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The background of cycling the tank is to ensure that the beneficial bacteria has now in good number and ability to convert ammonia from nitrite and then eventually to Nitrate.
The long and short of this is that there are sufficient beneficial bacteria to convert ammonia to a less poisonous state. The tank will continuously produce ammonia as there are shrimp waste, food, rotting plants and that is the food source of beneficial bacteria, by ‘eating’ the ammonia and converting them to Nitrite and Nitrate.
As you can see there is a time line against the nitrogen in the tank, so when the ammonia and nitrite levels hit 0 it takes about 40 days.
Now we are aware of the reasons behind why we need to cultivate beneficial bacteria, is there ways to speed it up by 50%?
Certainly there are ways to speed up the cycling process however if you are a new breeder, you might want to find someone who is reputable to help you out.
Tank seeding, this means to seed the filter in another established tank for a week or two so that the beneficial bacteria can colonize the filter and then bring it back to your tank. This is much easier if you have already an established setup. If not then you can still continue with the 40 day cycle. Alternatively if you have other established tank and are 100% healthy no pest etc, you can consider exchanging one of the old sponge into the tank. This will help kick start the process as well. How fast does it help to cycle? It will certainly help to reduce the cycling time.
Bacteria products: There are many nitrifying bacteria products on the market, it helps introduce the beneficial bacteria in hope to colonize filters quickly and establish the colony. However, there are no dates as to when the batches are made and some do not see any results by using it.
Elements affecting speed of cycling:
low pH doesn’t do bacteria growth any good, so it slows down the bacteria colonization process hence it is a good idea to ensure there are oxygen in the tank, and a good filter media such as sponge filter/hang on back/cannister.
That is also the reason why cycling may take longer than usual for low pH tanks. There is no rush in cycling the tank because once you get it right the shrimps will keep breeding.
Add more tanks: If you can’t wait for the next tank to be fully cycled, than keep adding tanks until you are able to. That is what i normally say jokingly.
Weight loss fads a staggering $71 billion!
The weight loss industry in 2021 is worth $71 billion. What am i trying to relate here? There is a lot of financial incentive to introduce fads and connotation about speeding up cycling. The faster someone is able to cycle the tank, the faster they can purchase livestock and i think while we can super charge our tanks to cycle faster, we can’t magically turn a blind eye on science.
The stronger less delicate fishes and shrimp may be able to handle a 7 days cycle or a shorter cycle time without much effects.
I was also made known on many occasion that to get around it is to use old buffering soil which have lesser capacity to buffer which would in a short period of time send your ammonia test kit reading 0. Technically this can easily fool many new breeders but to an experience breeder we all know all too well because the tank will continue to remain sterile, microorganism can’t thrive and reproduce which on my other post on how to see if the tank has mature.
Water parameters the hard and soft value are equally important so if you are serious about shrimp breeding in the long haul, it is critical that cycling and maturing the tank before the shrimps are being place into it. Like i’ve mentioned the hardier ones would probably get through, but along the way people will look you up as a mentor to guide them. It is never wrong to do the right thing.
I have got many pictures from hobbyist where their tank look almost sterile with no life to it. Despite it being ‘fully cycled’, the tank just couldn’t get to a point where shrimps are happily breeding constantly.
Here are some impacts to a poorly cycled tank:
Shrimp doesn’t breed
shrimp look lethargic
female shrimp do not want to saddle
shrimps do not consume daily feed eagerly
hiding most of the time
constantly 1-2 dead shrimp on a daily to weekly basis
no microorganism visible
sterile looking tank, no algae, too clean
These observation can deduce a few things
insufficient beneficial bacteria
insufficient biofilm
insufficient microorgasim
insufficient balance to the tank
There is really no shortcut to maturing a tank, like wine, the wait is where the goodness is. Can’t rush it, because how you do anything is how you do everything.
This is a less in-depth shrimp post and taking this time to share some of the background of the Why’s of Shrimp Sanctuary and why it exist.
