Happy Holidays!

BKK:


Wine Red:


CRS:

CRS Juvie:


Super Tiger x BTOE Shrimplet:


BKK Newborn:

Dancing CRS

November Updates

The BTOE x Super Tiger shrimplets have hatched!  I suspect they were released sometime over the holiday weekend as they appear larger than normal new/one-day old shrimplets; I was away so I cannot confirm the exact day.  They are clear/orange-ish and some appear to have light/orange eyes...hmm, is orange-eye trait dominant?  Pattern wise, they will probably resemble low-grade BTOE.

The BKK, Wine Red, and TB Hybrid shrimplets should be hatching soon as well!

Finally, here is a picture of Rachel "Msjinkzd" O'Leary and I.  She travelled from Pennsylvania to share her experiences keeping invertebrates with two Wisconsin aquatic clubs.  Check out her site for great deals on invertebrates and fish: Invertebrates by Msjinkzd.

The Return of the Super Tiger

After years of being absent from the North American shrimp market, the Super Tiger Shrimp has returned! A few US distributors are offering shrimp keepers the chance to acquire this relatively rare, beautiful shrimp. Though no visuals of the actual shrimp for sale have been provided, they are sure to be a hit if they look anything like the ones I have kept since 2008.

Asia Pacific Shrimp Contest - Results!

The results are in from the Asia Pacific Shrimp Contest, held from October 15, 2011 to October 22, 2011 in Japan. Follow the link to see which shrimp took home prizes this year: 2011 Asia Pacific Shrimp Contest

Happy November!

Winter is definitely coming as the temperatures outside are gradually getting cooler and the days are getting darker sooner. But things are heating up in my tanks as several females are berried. My Super Tigers have finally picked up breeding again - I think the hot Summer months really slowed them down. I also finally saw some activity with my Black Tigers, although it was a male BTOE x female Super Tiger; I suspect my original Black Tigers were all males, a similar experience shared with other breeders. And my Red Tigers have berried and released, but it is difficult to pick out the shrimplets from the mass of Red Rilis in the same tank. Finally, my Taiwan Bees have picked up activity as well. I removed all my CRS/Hybrids from this tank (except for two female CRS and their recently released shrimplets) and am sure the male responsible for the berry is either a BKK or Wine Red. Now comes the hard part of maintaining the berry and shrimplets upon release.
Fingers crossed ;)

March of the Hybrids!

With hybridization, the limit of shrimp varieties are ever expanding.  For example, there are numerous Tiger/Bee (TiBee) hybrids out there, as well as suspected TiBee/Taiwan Bee hybrids; even the famed Taiwan Bees (TB) themselves are believed by some to be the result of TiBee hybrids.  All of these shrimp are very attractive and unique in their coloration and patterns.

Such hybrids show how closely related all these shrimp species really are.  In fact, I once read that given nature's mysterious ways, it may be possible for Neocardina to cross with Caridina!

What do you think of hybrid shrimp?  Beautiful, or freaks of nature/deliberate crossbreeding?

Pinto Bee (Possible TB/Tiger/TiBee Hybrid)
Breeder: Astrid Weber

Blue Bee/Black Bee Hybrid
Breeder: Marian Bungeroth

White Tiger
Breeder: Monika (http://www.doxon.de/blog/)

New Video: CRS/BKK/WR

Some new photos:

New Shrimp!

I got some new Wine Reds, plus others, this week. All are doing well; now, the challenge is to successfully breed them!

Happy September!

I finally moved into my new apartment, but my tanks are still 2.5 hours away at my parents' house :( It's eerily quiet without the hum of the air pumps and bubbling of the filters; hopefully soon I'll get them down here. Here's a picture of where they'll be going, still gotta clean up -_- What do you think, two more racks..?!

Happy August!

Don't forget to stop by ShrimpNow for this month's desktop wallpaper, featuring a CRS from Alex Korakis of Greece (http://ravensart.wordpress.com/).

Here's a still image from the Benibachi Gallery Tokyo YouTube video. Look at the amount of substrate in the tanks! I wonder if they use a large amount to help maintain water parameters, especially for sensitive, high grade shrimp...click to view the full video!

My Rili population has been growing nicely since I got them in March. I've noticed females carrying blue, green, and yellow eggs - all of which seem to produce the "Rili" pattern. Neocaridinas do seem easier to breed, as I also keep Red Tigers in the same tank, which have not bred yet :(, while the Rili has really blossomed.

CRS munching on spinach:

Shrimp Rack: To Build, or Not To Build?

