My second berried Blue Jelly Shrimp has just hatched her eggs two days before I was expecting them. She has only been berried for 22 days, that is two days less than my first Blue Jelly. She was hiding inside the coconut cave, it seems to be the favoured place for my Berried Shrimps to hang out and they have not only passed their eggs down from their saddle to their Pleopods inside there, and spent a lot of time in there whilst berried, but they also seem to retreat back inside when it is hatching time.

I have managed to spot three tiny little shrimplets from this new batch, and I am surprised at the size difference between them and my first batch of shrimplets. I had not realised how much they had grown. It is not so much the length that has changed, it is more that the older ones seem to have bulked out and look more stocky in build, though I think they are also a little longer.
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The first thing I noticed was a tiny thing floating at the top of the tank. I managed to fish it out and put in onto a piece of paper. Looking under a microscope (yes, I really am that obsessive), I could see that it was a larval looking shrimp, it had teh overall body shape, but no legs. AT first I assumed that it was a Ninja Shrimps shrimplet as they cannot survive in freshwater. I then noticed my Blue Jelly was just inside the cave and was looking paler than she had been looking earlier. That was when I saw two tiny Blue Jelly Shrimplets sitting just outside the Coconut cave and realised that what I had fished out must have been a Blue Jelly Shrimplet that had not fully developed for whatever reason.

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Out of focus but you can just about make out the small shape on the side of the coconut in the middle on the right hand side.


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Under the tail of this male Blue Jelly is one of the newly hatched shrimplets. You can see just how tiny they are in comparison.

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Again, this image is not very clear but there is a tiny shrimplet on the side of the coconut and a second one can just be made out next to the Candy Nerite Snail.

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Again, there is a tiny Blue Jelly Shrimplet underneath the Tiger shrimps tail, giving a good idea of the scale of how tiny these newly hatched babies are.

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Although this image is still blurred you can make out two tiny Blue Jelly shrimplets on the side of the coconut cave. This is the best I can do as they are so tiny (2-3mm long).

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In contrast (though sadly still out of focus) you can see in the foreground an adult male Tiger shrimp, and on the black charcoal tunnel you can see an older Blue Jelly shrimplet and how much larger it looks

 
The Blue Jelly babies are now about nine days old and are starting to be a bit less timid so I often see one skipping about the tank and going on a big adventure to explore their surroundings. SO far, I have managed to count eight of them all being visible at the same time so I am hoping that I have a few more that were just hiding at that point, but even if not I am very happy with having eight little beauties running around in there.

They don't seem to have grown very much over the past nine days, but they do seem easier to spot so maybe they have grown a little. It will be interesting to compare their size against the new Blue Jelly Shrimplets that we are expecting in the next few days as well as comparing the Blue Jelly Shrimplets size with the Tiger Shrimp babies.

The good thing is that I have finally managed to get some fairly decent photos of them now, well as good as I can with my point and shoot camera (seriously regretting selling my SLR and macro lenses now). All the same, I have some good images that show the tiny little critters.

 
With an expected due date for hatching of next Wednesday (27th March), I am trying to keep a close eye on my 2nd berried Blue Jelly. She kindly did some posing for the camera in a great position at the front of the tank allowing me to get some great photographs of the eggs and the developing shrimplets inside.
The eggs all still look quite a nice bright yellow colour, though it is clear to see small signs of red which from looking at the current shrimplets in the tank seems to be a coloured spot on their body just behind the head. They are too small to see their colouring properly but look like they are still mainly blue. The eyes are really clear to see, and once again looking at mum she has a definite and rapidly growing saddle which is the same as my first berried Blue Jelly.

Things appear to be going well, but I am keen to see if I notice the same level of colour changing within the eggs over the next few days as I noticed with the first batch of eggs. The eggs still look quite solid, and I had noticed that the last batch of eggs became almost transparent, so I am also keen to see if this happens again as we get closer to next Wednesday.
 
So far I have managed to count five tiny shrimplets at the same time, though I am still hopeful that there are more in there as they seem to really like to hide away and pop up and disappear all over the tank. They seem to be doing quite well, though as they are so tiny I am still struggling to get a really good photo of them, but I am considering getting a waterproof inspection type camera so I can try and get really close to them, the only worry is that I am becoming to obsessed.
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A cropped version of the photo on the left. They really are incredibly tiny.

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The round Pelia leaf plant with a tiny shrimplet sitting happily.

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Another attempt at getting a close up image of one of the shrimplets.