As the title says sharing and supporting has created Shrimp Sanctuary with the sole purpose of educating the hobby. This to me is one of the cornerstone of why it exists. In my home page, i did share the high level reasons for the existence of Shrimp Sanctuary and would take this opportunity to share more.
I get the opportunity to communicate to a lot of shrimp breeders all over the world and have forge strong friendship from it. From Russia to Malta to Poland to most of Europe countries and to Africa, Brazil, USA and not forgetting Asia. This has given me a very broad perspective of what is happening in each of these countries.
While we all have different languages, the common language we talk about is shrimp. However, what i also observed is that the politics we have in common in this hobby is fairly similar across the countries and the many sub groups within groups.
In Singapore there is no difference, however i believe that this can be change a person at a time with the notion of Sharing and Supporting. Sharing information that allow breeders or even beginners to kick start their hobby. In this day and age, information is widely available however we need to discern between accurate data and not so accurate data.
Like all new hobby, there is a learning curve and many prefer talking to someone to get up to speed as quickly as possible. So usually platform like YouTube and Facebook are great ways to obtain information if they couldn’t find someone to guide them. However, one must also be weary on what information is beneficial. A litmus test is to see if they are truly a shrimp breeder who have high quality shrimps. This will differentiate between noise and voice because great ideas cut through all the noise.
Why do i take hours and hours every week just to share something which i feel passionate about.
One of it is to debunk the fallacies in the hobby is we are drowning in information but starved for knowledge. A lack of knowledge creates fear, seeking knowledge creates courage. So when one is able to gain knowledge and put it to use, it dispel fear.
The secret to having good shrimp breeding is actually knowledge. The knowledge of breeding, knowledge of food, knowledge of setting it up. when we have all these have success, share them because knowledge gain is wisdom, sharing knowledge is humanity.
Why Shrimp Sanctuary
As the name denotes, a sanctuary for breeders and new hobbyist to come and learn more about the shrimp hobby. Information is free and can be use for learning but putting these information together and then trying it will give you knowledge over time. Experience does it.
At Shrimp Sanctuary we value free sharing of information which would otherwise have been kept a secret as i understand that good information is really lacking and hence learn from Taiwan and share it here. This journey continues as i continue to provide more information about shrimp breeding and sharing what works for us here in Singapore.
Wouldn’t we offend sellers by revealing all these information? I have been asked about this why invest time in things without benefit? At the end of the day we need to stand up for something we believe. Yes there will certainly be people for and against us.
Everyone have a finite time on this earth, time can either be invested or wasted, so i choose to stick to investing my time and energy to the top two quadrant, which accounts for 50% of the breeders. A special shout out to those who continue to read my blog following closely every week and encouraging me to continue writing. Thanks for that and for those who have sent me a token for “Virtual Coffee” greatly appreciate it.
For those in the last square, i simply do not invest any time to even try, and i’m sure many of you have them in your life. They will tell you what you can, what you cannot. Just Ignore the naysayers, because they may temporarily bring you down, but they will not be able to write your story. It is your story and it is your life, they don’t run it.
Hence, i continue to forge on creating blog entries to share as much as i can, which i learn from Taiwan. Do let me know what would you like to see in the next blog entry and i can write them for you while sharing with the rest.
As the pandemic continues on, i would like to reach out to everyone and say please stay safe!
This post is really about sticking with it and staying the course. I have received good feedback about breeders who truly stuck with it and make it work. Those who really stuck with it got to make it work.
Shrimp breeding is fairly straight forward and there isn’t much you need to do once everything is in place. Letting the shrimp do their thing and breed with the environment you have setup for them matters.
There isn’t one best way to breed shrimps nor a best water parameters, there are many ways to breed shrimp just finding a suitable and optimal way. In most of my post, i often share what works for me and stuck with it because it has given me results.
i would encourage you find yours and make as much mistakes in the beginning to learn. Once a method is really doing well for you, can stick with it until you learn something that you never had known about. Then adjust and gain better and better. Improve them over the years and do what you can for creating the environment for them.
Selective breeding in my other post have provided an in-depth information on what it takes to breed good shrimps. However, to build the shrimps up for breeding, the often overlooked part is biofilm because the rest of the process are quite similar.