I will be moving to a new apartment in one month and will unfortunately have less space for my tanks. I've been contemplating whether to build a single rack for a select number of tanks I will be operating. The rack will be made of 2" x 4" wood and will be 3-tanks high, with the top row in a "step" configuration. What I really want to try out is utilizing dado joints for support, which will make the rack look more appealing, yet be relative sturdy. Here are some sketches I came up with (click to enlarge):



I currently have six 20 gallon longs and 6 10 gallon standards (along with various other tanks that will not be on this new rack), all on metal stands that hold two tanks each. With this new rack, I will downsize to only two 20s, placed on the bottom row, then three 10s directly above that, then the remaining three 10s a step above that.

New Neocaridina Color Variant: Orange Rili

Jared Green (atyidae.wordpress.com) shows us pictures taken by Chris Lukhaup of a new Neocaridina heteropoda color variant. These shrimp were bred by Gerd Arndt and are beautiful! Click the photo below to view more.

June Update

I moved all my CRS into one tank to make room in my other tanks for some new Tigers. Not much breeding activity from my CRS lately though; however, the shrimplets from the Spring batches are growing well and reaching juvenile age/size. The Super Tigers and OEBTs have stopped breeding as well; I suspect the warm summer weather is causing a change in their behavior. I purchased new fans to keep the tanks cool, and so far they have been working well, lowering the temperature 4-6 degrees F. Hopefully with the cooler water, they will get back into breeding mode. Still no luck with the Cardinals though. :(

Cooling Shrimp Tanks: Chillers, Fans, and Frozen Water

With the summer season quickly approaching, it is inevitable that the weather will become warmer, which in turn may increase temperatures in shrimp tanks. With the exception of the Sulawesi species of shrimp, most shrimp in the hobby prefer cooler temperatures, though they may tolerate higher temperatures if the change isn’t too drastic.

I like to keep my tanks between 72ºF and 77ºF; however, because my tanks are not in a space where I can control the room temperature, the temperatures of my tanks fluctuate according to the weather.  It is especially brutal in the summer, as outside temperatures reach up to, and sometimes beyond, 100ºF!  Luckily, there are several ways to cool shrimp tanks.

Chillers are a popular way to lower temperatures and are effective because temperatures can be regulated and maintained electronically; however, they are quite expensive and are required individually per tank.

Another popular method is the use of fans.  There are many companies that make cooling fans for aquariums; however, small computer fans work well (and are cheaper!).  They do tend to evaporate water quickly though.

Another method is freezing water in bottles and floating them in the tank.  In my experiment with this method, I measured the temperature of one of my 10 gallon tanks at 81.8ºF, floated 450mL of frozen water in a bottle, and recorded the time it took for all the water in the bottle to melt.  After approximately one hour, all the ice melted and the temperature dropped to 80.3ºF.  This is a cost effective way of lowing the temperature; however, there is no way to maintain a desired temperature and one would have to continually add frozen bottles.

I currently use computer fans to cool my tanks, especially those of my Tiger shrimp varieties, as they seem to be more sensitive to warmer temperatures.  I also keep the tops of my tanks open, which is helpful in dissipating heat.

Plant Dip: Eradicating Hitchhikers with a Chemical Bath

Taiwan Moss

I recently acquired a good amount of Taiwan Moss for some new tanks I am setting up.  Unfortunately, the moss came with lots of pond and trumpet snails (and possibly other hitchhikers).  Though the snails are harmless, I do not like them in my tanks; my morning routine consists of sitting in front of my tanks for an hour, and removing any snails that I see.  Right now, I have the moss in a 2.5 gallon tank and will lure out any snails with food.  After a few days of doing this, I will use a potassium permanganate solution to dip the moss into.  Depending on the result, I may use a chlorine solution as well; however, the chlorine method is much more harsh on the plant.

To prepare a potassium permanganate dip, fill a clean bucket with water and add potassium permanganate until you get a nice dark pink/purple color.  Add the plants and let them sit for 10-20 minutes.  After the bath, rinse the plants under water and add dechlorinator to the tank, which helps neutralize the potassium permanganate.  Be careful not to splash the solution as potassium permanganate may cause permanent stains; wearing gloves is also a good idea.

Preparation for a chlorine dip is very similar to a potassium permanganate dip; however, do not leave the plants in too long as they may suffer, possibly die, from the chlorine.  For delicate plants and moss, two minutes in the solution should suffice.

Shrimp Updates

- My CR and CB females have released their eggs and there are now little striped specks grazing around.  Most of them are already showing colors. 
- Several of my Fire Red females are berried; this will be the F2 generation.  The F1 had some light colored shrimp, along with some males that looked like regular cherries.  I hope to define the red coloration on the subsequent generations.
- I spotted the first Blue Tiger shrimplet; it is extremely small and cream in color.  There is a dense clump of Subwassertang in the tank, so hopefully the other shrimplets are hiding in it.
- I also spotted two berried Rili females; both have bluish-colored eggs, compared to yellow eggs I have seen on other Rili from another keeper.  I'm not sure how the color of the eggs differ in the result of the phenotype; will report when they are born.

