The bandit strain is one of the newest on the scene and selectively bred and named by Steve R. Their proper name is Caridina Sulawesi.
They originally come from 6+ph like other cards. My goal in buying them and working with them was to see if I could adapt them to 7+.
I lost a lot in the process and the strongest survived, of course. I then bred f1 and f2 for more babies to get used to the params. When I decided to exit shrimping, I sold all of them off, but had some tiny babies too small to ship.
I have 6 or 7 left in the tank that have now turned into adults in 7+ water. I'm told from those who have bred bandits, about 1/3 have better coloration. So, from my project it is currently unknown if the faded black/white is due to the higher ph or not. Here's some pics of mine showing some of the varied degrees of color.
So, I see two choices you may choose to go with from my project:
- The safest is to slowly adapt them back to 6+ph for best coloration and maximum baby survival.
- The more risky way is to continue to pioneer their survival at 7+ph with the theory that coloration will become better as they adapt in future generations. They also would be easier for shrimpers to keep later on.
I *think* I may have 7 in the tank, but I'll say 6 to be on the safe side. Today, I saw one berried. (No idea if that will keep in shipping?)
Please understand these are worth more since they are a new strain. (I paid $150 for 15.)
However, since I'm exiting shrimp, you can have all 6+ in the tank for 29.95! (Yes, that includes the berried one.)
Priority Shipping/heat pack in the continental US is $12.
As always, first to pm me gets them.