In many of my articles i have shared the importance of biofilm and the consistent use of it will encourage breeding and overall enhancement of water quality. Continual usage will ensure that beneficial bacteria have food source to feed on and the biofilm is the key to better saddling and breeding.
When we use the kallax ball or lubao, it helps encourage growth of beneficial bacteria but if we remove the food source for them, the beneficial bacteria will lower in tandem with the amount of available food. We all know that beneficial bacteria helps maintain high quality water condition and it is important to maintain it stably.
using and introducing biofilm is a long and slow process, quitting won’t make it faster and to get there we need to stick to the process and continue on while we may not see results in 10 days or even 20 days. As ecosystem require a longer time frame before the shrimps start growing into it, we will need to be patient and stick to it.
For those who stuck with it at least for 3-6 months started seeing results because the entire ecosystem start to work well for the shrimps. Breeding will increase and shrimplets will breed through.
As long as you are using the lubao and kallax ball that were carefully blended and individually hand pack by myself will be fine. The process of preparing it for use followed to the T will certainly bring many more breeding females in the long term. Many renowned breeders have use the ball crafted by me and have real positive effects and does not float after 5 days. I’ll not put my name on something that doesn’t have the best in me, as i too wouldn’t want to have a ball floating up after a week. When the ball is half submerge between the water surface and ambient air, the fermentation process is disrupted and it create a rancid smell when expose to air. That is the reason why the Shrimp sanctuary ball will continue to remain under water where the shrimps are.
if we take a look at this example, we start with 2M 10F and after awhile, we got 4 female to berry and ideally we get about 40 shrimplet for a newly minted female since they’re not large yet to carry bigger brood size.
What i have observed is that if our conditions are right and biofilm is introduce from like plants/moss/lubao, it encourage more female to saddle which overall helps to get more female to breed. With the additional 20 shrimplet will certainly provide more shrimp numbers so you can start selecting process easier. While not all females look the same and to get that particular nice female you have to breed is like playing Russian Roulette, so we have to induce and encourage females to saddle as much as we can.
The more difficult the shrimp for example BFT, Boa, the more we would like the females to berry constantly and carry out their next generation because time isn’t on our side. There is only so much time we have to ensure the shrimp breed to good numbers before they retire.
Another example would be to get that particular nice female to saddle and breed may take in general 3-4 months but by introducing biofilm, it helps to further encourage to get saddle as soon as possible since biofilm is usually the last missing puzzle.
Continue to push forward
While there are setbacks in shrimp keeping, it is important to know that the setbacks are actually meant as a setup for you for better things to come. Reason being is that if we don’t fail, we are not even trying. I’m not asking you to fail but it is important that failing is an option and that you pick it up each time you fall. As you grow through it, you gain more and more experience and breed better and better shrimps. There are many successful breeders breeding excellent shrimp and you can follow their methodology and get there as well.
https://i0.wp.com/shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PSX_20211008_224414-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=119202560benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2021-10-20 18:23:232021-11-01 18:06:43It’s a slow process, quitting won’t make it faster
A shoutout to the breeder who have asked for this article to be covered, thanks for your support!
According to definition inbreeding is breeding very closely related shrimps with each other such as father-daughter (F0-F1), mother-son (F0-F1) brother-sister (F1-F1). Outcrossing is breeding totally unrelated shrimps or very distance relative, While line breeding is breeding lies somewhere in the middle.
Line breeding as you can see lies somewhere in-between inbreeding and outcrossing and can be understood as a planned inbreeding or a strategized inbreeding.
The purpose of inbreeding is to keep or enhance a certain trait or bloodline such as to continue for example the redness or size of a PRL.
The purpose of linebreeding is to keep the trait of a particular shrimp. For example red legs on a PRL.
So using both breeding method has it’s pros and con because too much inbreeding while can continue or enhance the desirable trait but run the risk of degrading shrimps of deform nature.
Where should i start?
When we first purchase our shrimp from a breeder, high chance the shrimps are closely related, however buying from a bigger breeder the chance of the shrimp being related are further apart.
