As I understand you can have a whole pile of different cardenia and they will all breed then you can pick out the interesting ones from the herd and put them in another tank? Where as I can only have one variety of neo?''
When I started out I had 6 cherry, chocolate, orange, yellow , red rili and 4 crystals in a 30 gallon . I got amazing babies with the most unusual colors but come 3 generation or so the babies are drab . Some looked like poor quality cherry or even tiny ghost shrimp .
Granted I never separated the babies and bred them as you intend to .
''What is expected tank growth rate if I fully get into this hobby? What I mean is how often will I need to add "Just one more tank and this is the last one"?''
Well you need an extra tank for each unique pair of shrimp you want to breed but it can be a small tank . The drab babies you can feed to your puffers but it is interesting they wont touch the cherry shrimp .
I do not use RO water but most here do. I use dechlorinated tap water and ph here is high this is ''hard water'' . The shrimp thrive . I have lots driftwood in tanks and all heavy planted so maybe that lowers PH .
I don't test the PH so I have no idea . My temps are 76 during day and 72 at night .
I do add BorneoWild Shield after water changes . I don't sell anything thus no vested interest if you buy it and others here might suggest better products but I have noticed much better breeding with this supplement and I only use half tiny spoon not full dose and once a week .
''. So basically what am I missing? I plan to get cardenia mainly off CL to keep the cash lost to dying shrimp down (I understand there is a leaning curve with cardenia and everyone loses shrimp at some point).''
I never had any die offs as far as several dying other than an adult here and there since I have had shrimp for 3 years imagine that might be old for some shrimp so adults do disappear in the plants once in awhile . All my shrimp went in old established planted tanks which at one time contained male guppies .
This is why IMO ,I never had die offs .
I set up a few smaller planted tanks a few months ago and will soon start adding shrimp so perhaps my luck might run out because these aren't old tanks . Just cycled .