Infestation

They're like ants!

Shadow Panda Shrimp

The newest addition to my shrimp population, the Shadow Panda Shrimp.  The Shadow Panda is part of the Taiwan bee era.  Taiwan bees include the Black King Kong, Wine Red, Ruby Red and Blue Bolts.  Other new variations are coming to surface still but these seem to be the most prominent right now.

I only bought one because:

A.  It's really expensive.
B.  I've never kept them before and need to test out its hardiness when living in my tank.

It is currently residing in my second tank, the Crystal Black Shrimp tank.  You can view the tank here.  Minor changes in the tank have occurred.  For one, I took out the marimo moss ball.  I also removed the container that had flame moss in it.  Driftwood is still there, large piece of rock covered in xmas moss is there as well.
I don't know if this will be a permanent home for the Taiwan or for the Crystal Blacks.  I have about a month or so to figure out where he/she will stay.  More than likely, this tank will become a Taiwan bee tank though.  He/she is still too young to mate, so to avoid hybridization, I need to make up my mind fast.  I will update how this little shrimp does as days/weeks go by.

Wish us luck!

Crystal Red Shrimp Tank - Video update

An update of my Crystal Red Shrimp tank.  The larger babies seen in this video are approximately 6 weeks old (1 month and 2 weeks).  They're getting steadily larger and larger.  I started off with 17 CRS, 13 SS and 4 SSS.  All pure line CRS, never mixed with goldens.  They are NOT Japanese PRL however.

Food Fight

I just got back from my trip to LA in SoCal.  Turned on my shrimp tank lights for the first time in 3 days and found my shrimplets to be larger than I remember them!  I decided to pop in a small piece of Mosura food and they soon gathered together quickly.

Pics to follow.

Bucephalandra sp. 'Midnight Blue'

I'll be the first to say that these photos are pretty awful.  My camera isn't doing it justice at all.  

Besides being a shrimp keeper, I have a strong background in aquatic plants.  My fascination with plants started as a young child but my forte lies specifically with aquatic plants.  I just love collecting rare aquatic plants and within the past year, the Bucephalandra sp. have entered the hobby.  

Bucephalandra is merely a genus name of all sorts of variants.  There are currently only three known species that have been described but there are many variants.  From what I've gathered, variants all vary depending on where they have been collected.  Hence why the name of the plant pictured above is Bucephalandra sp. 'Midnight Blue'.  Midnight Blue isn't even a location, it's just a description given to differentiate this Bucephalandra from other variants.  There are so many variants out there, it is easy to get lost.  Some have long narrow leaves, some have round leaves like my Midnight Blue.  Some stay small, others grow a decent medium size.  However, they all have one thing in common and that is their flower.  Unfortunately, I do not own any photos of flowering Bucephalandras.  

I just got this plant a few weeks ago from a local hobbyist and good friend from a club I am a member of, SFBAAPS.  He was incredibly generous enough to share this plant to me.  Currently, it is only about 3/4 - 1 inch tall.  It was emersed when I first got it but I have since submerged it.  It is finally showing growth at the top of the plant, which is a good sign.  

The conditions of this plant is pretty simple.  Many people will describe this plant with similar care to the common Anubias sp.  They are a simple rhizome plant and must NOT be buried under the substrate.  Common ways of keeping it is to either tie it onto a solid piece of wood or rock and let it grow roots to attach itself onto the object.  Only roots should be covered but rhizomes should be left above the surface.  I have been told that unlike the Anubias sp. these guys do need co2 injection if submerged.  I already have co2 being injected into my tank, so I have not tested it without co2.  I am currently not in a position to experiment it without co2 injection, as this is an expensive plant and a rare one at that.  Perhaps in the future, when I have it propagating more.  

It is a slow growing plant but an easy one to take care of.  It does not require heavy doses of nutrients in the tank, as my tank is pretty lean in nutrient levels.  I know this because I can see deficiencies in my Hygrophila Pinnatifida.

Overall, it is a beautiful plant and a must have for collectors!  Slow growing, easy to keep, rare.  What more could I ask for?  

*Note* I like slow growing because that means less maintenance for me :)

CRS Tank Update

It has been a few months now since I have set this tank up.  I got my first batch of shrimp early in December of 2011.  I haven't had any losses in this tank and all are still alive and breeding.  *Knock on wood*

I came home tonight and decided to snap some pictures.  Lots of improvements.  For one, the mosses have really grown in.  I actually had to redo one of the mini pellia squares.  A friend needed some so I decided to redo one of the squares.  I noticed that a lot of baby shrimp like to hide within the liverworts and mosses AND underneath the square.  So with that in mind, I am taking extra precautions to not redo the mosses all at once.  It is a haven for baby shrimp to live in as I am sure the darkness makes them feel safer and with plenty of micro-organisms for them to feast on.  So hobbyists out there who follow the same tank set-ups as I do, keep that in mind.  Food for thought.