When the shrimps are closely related, we can assume that they’re most likely brother sisters or cousin or close cousin. That way, we will start with mass breeding them before starting to select.
For example, i have selective took out from a brood 2 males and 3 females to selective breed, they are closely related cousins as i control the males that i use from 2-4 depending also on the number of females.
When close cousin breed, they will firstly continue the desirable trait but will not really enhance the trait and with mass breeding, the idea is to get as many shrimplets as possible in the shortest possible time. From there lock in after a few generations the desirable trait you would like and then start inbreeding.
When should it end?
We can safely assume when we purchase shrimps from a breeder chances are the shrimps are very closely related unless the breeders keeps multiple tanks of the same parentage and keeps a strict breeding methodology.
As you can see in the example if we start off with a pair and slowly breed them to masses and then when we have our shrimplets (also helps to prevent too much inbreeding as male as small as 0.8cm can fly), it is important to remove them. The whole idea is to create 2 lines and relative or half/brother/sister (cousins). This way it will help pass on desirable trait and minimize undesirable trait when half brother/sister mate and at the end of the continuum if one would like to inject yet another desirable trait, an outcross can be made when you purchase the same line from the same breeder as we can safely again assume they are distant relative.
This PRL has been inbred (crossback) to maintain the desirable trait of size and redness. Now i’ll start breeding to a good number and split into two tanks so that i’ll have cousins. It takes almost 2 years to get to this stage.
selective breeding “Be All End All”
Selective breeding takes time, years and years of consistency but many give up before results are seen. Selective breeding is the Be All End All in raising the quality of the shrimps.
This can be modified depending and minimally you’ll need 3 tanks to get to the desirable trait, i have expanded the number of tanks to split out the improvement tank and championship tank.
Main Breeding tank: when we start breeding 2M 8F of decent quality, this tank will continue to breed for shrimplets.
Shrimplet tank: this is where we will house all the shrimplets and once you have decent female, put it back into the main breeding tank. Over time you will find that there could be 2-3 good males and 10 good females, you can then take them out and put into the improvement tank.
Improvement tank: Strict inbreeding happens, and then the shrimplet can be scoop out into another shrimplet tanks and then the process above continues and then get to the championship tank which would probably be your goal to get there.
However, when you get there, the shrimps are fairly inbred, so now it will be good to split the tank into two and then get cousins so that the genetics pool do not get too similar.
Hope it helps! If not drop me a PM in messenger facebook and i can clarify any questions 🙂
https://i0.wp.com/shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/inbreeding_Linebreeding-example.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=17201280benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2021-10-13 17:40:372021-11-01 18:26:01Do you want to succeed in breeding? – Inbreeding and Line breeding
A shout out to a breeder down under and this post is dedicated to you. Your question regarding if lighting helps with shrimp breeding. I think the long and short of this is it will really depends. What kind of answer is this?
Sunlight is the food source of everything and it is important to the entire ecology of Mother Nature. So is lighting important to breeding, yes it does to a certain extend but does not have an immediate impact however critical.
The reason for this is because light helps plants such as moss and floating plants grow and make food which in turn provide shelter and food for microorganism. In the same line the plants also help cultivate biofilm providing food to shrimps. With this it may appear that lighting is important.
Does shining light for long hours make shrimps nicer? No it doesn’t. Light does not make a shrimp nicer by shining long hours on it. They too do not get sun tan like humans do. The only thing that is achieve certainly is a higher electricity bill.
Type of lights
There are plenty of light choices in the market now and are fairly affordable. When i first started this aquarium hobby it was only florescent light tubes and then then Pressured Lamp and moved on to T5/T8 and eventually now with LED with multiple colors for different purposes.
I have used quite a number of light sets before and for shrimps it is rather straight forward, since we are not growing high light plants, then there isn’t really a need to splurge on high end light sets. However, it is important that the lights promote growth of your plants at least and not so dim that even mosses don’t survive.
For shrimp keeping both T5 and LED are recommended, however i will now lean towards LED because it is light, doesn’t give off too much heat and have a very long lifespan.
