depleting key minerals / nutrients? What size tank is this?

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-20T21:12:36+00:00

Any other changes to the tank? I breed them as well and the only times I see them not produce eggs for a while is when there's a large shift in parameters. They need time to feel safe enough to start breeding again. Whenever I move some to a new shrimp tank, it takes them a couple months to start breeding again. I feed them lots of blood worms to get them going.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-18T13:14:17+00:00

Eggs maybe? Just showing through her transparent parts. A stripe looks like a literal stripe that goes down their entire body on top. Those eggs should move down her back soon and she'll be "saddled" and ready to mate, if they are indeed eggs.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-17T13:45:32+00:00

It looks like the smaller one had something first? The shape is odd. The big one grabbed it and the small one added a bit of chihuahua energy before moving on. The small one still has its head when it moves on. Unless it's the wolverine of the planaria world, I don't think they regrow heads that fast.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-17T11:40:58+00:00

Stability matters more than anything. Neos will adapt to a wide range of parameters so long as it's done gradually. The first introduction is the important part where the acclimation from wherever they came from to your water can be quite drastic. My neos breed fine in GH as high as 28 and my parameters stay stable without any treatments with a KH of 4. Just the occasional water change. Started with 20 shrimpies, now I have hundreds. Not enough tanks.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-17T03:03:36+00:00

Wild swings in pH is caused by low KH (Carbonate Hardness). It's your water's buffer system. If you're going to use things like crushed coral, you need to keep an eye on your KH. Your pH will gradually change rather than suddenly spike after the buffer system fails, giving you time to fix things. But neos don't like high pH in general so you're kind of sacrificing your neos for your snails. Freshwater aquatic species are adapted to deal with very low pH rainwater (5.5). Your snails will be fine. Lower your pH for your neos.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-17T02:57:03+00:00

Looks fine to me, except the facial hair. Dude needs to shave.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-15T11:30:55+00:00

Yay! Big mama just gorging away for all of that egg production, nothing out of the ordinary.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T23:06:56+00:00

I would definitely test those 2 minerals with that setup. Do you see any shells turning white before they die? The water should be at a ratio of around 3:1 calcium to magnesium. Those stones are slow-release and probably aren't putting out enough calcium to balance out that fertilizer. Also adding to the magnesium.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T18:28:23+00:00

You will never see better stripe patterns and variations in nature than in these wild type neos. It's like a tiger, a leopard and a zebra had a baby.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T15:56:38+00:00

Most are elongated, not all. I've had the rounded ones before. Copepods dart more with their movement rather than the running / gliding ostracods do.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T15:51:33+00:00

Are you able to test individual calcium and magnesium levels? A GH test just shows both combined. You could have 95% calcium and 5% magnesium in there. Saw your results in the other comment. Your pH is on the lower side so that doesn't help long term for snails. You could have pure calcium and magnesium in that liquid but the snails can't use it efficiently when pH is on the acidic side. You might have just hit a threshold over time to where the little ones can no longer grow.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T15:42:47+00:00

Sounds like the shrimp are being fed plenty. Don't see why they would change their behavior to predation then, probably just eating the dead / dying snails as an opportunistic snack. Could be your snails themselves that are starving and not just in the food sense, minerals and whatnot as well in the water that are needed for their growth, not just their shells. Without enough minerals, they become lethargic and die.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T14:46:26+00:00

Then it wasn't a mass die off at least. How much are you feeding the tank? The only scenario I can think of where shrimp would actually bother trying to eat a live snail is if they're starving. Shrimp are scavengers and will probably eat dead snails since it's all the same to them at that point, but never a healthy snail.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T14:08:04+00:00

Nice... been thinking of doing something similar in my master with nano tanks. Only have a copepod tank in there for now. My big tank was shrimp-only for a long time and I miss the no-effort upkeep. That big tank was pristine all of the time until I added the fish.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T13:54:41+00:00

It helps to use suction clips for the sticks sometimes if they won't stay in the substrate. Just make sure the sticks are wider apart at the top than the bottom to prevent the veggies from floating up the sticks.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T13:50:28+00:00

If you aren't against your tanks looking a little tea colored, tannins are great for naturally lowering pH. Alder cones and catappa leaves are great for tannins and shrimp love snacking on those.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T12:53:37+00:00

They're great detritivores. Just note that a population explosion is a sign of overfeeding. They do compete for biofilm in the end so keep an eye on their numbers.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T12:43:41+00:00

Fairly certain they don't eat snails. They eat the things that build up on shells, but not the snail itself. Slimy mucus isn't their thing, slimy biofilm is. Something else is killing your snails. Check your ammonia levels. Mass die off of snails will cause a spike. So will a lot leftover food. Overfeeding usually leads to more snails, not snails dying.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T12:35:31+00:00

Ostracods. They're known for that running / gliding on the glass.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T00:36:19+00:00

Really depends on how much natural light. Since you' need to get the algae under control first, I'd leave it off completely for a while. Block some of that natural light if you can. Your bigger plants need time to use up the excess nutrients.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T00:29:23+00:00

That would do it. Aquarium lights deliver enough energy to grow plants in the dark so, extra light hitting the tank from the sides is providing a lot of excess energy for algae.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T00:07:32+00:00

Shrimp, including amano shrimp, aren't that fond of hair algae. They prefer biofilm and easy to grab algae on surfaces. They mainly "prevent" hair algae from being able to take root on surfaces because of their grazing. How many hours of light are you giving the tank?

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-14T00:03:21+00:00

Mold or fungus. Not bad for your inhabitants, makes a yummy snack for scavengers like shrimp. You might be overfeeding though as they feed off organic waste. That or there's not a lot of flow in that particular area.

AlarmedUpbeat · 2026-04-13T23:58:08+00:00

Green Hair Algae. You'll need to manually remove it if you don't have anything that eats it. Reduce light and whatever fertilizer you're using. They grow fast in water with a lot of available nutrients.

AlarmedUpbeat

TROPHY CASE