Raising Low Order Dwarf Shrimp
In the Freshwater Dwarf Shrimp hobby there are many different species that have a great verity of breeding techniques. There are two main types of breeding types, low order and high order. High order shrimp hatch as miniature adults and have no specific care requirements, while low order shrimp hatch as larva and have many larval stages before they become post larva miniature shrimp.
The Amano Shrimp is a perfect example of a low order shrimp. After breeding the female will carry the eggs until they hatch. Once hatch the larva need to be transferred into full strength salt water and fed micro foods such as green water (a single celled algae that when in high concentrations causes water to turn green). The larval Amano Shrimp will go threw multiple larval stages before metamorphosis. 
After metamorphosis, the Amano Shrimp young are miniature versions of the adult shrimp and need to be transferred back to freshwater. The young shrimp need no further special treatment and will eat the same foods that adult shrimp eat.
There are also many shrimp that are low order shrimp that do not need salt water for the larva to grow. The American Glass Shrimp (Palaemonetes paludosus), also known as Ghost Shrimp, hatch as larva. These larvas thrive in freshwater. They go threw fewer larval stages than an Amano Shrimp, and seem to eat anything small enough to fit in their mouth.
How can you tell a low order shrimp from a high order shrimp? It is very difficult to tell the shrimp apart unless there is a berried female (a female carrying eggs). Eggs of low order shrimp are very small and there are often hundreds of eggs while the eggs of a high order shrimp are often larger than the size of the shrimp’s eyes and tend to have less than 100 eggs.
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