T5 light sets are fairly heavy and i have retired my T5 light as there is a need to change the tubes annually and it is expensive to keep it running. LED on the other hand can be cable tie to the rack and or place on the tank and easily moved around since they are lightweight.
The prices for LED nowadays are as affordable as T5 if not more affordable as the massive shift towards LED. With more advance LED light set there is also dimmable feature, sunset feature, timer, wifi all inbuilt.
Currently because it is fairly affordable to get LED lights hence i’m using Chihiros normal white light LED which does the job well.
how much light is sufficient
Generally if you see plants such as mosses and floating plants growing then you have sufficient light for your tank. I’m using a 6000k Chihiros light there are 5 levels of light intensity i’m setting it to level 3 and they are doing great. When the entire ecosystem is well establish and mature, while light doesn’t appear to have immediate impact but overall it does help.
Just like lubao/kallax ball which create biofilm, while they don’t have immediate impact but overall it helps with the ecological system in your tank. This is yet another soft value that is often overlooked.
So does the amount of light helps or impact breeding, indirectly it does because a decent amount of light certainly still help with the whole eco-system hence all these small sum adds up to a successful breeding experience.
Water Parameters Hard Value
I split water parameters into two different large category namely the Hard and Soft parameters.
This post is a follow up of the previous one where i touch on water parameters. This will help to provide a clearly picture of what it meant to have both hard and soft water parameters and the importance of it.
Hard water parameters are those that most of us use test kit to measure, this is where the hard values are tested and indicate a value corresponding to either acidic, dissolved solids etc.
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One of the most important steps in breeding shrimp is to have a goal in mind and a direction where you would want the shrimp to develop into. This will help lift you up when the going get tough. I have breeders tell me that after 1 generation of breeding they can’t get any nice shrimps from their brood. Do not breed shrimps with a defeated mindset.
With the goal in mind, even with 1 pair of shrimp, one can still succeed as long as the process of breeding them are kept the same like your other proven methods. High grade shrimps can be costly hence it’ may not be financially viable to get a big colony to start with. Even if one starts with 1M 2F it is still possible to be great.
The 1M 2F trio should then be bred to masses first and from there keep using the female shrimplet from the F1 to breed more and get to masses as soon as possible.
Racing against time
Shrimp have a very short lifespan, hence it is a racing against time to quickly get them to breed as fast as possible. Female shrimps when they reach about 1.2cm start to breed but their brood size is small but with higher frequency.
As they start to mature their brood size becomes larger but with lesser frequency. When the female start to get old, their breeding slows down to once in 2-3 months. Hence the ‘breeding’ duration is really short.
Why am i saying this? The reason is because the conditions have to be optimum during the breeding period and to ensure maximum clutch size everytime. Not forgetting newly minted female often need to gain experience in the first few brood before successfully deliver shrimplets.
Water conditions often measured by parameters are just one side of the equation. The other part of the equation is if there are sufficient biofilm, microorganism, hiding space, breeding ratio.
Second part of the equation
A large part of the 2nd equation consist of biofilm/microorganism/hiding space/male to female ratio etc. This is where it is often overlooked and equally important to water parameters. I like to categorize it as the last piece to obtain an optimal ecosystem.
As hobbyist we can’t measure biofilm or amount of hiding space, it however has a very strong contribution to the success of breeding. We can setup a tank with soil, filtration, plants and get the right water parameters but that does not mean your breeding tank is well established or optimal for breeding.
Getting to that optimal point is where considerations such as if there are sufficient biofilm in the tank (can be lubao/kallax ball/moss/leaves etc). Is there microorganism in the tank that is feeding on the biofilm as well. Hiding space while important also has to be visible so shrimps don’t hide and die in there without knowing. How about the male to female breeding ratio of 4:20? All these are measurable elements that are often missed out but contributes a lot to the success towards breeding.
While the hard numbers measuring for pH/KH/GH/TDS/Nitrite/Nitrates are important, a successful breeder goes beyond just the above measurements to ensure breeding success.