Before my first batch of shrimplets were born I had been doing some reading up and found that there is a useful calculation to estimate the due date. The calculation is as follows : 

63 - 1.6 x Temperature of water (in degrees celcius) 

Obviously, if you raise the water temperature it reduces the time taken for the eggs to hatch, however, this causes the shrimps metabolisms to speed up and also results in much shorter lives so is not an advisable thing to do. Also, not all shrimps are able to cope with higher temperatures, so it really isn't a good idea to try. 

My tank is at 22˚C though it does go up a degree during the day, but it is fairly steady. In the case of my first berried Blue Jelly, this gives 63 - 1.6 x 22 = 27.8 So, by this calculation the eggs should take about 28 days to hatch. I first noticed that she was berried on 20th February, but had not seen her for a day of two so her 'pregnancy' (I know it is not technically this but it is the easiest way to refer to it) could have started on 18th February. Using the calculation, the estimated date for her eggs to hatch ranged from 18th to 20th  March. They actually hatched on either 15th or 16th March. I didn't see them hatch but did notice on the 15th that she seemed to have far less eggs and on the morning of the 16th she had shed her old shell and was happily wandering around the tank eating so I would guess that they were born on 15th. This is a few days earlier than predicted, around 23 to 25 days in total. 


If I calculate the date with a tank temperature of 23˚C, we get 63 - 1.6 x 23 = 26.2 or around 26 days, so it would seem that the calculation is roughly correct but seems to be over by a few days.

With an estimated hatch time of 23-25 days I have estimated that the next set of Blue Jelly babies should be due around 27th March, and as long as the Tigers follow suit, I should expect the first batch of baby Tigers around 3rd April.

 
It's been a very exciting morning as I found one of my recently 'berried' shrimps was walking happily round the tank with her nice new blue shell and bright yellow saddle on her back, but no sign of the eggs. I had been a little worried yesterday as the reddish coloured eggs seemed to have thinned out as though lots of them had disappeared and the remaining ones she was carrying looked pale and almost white. I had assumed that things had not gone very well and that she had lost some of the eggs and that these last few remaining ones would also vanish to nothing. It was a great relief to see her looking so bright coloured and healthy looking when I checked on her this morning. Unfortunately my camera battery was 'exhausted' yet again so while it is on charge (I seem to sit constantly trying to photograph the tank) I had to resort to the camera on my mobile so quality is rubbish.
A little later on, whilst trying to take a look at the old shell that she had shed inside the darkness of the coconut cave, I noticed a sudden movement through the water and was really lucky to see one tiny baby shrimp sitting on the piece of bogwood. Again, as my camera is still charging I was only able to grab a couple of pictures with my mobile phone camera so the quality is shockingly poor, but considering the minute size of the shrimplet I am just pleased to have even captured anything.
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Shrimplet on bogwood - You can just make it out next to the piece of erect moss laying across the wood.

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Shrimplet sitting on Bogwood - Blurry but you can see the shrimp shape against the dark background.

I would estimate that the shrimplet is about 2mm long, and so far I have only seen one. Hopefully over the next few days a few more will come out from hiding and I can try and get some better photos.
 
So, at a guess it is day 22 of my first Blue Jelly Shrimps 'pregnancy' (if you can call it that). The eggs really seem to be going through a big colour change from the original bright yellow eggs that she was first carrying. Initially they started to turn a more orange shade, but this has developed in the last couple of days to an almost red colour. I am slightly worried at what this means and if it is normal or it it is a sign that things are not doing too well.
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This photo shows the vast colour difference between the eggs of the first 'berried' Blue Jelly and the much brighter yellow eggs of the female whose eggs are just eleven days younger.

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This photo shows a closer shot of the eggs and contrasts against the yellow of the newly developing saddle. The fact that the saddle is getting so big makes me think that the hatching date must be very close now, but I am worried that the red tinge is a sign that the eggs are no longer developing and that I am going to lose all of this first batch. I guess only time will tell.






 
The two berried Blue Jellies are doing very well. I am checking the tank in anticipation several times a day in the hope that the eggs will have hatched or be starting to hatch. I am so excited about the little shrimplets as they will be my first ones ever. I have found that she is hiding more and more at the moment and often she isn't seen for hours as she hides away in one of the various hidey holes I have set up to help them feel more secure. I know she disppeared (as they all did) when her saddle moved down to her Pleopods, but I hope she stays out in the open to hatch them as I would love to see it.

