Soothing Shrimp

Brown definitely seem to be more dominant, while blues/grays seem to be more recessive.

Sounds like a plan on the Malawas. I did the dark browns for a while before other projects took over. Now a good majority of my Malawa are either dark brown or carry the brown traits. If you can get blue/gray going there's a lot of interest in that.

Welcome! Awesome you have a spouse willing to help you. How long have you been married? heh Mine puts up with my "addiction." "How long is the rcs growth period?" To my knowledge they never stop growing. The growth just slows down as they get older. "Does anyone feel bad emotionally about culling?" I've found a few things to help: a) if you have a fish or something, shrimp are on the lowest of the food chain and goes back into the circle of life. you can also RAOK (or give away) if you so desire. You make new friends this way, but if you don't have anyone in the area who is into shrimp you may have to deal with shipping. c) some people keep a cull tank. challenge with that is that eventually you'll have a multitude in there, too. d) believe it or not, they can also be dried, ground up and used as food for other aquatics. (humans as well.) Keep in mind shrimp have no brains. Just a cluster of nerves. Also, research has shown they do not feel pain. "To those of you who do ro/di water, how do you heat it to the same temp as the tank?" cheap heater and a 5g bucket work fine.

Any update on your opinion on this food with your colony right now?

I was planning on getting teh mag from somewhere else, but now that you have it- I'll just get issue #2 through you. Have an idea on price range yet for Shrimp King foods?

They mate belly to belly.

Nice berries there, Stef! Overloaded and beautiful! You'll have a nice colony going in no time!

If we are talking wild neos, then I would agree. However keep in mind these artificially selected neos have been bred for generations in artificial surroundings and environments. So that's where my thinking may deviate from yours. In my mind it would be taking people who who live in Florida all their lives for generations, whom also may have an Inuit (Eskimo) background, and dropping them into Alaska and saying they should be fine because their past history states their people came from there. If the temps work okay for you, that's awesome. :thumbsup: All I know is that mine start dying off in the 50's.

Very interesting. No need to dose the two teaspoons, just interested in the new info. Thank you.

It would make sense to a certain extent. In nature they may go from a sunny part of the water to a shady spot. Perhaps even dropping 10 deg or so from not being in the sun. The difference is they can always got to the sunny spot to get warm again. heh

"I wonder if the membrane in breathers let's out ammonia" Now THAT is one of the best questions I have heard yet! It would explain a lot. Personal observation: When I've had breather bags arrive to me it may have the occasional 1 or 2 dead shrimp and none of the rest seem to be affected. When plastic bags arrive to me, if one shrimp is dead, the others seem to be ammonia poisoned. I have absolutely no idea why. I've also had more shrimp arrive dead to me in plastic bags than breathers. Totally weird! That's why I use breather bags. Even if it makes myself feel better using it, it's worth it to me.

inverted, I'm very intrigued by Betel Nut Extract. Is it safe for shrimp? (silly question, but I have to ask) Also, how do you dose? Does it kill all copepods or just the worms?

Are you creating an underwater tree?

"The one lone french cut canned green bean I tried was a hit, though."I've read really good things about french cut canned green beans. I'm a little hesitant to try it because I don't know if it would aid in creating green water.

+1 The room the shrimp are at can get in the 50'sF here. At that point I start having die offs. The opposite is also true here though. The room is poorly insulated, so in the summer it can get 80's in the room which- if they are not used to the heat- can kill them also.. My heaters are set at 78-80F. In my case, the less change for their environment the better. Another pro is since I dabble in selective breeding, I have faster generations. The con is they burn out much quicker at that temp than normal. I don't deal with crs atm though, mostly neos.

Depends how old the adults are, however I definitely agree with the statement that if any of the shrimp have problems, usually it is the adults that show first. I suppose they are like the rest of us old folk. More ridged in our ways. LOL

+1 I guess the exception is I don't purge my shrimp. They have such a small bioload I never really found it necessary. However whichever way works for a seller that has the shrimp arrive healthy is fine with me. *thumbs up*

Thanks inverted.

"This tendency for genetic diversity is likely why they fell out of favor so Quickly in the Japanese market." Good information to have. Thanks inverted.

We all have to help each other, my friend.

What kind of leaves are you using? I use Mulberry and Cherry and not a trace to be found with the exception of veins which I take out eventually. I do like new foods though, and I'm sure at some point I'll try the "snowflake." The thing that has me intrigued is that it may be possible to feed less, but still be nutritionally sound.

Sounds like an interesting product I may try at a later date. For the moment at least leaves are one piece and stay in one spot.

I'm a bit confused. It ooks as if it comes in pellet form, but "Even though the shrimps are attracted immediately to Mosura Graze when it is introduced into the tank, it is perfectly normal to have white flakes left over." Does that mean if I feed my shrimp three times a week, I'm going to start accumulating the white flakes in the tank?

Fire reds are solid, but have thin pigment on the shell so you can see through them. Check out this link for a pretty good system of telling what grade your cherries are: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum/showthread.php/74217-Grading-system-of-Cherry-to-Fire-Red-Shrimps

Wouldn't make sense why it works on other sites then.