Hence, it is important not to have a defeated mindset when breeding shrimps. Look beyond measurable water parameters, these are just the foundation of shrimp breeding. Once your ecosystem is well established, breeding shrimps would then be rewarding and gratifying. Till then, never be discourage, never give up, give it all you have and remember one day when you succeed, reach out to those who need help. Each one teach one.
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How does grazing material impact the breeding process
It is becoming difficult to ignore the fact that grazing material is one of the key elements for successful shrimp breeding process. It can be understood from the abundance of available grazing material to ensure continual breeding to happen. Shrimps like in the ‘Animal Kingdom’ breed when the conditions and environment are ideal. They thrive and procreate their next generation. In their natural habitat, shrimps feed consistently all the time. While their ‘hands’ are constantly feeding they’re trying to pick up the biofilm and consume them. Biofilm is an important source of nutrients to shrimps as they consist of nutrients that can be absorb naturally by the body. In this day and age, high quality feed is made to create as much beneficial nutrients to the shrimp. However, according to some research (Importance of biofilm as food source for shrimp), the feed they use although ingested were not properly incorporated by the shrimp tissue. In other words, it appears to suggest that while we may feed our daily feed, there are still some nutrients that must be compensated through biofilm consumption.
The term grazing material really encompass a large area but what i would like to share in this article is while most grazing material are used, it is the biofilm they produce that have a direct impact to shrimp overall health and breeding. Biofilm grows almost anywhere, and it is not simply the biofilm that is the important intake, it is also the microorganism that the shrimp consume. With an abundance of microorganism and biofilm, that is where the ‘invisible’ nutrients are playing a major role of the breeding process.
Growing biofilm
There are many ways to cultivate biofilm such as leaves, cholla wood, media, plants, mosses and microorganism ball aka Kallax ball or lubao.
Leaves such as Indian almond are good source of biofilm generation, the leaves soak in water will start developing thin layer of biofilm for the shrimps to consume, however the leaves will not be able to consistently produce biofilm as the leaf tissue are consumed together with the biofilm by the shrimp.
A wide variety of biofilm producer is ideal, and personally i’m using plants, mosses and definitely the lubao or kallax ball.
While one cannot directly see the impact of shrimps consuming biofilm, however there are research paper that is done scientifically that natural food for shrimps are biofilm and is the key that allow shrimps to continue their existence.
Biofilm, female shrimps and shrimplets
If one have put leaves in the tank or have use Kallax ball or lubao, it can be observed that during the conditioning phase of breeding (saddle), they can mostly be found near biofilm source. When female shrimp berried, it is often seen that they are on the biofilm generation such as lubao in this case when i use them. While shrimp feed are fed daily, the female shrimp continue to graze on the lubao very frequently more so when they’re not berried. This observation is seen across many tanks when female shrimps berried.
Another observation and reported by many who have used lubao is shrimplets find their way to the biofilm source and graze for the first few weeks of their live and then move on to other food source. The constant biofilm allows females and shrimplets in my opinion benefitting the most out of it.
With the above, it in turn help to encourage females to saddle more readily and directly improve shrimplet survival by providing first food.
Long term impact
The long term impact for having a consistent biofilm source in the tank outweigh the risk of deformity and degrading, and hence important to have different sources of biofilm readily available in your tank. Like i’ve mentioned, every surface area in the tank is able to harbour some biofilm but the more direct source it is, the more you’ll be able to control.
While we may not be able to see any impact immediately, biofilm is still an important source of grazing material/nutrients for the shrimps and if you’ve not considered them before, i hope this article would allow you to wade deeper into the water and learn more about the intricacies of why biofilm is an important source of nutrients to shrimps.
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This is often overlooked when it comes to shrimp breeding because if a hobbyist keep them in a large colony and “Hope” for the best results will often be disappointed. The history of Caridina you see today with multiple colors and pattern are what we call selective breeding. *Disclaimer* i’m not a know all but a very passionate hobbyist trying to share as much accurate information as possible.