I have notices as well, that as the eggs develop more, they are turning more of an orange colour which shows up more when she is near to the other berried Blue Jelly as shown in the pictures below. I have also been trying hard to get a good photo of the eyes inside the eggs which are becoming clearer to see each day.
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Picture quality is not great but the colour difference in the eggs is quite clearly shown

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Again the colour difference in the eggs shows quite clearly

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Eyes in the Eggs

 
After having gone into hiding for a day or so, one of my Tigers that I thought was saddled is now berried and happily wondering around hungrily chasing down every last bit of food in the tank. The Tigers don't seem to show their saddles as clearly as the Blue Jellies and it is not totally clear from these images but you can see the slight shape of the eggs in the saddle. One of the main differences I have noticed between the Blue Jellies and the Tigers is the timescale between the saddles showing and the shrimps being berried. The Tigers seem to have gone from the first to second stage much quicker, just a matter of a few days, whereas the Blue Jellies took between 2 and 3 weeks, however, this could be that the Tiger female may be more mature than the Blue Jelly Females, so again I will have to keep and eye on this timescale next time (or with future off spring).
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Saddled Tiger Shrimp - It is not very easy to see the eggs in the saddle and the picture quality doesn't help either.

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Male Tiger Shrimp - Body is beautifully clear in contract to female in image above

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A berried female Tiger Shrimp. The Orange eggs show up clearly on the Pleopods






 
I have been noticing a lot of changes in the colours of some of my shrimp, especially the first Blue Jelly Shrimp with eggs. At first she was a lovely deep blue colour, one of the strongest colourings of the five of them. I started to notice a slightly green tinge to her colouring a few days after the eggs had descended to her pleopods (swimming legs) but assumed that this was just an illusion caused by the bright yellow eggs. However, over the past week this green colouring has grown stronger and stronger and now she looks as if she is actually a green shrimp. I am sure it is just an illusion due to the mix of clear blue body and yellow eggs and is just getting stronger as the eggs grow and develop more. Looking at my second berried Blue Jelly Shrimp, her colour is still very bright blue (her eggs only appeared on her pleopods on 3rd March) so it will be interesting to see how her colour develops over the next couple of weeks.
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Berried Blue Jelly - Taken earlier on, before colour change






The same Blue Jelly showing change of colouring from Blue to Green (caused by yellow eggs?)






The second Berried Blue Jelly still showing a good strong Blue colouring




The eggs on the first berried Blue Jelly are showing good signs of developing shrimplets inside. Although I am struggling to get a clear photo of them I can see dark forms (like small shadows) starting to show up inside each of the eggs as I look through my various magnifying glasses, unfortunately my camera is playing about and refusing to focus and mummy shrimp is being equally stubborn about being photographed. Based on the information I have been reading I am hoping that the new arrivals will start to appear around the beginning of next week, fingers crossed.

I am also rather hoping that my Tiger Shrimp are starting to head in the right direction as well. I have noticed that a couple of them seem to be getting darker coloured heads, like a dark inky blue colour, I am hoping that this is the first signs that they are developing their saddles. Another rather large Tiger Shrimp has remained almost crystal clear so I hope this means he is a male and backs up my theory of the other two being female, the remaining Tigers are still fairly small so hopefully they are just still maturing.
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The image on the right (although a bit blurred) show a good clear colouring, possibly a sign that this one is a male Tiger, whilst the shrimp on the right is getting darker around the head and a brown colouring along the spine, so I am assuming that this one is a female. Fingers crossed.


Again, some reading suggested that feeding frozen blood worm can help speed up the process for getting shrimps breeding, so even though I have kept their diet quite varied I threw in some frozen blood worm and it was quite fun watching the shrimps going crazy for it so will try this every few days and see how they go.

I have already noticed quiet a lot of what I call 'Shrimp Wrestling' going on and a lot of cave hiding from the Tiger Shrimps which is something I had noticed a week or two prior to my Blue Jellies being Berried so hopefully this is a good sign.
 
My second female Blue Jelly Shrimp has finally lost her saddle (apart from one or two rogue eggs that have yet to move) and is now happily carrying her collection of bright yellow eggs.

When looking at mummy number one, her eggs seem to be showing some small shadow shaped inside so it looks like the babies are starting to develop quite nicely.

No signs yet of any saddles with the Tiger Shrimp, but I have only had them for a little over a week so it is quite soon to be expecting anything from them, though the tank is being littered on a daily basis with old shrimp shells (at least one or two each day) so there is good signs of growing going on in there and today's water testing showed that the water is keeping very stable and clear so all is going well so far.

With the (hopefully) imminent arrivals coming I am trying to get everything set up ready for the babies. With this in mind I have added a new plant, a round pellia as I read that its broad leaves are perfect for holding the tiny food particles for the shrimplets. After adding it to the tanks it has always had at least one of my shrimps on it so they are loving this plant already, just hope they leave some food for the babies.

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The Second Blue Jelly is now Berried, whilst shadows can be seen inside the eggs of my first berried Blue Jelly.