Super Tiger

New Mosura Products

Mosura Goodies!

I was running low on my Shirakura food, and since my original supplier does not carry it anymore, I decided to give the Mosura line a try. Will Skurdahl has been in the shrimp hobby for a while and is highly knowledgeable. I am glad that he can provide US shrimp keepers with Mosura products. Check out The Shrimp Tank for your shrimp Mosura needs!

Update on Mosura Eros: I have been spraying Eros and have noticed shrimp dancing; however, at this point I cannot conclude whether it contributed to my current females becoming berried.  Eros is to be used in conjuction with Gravidas, and a good friend of mine had positive results from using the combination.  Now that I received Gravidas, I will use them together and report any effects.

Caridina cantonensis (Bee Shrimp) Habitat

Chris Lukhaup of CrustaHunter has found the Bee Shrimp habitat!
Check out his video below.

Berried OEBT

Here's a picture of my most recent berried OEBT, spotted on April 6, 2011.  First time for her : ) 

 

(click to enlarge)

aquarLiam Package and Shrimp Updates!

I received my package from aquarLiam today:

Azoo Max Bio Balls | aquarLiam inverteBites Green

Azoo Max Bio Balls:
   - Contains selected beneficial bacteria and enzymes, effectively breaking down ammonia, nitrite
   and nitrate in the substrate and water.
   - Slowly breaks down for the build-up of stable and long-lasting bio bacteria colony in the
   gravel bed.
   - Each ball contains 2×107 bacteria. The bacteria process starts when put in the water.
Ingredients:
   - Bacillus subtilis, Aspergllus olize, Bitido bacteruru, Protease, α-amylase

aquarLiam inverteBites Green:
   - A unique blend of plant matter, algae, vitamins, minerals, and immunoglobulins tailored
   specifically toward shrimp and snails.
Ingredients:
   - organic barley straw, organic spinach, broccoli, seaweed, rolled oats, spirulina, garlic, chlorella,
   organic whole wheat flour, montmorillonite clay, yeast, natural oyster shell calcium,
   immunoglobulin, trace vitamins and minerals

-------

Berried CBS

I also spotted this berried Crystal Black Shrimp today.  The eggs appear to be green in color, the first time I've seen this.  CBS are surprisingly harder to find, since most keepers prefer CRS; hopefully I get a nice colony started with this clutch.

I also spotted a berried CRS yesterday and since it was April Fool's Day, I thought my eyes were deceiving me.  But sure enough, there is a female full of eggs; haven't had the chance to take a clear picture yet.

My Super Tigers are doing well and I have 1-week old shrimplets from the most recent batch.  They are growing quite fast; I'm feeding them Shirakura Chi Ebi, powder food tailored for shrimplets.

Fire Reds, Rili, and OEBTs are reaching maturity and should be breeding soon; by that time, I should have my 20Ls converted to shrimp tanks and cycled, ready for more shrimp!

Ebikaraku Blog

Here's a nice Japanese blog that I've been following. The author has been focusing mostly on Crystal Black Shrimp. Check it out: ebikaraku.

ebikaraku Crystal Black Shrimp

Silane's King Kong and Panda Shrimp

Here's a video of some beautiful King Kong and Panda Shrimp (Silane Shrimp), watch in HD!

Setting Up a Shrimp Tank Guide

Here's a good guide from Benibachi on how to start a shrimp tank: Benibachi Guide. Do note that there are several ways to start a shrimp tank, and the views expressed here are simply those of Benibachi.

New Shrimp!

On Friday I received a shipment with new shrimp!

Crystal Red Shrimp and Red Rili!

Red Ruby!

Panda!

Also got some new Cardinals from a different shipment!

New Bulbs

I recently changed the bulbs on my light fixtures to 10,000K ZooMed Ocean Suns.  These give off a cooler, white light that really brightens up my tanks.  The old bulbs were 8000K and had more of a warm, pink glow.  Here's a comparison between the two:

8000K vs. 10,000K

Increasing Devastation in Japan

Aerial view of damage after earthquake and tsunami. (CNN.com)

It has been several days since the earthquake and tsunami in Japan and many still face the anguish of the aftermath. Amidst the freezing weather and destruction, reports now indicate higher levels of radiation than normal, after an explosion at a nuclear power plant. Hundreds of thousands of people are now homeless and the death toll is rising as rescue efforts continue. There has also been hundreds of aftershocks since Friday's major quake, with little certainty of what is to come.

Please consider donating to a non-profit humanitarian organization to assist in the earthquake/tsunami relief efforts.

Crystal Red + Crystal Black

Here's a good picture from the Crusta10 team that shows a possible phenotype from a Crystal Red and Crystal Black pair. Notice the brown coloration on the younger shrimp. (http://Crusta10.de)