Today, i’ll touch on just 1 topic about genetic breeding known as backcrossing (Line breeding) and outcrossing . The whole idea of backcrossing is to strengthen the genetics of either side of the parent shrimp. For example, if you start off with a male and female and you would like to retain and enhance the male traits than backcrossing a F1 female to F0 Male is required. For outcrossing, it inject new genetic traits into the current pool to enhance new trait and also helps prevent deformation.
Backcrossing: I did a simplified chart with a Male and Female each carrying 100% of it’s own genetic pool and the F1 in ideal state will carry both 50% of the parents gene. (Please note that this will work optimally if the pair is of certain quality. matching a good male and a transparent female will have a higher cull % at BC1 resulting in a longer process)
Now taking the desired trait F1 Female and putting it back into the F0 Male tank to further build on the Male traits.
Now the BC1 shrimplet will carry 75% of the male genetics which is much nearer to the male F0 shrimp.
When we are in this stage, the F0 Male x BC1 Female will result in a higher % of trait similarity genetically to the F0 male.
F1
50
50
BC1
75
25
BC2
87.5
12.5
BC3
93.75
6.25
BC4
96.875
3.125
This is a very simplified outlook of the genetic makeup
The journey to create that ideal trait has it’s down side as well and after speaking to renown Taiwan breeder confirms my learning on the side effects of too much inbreeding.
Here are some of the effects where it’s classified as degeneration/deform:
When the female do not hold the eggs or keep kicking the eggs
Young shrimplet born out and keep dying given the correct parameters
shrimplets that never reach maturity and always remain small
big head and head to body ratio does not fit 1:3 deform growth in large numbers
Open skirt or some call it skirting where the carapace is too short.
decreased lifespan
Hunchback
To prevent deform shrimps and also to keep a good line of shrimp require diligence in ensuring the shrimp do not over in breed. When you do see any of the above effects, the shrimp had already reached a very late stage of inbreeding. You can use that as a gauge if not you can consider injecting new blood/genetics whenever you can and the method of doing so is call outcrossing.
Outcrossing: The idea for outcrossing on the other hand is to inject new genome to the current shrimp which has been line bred for some time. The reason this need to be done is because when line breeding get too excessive, deform start showing, shrimps stop breeding, growth stagnant, etc hence it is important for the health of the line to occasionally introduce new blood. There is no hard and fast rule when to introduce the new genetic into the pool because different people get the shrimp at different generation. If the shrimp i have gotten is already line bred for 5-6 generations it will reach the deform point faster if the shrimp has been already outcross before. A reputable breeder will be able to provide high quality new generation of shrimps when they have a large number of tanks to prevent too frequent inbreeding.
I hope this post provided you some insights into breeding high quality shrimp.
Sorry did i write the wrong title for this post? Isn’t it supposed to be Shrimp related, why is this talking about the Michelin Star?
This analogy was shared to me after a discussion with a breeder in Singapore such as what are mass market shrimp food made up of, what goes into that mix and such, how are shrimp bred and sold, i decided to pen down our thoughts on this.
This short post is for light reading.
A person walks into a Michelin star restaurant after trying to book in advance for a year, he was ushered into the restaurant with finest. The dinner started and he was very please he tasted excellent Wagyu (Japanese beef) and then decided to ask the Chef.
“What make this steak so tasty?”, the Chef just smile and commented about the special breed of cow that underwent a specific feeding/caring routine but more importantly they are also a selected line of livestock that have been deem the highest sought after grade.
The person then follow up with a few other question “where did this Wagyu come from, how did you manage to cook this, what are your secret?”
The Chef replied politely that this came from a prefecture in Japan and we use the finest of ingredients to serve you well. The chef continue entertaining the guest as dinner was cooked and serve in front of them. Everyone commented that it was one of the best dinner they ever had.
Why did i relate this story?
Globally we have many breeders just like we have many restaurant but each of these breeders have their own trade secrets that they will only share to a certain extend – just like the Chef. Even if the chef shares everything with you and you open up a restaurant doesn’t mean you will be awarded the Michelin star but you do probably get to learn over many years how to breed good shrimp.