Picture time.
*Note*  All the white dashes on the tank's walls are young shrimp.  They're growing up nicely :-)

Full Tank Shot

Side shot.  

The CRS are gathering on the right because I dropped a food pellet there.

Mini Xmas moss mesh with baby shrimp roaming.

Berried SSS+ female!  Second round now.

Random Photos

Removing Fenbendazole after treatment

I dosed my tank with Fenbendazole (Dog Dewormer) about a month ago.  I did this because I caught my tank with some hydras.  With shrimplets being born soon, I acted quickly and went to the store to purchase some Fenbendazole to eliminate it.

While Fenbendazole DOES do the job and eliminates all the hydra in the tank, it is also toxic to nerites for some reason.  My nerites would get sluggish and pass out after a day or two in the water.  However, if removed within a reasonable timeframe, they do recover.  I saved all my nerites but had difficulty putting them back into the tank.  They would still pass out after a few water changes done in the tank.

I didn't know what to do, so I asked for suggestions in a local club I am in.  One of our most revered members suggested adding carbon.  So, that weekend, I bought a tub of carbon and added two filter bags filled with carbon in my HOB filter.  I had to use a lot more carbon than the usual tank servings.  Within a week, my nerites are now living happily in the tank without passing out anymore.


In summary:
If you dose Fenbendazole to eliminate hydras or planaria and want to reintroduce nerites, do a big water change and add a lot of carbon to your filter.  It should remove the toxins.

First batch update

My first batch of shrimplets are growing strong.  The oldest ones are a few days over 4 weeks old now.  Others are a few days under 4 weeks.  So these shrimplets are approx. 3-4 weeks old.  Some are about 2 weeks old, those of this age came from the SSS+ CRS that hatched her eggs not too long ago.

Overall, I am happy with my results.  I foresee a lot more shrimp in the future!

Baby Pictures & Genetic Information

So, I haven't really updated in a while.  Not much to update as I have been pretty busy with other aspects of my life.
However, I did snap some photos of approx. 2 week old baby CRS!  A majority of the offspring from this genetic line come out as SS CRS, very little S+ grades.  I'm quite happy with the genetics my SS Crystals carry.
Furthermore, my SSS crown CRS gave birth last night.  From what I've seen so far, the babies look to be mostly SS.  I am crossing my fingers that there will be some SSS babies here and there.

Photos below are pics of the babies!  That's only a couple of the 30~ I counted.

Now, information time!
I want to begin by saying this:  Not all CRS are alike!  Genetic background plays a HUGE role in these shrimp (and any animal for that matter).  What I mean is, if you pick up SS grades from person A and person B is also selling SS grades, it does not mean they are equally the same!  Grades and look-wise, they may look similar in terms of patterns.  However, a good genetic background will determine which SS CRS is better.

Important things to factor are...
- Hardiness of the genetic line
- Offspring survival rate and phenotypic patterns
- Overall health of the genetic pool.  Is it too homozygous or is heterozygosity still thriving in this population?

We can take the earlier scenario for example.  Let's make fake scenarios for the two, shall we?

Person A's SS Crystal Shrimp stats:
- Has lived and bred just fine in ph range from 6.4 - 7.6
- Babies DO survive in ph above 7.0 (not a common occurrence in CRS!)
- Baby offspring is averaging at around 80% survival rate
- Most babies come out to be A-S grade, a few SS grade.  A percentage of 80% A-S and 20% SS
- Color of the red and white are average.
- New CRS sources have been added multiple times, ensuring heterozygosity in the population's genetics.

Person B's SS Crystal Shrimp stats:
- Has lived and bred just fine in ph range of 6.4 - 7.0
- Baby survival rate averages around 60% - 80%
- Most babies come out as SS grade, a few S grade.  A percentage of 70% SS and 30% S grade.
- Color of the red and white is thick and dark.
- Original CRS came from 3 different breeders but have not had any new CRS added then.  Depending on how long this population has been going for, heterozygosity might be low.  So you are unsure.  However, survival rates are not too bad for offspring.


With both of these stats to consider.  Which genetic line would you pick?
They have its ups and downs, so choose wisely!  It's all a matter of preference, therefore, you should always ask for a genetic background when purchasing shrimp.


As for my CRS, their genetic background are of the following (and these are not made up now):

Original SS Crystals genetics are:
- Lived and breeds perfectly fine in ph 6.4-7.6
- Baby survival rate is at around 70%~
- Above average red and white thickness
- Offspring come out 80% SS grade and 20% S+ grade
- Original owner has had the CRS for approx. 1 year and have been selectively breeding for color.  No new CRS were added.  I assume heterozygosity in their genetics is not too high but original genes are extremely sturdy as shown in their survival rate and flexible water parameter conditions.
- I have since added 4 SSS CRS to improve genetic variation however.