It is however important that as a breeder the most critical part of the processes adds up starting with keeping the water parameters suitable. having good stock shrimp and then the selection process – do you have sufficient tanks to do so; are you keeping a log about it; are you following a strict culling process; every little bit counts.
Consistency.
Behind every successful breeder story appears one commonality and that is consistency. If you want to be successful in your breeding journey, and equipped with the knowledge of shrimp breeding you need to have consistency in your process and source. The journey to breeding good shrimps, such as culling (which i will touch on in another long post) is difficult for many hobbyist but that doesn’t mean the shrimp has to go, it all means it will be kept in another tank. The stricter you cull the better. If you apply consistency across your husbandry, breeding methods and source, you will be on the road to success.
While we chase for the stars, look among hobbyist who have high grade shrimp and then if willing – share the information with you. This shouldn’t be taken for granted, and in all my information sharing – there are already processes that will certainly help you to be a better breeder and when you earn your stars, remember to invite me for dinner some day.
https://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.png00benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2020-10-30 10:40:392020-10-30 10:40:39Michelin Star
There are a lot of factors influencing the shrimp ability to breed from water parameter to food to shrimp genetics. However, today i would like to touch on a fairly common topic on Shrimp Food. The first question i get asked frequently is how often should i feed my shrimps? If you have a lot of shrimps like 20 or more, you might want to consider a daily staple feed fed twice daily and also a grazing material. Grazing material such as Lubao, Indian Almond leaves, Alder cone, cholla are some good examples.
The reason to feed them twice is so all your shrimps are fed and the female will ‘Think” that the tank have sufficient food to support their next generation. The whole idea is to feed lesser quantity but high frequency. So twice is good and if you can do 3 times it works as well.
If you feed in the morning and the shrimps are unable to finish it within 4 hours, then you’re not required to feed the second time in the evening Thats my general rule of thumb, Remove the food by then or if you have ramshorn snail, they will help with scavenging and foraging on the shrimp food. If the shrimps are not feeding, it could be there are still plenty of biofilm in the tank but do watch out if the shrimps are looking lethargic and not feeding.
A grazing material aids in building up biofilm for shrimps to consume between meals. Think of it like a snack and a good grazing material will be the food source between feeds.
There is a wide range of food in the market and i think we are spoiled for choice and which one is good for my shrimps? Personally i like using a good staple food and that is Hwa V1.
Staple Food
Basically shrimps are not that fussy eater, most of the staple food sold in aquarium shops today are basically ok to feed your shrimp. I personally prefer keeping things simple and to feed only 1 type of staple food but a variety of grazing material is very crucial.
I’m using Hwa Version 1 Shrimp food pad, this food is formulated with carefully selected ingredients to provide shrimp with all their requirements.
if you are using some shrimp food which you think they’re good for your shrimp, good! There is really no need to change.
Occasionally i feed Bacter AE and blanched spinach, they’re fairly good especially blanched spinach. if i’m feeling rich, i’ll order a pack of organic spinach and take out one serving for the shrimp while i consume the rest as a salad. For Bacter AE, i only dose them very minutely once a month to provide additional boost for creating biofilm.
Grazing material
Now here we get serious, grazing material in my opinion is equally important to daily feed. The amount of surface area for creating biofilm is important as it mimics the natural environment where Shrimps feed on biofilm.
Lubao, Indian Almond leaves and moss are three very popular and recommended grazing material. Alder cone and Cholla are not native to at least this part of the world, so i defer that information to those who have them. For Indian Almond leaves and Lubao we have very easy access to them hence we use them readily. I really like using Lubao because it is technically a microoganism food that produces food for cultivating microorganism for the shrimp to feed on and also biofilm. Indian almond leaves without going too deep into this topic has antibacteria properties, produces biofilm and are well liked by most shrimp. Grazing material is important because shrimp feed constantly and if there are not enough biofilm in the tank and daily feed is not consistent, the shrimps will not breed. They will start cannibalizing during molting. Hence, it is highly critical to have grazing material available.
A living grazing material that works very well is moss. Moss harbour a lot of microorganism which allow adults and shrimplets to graze on. Moss also provide cover for berried shrimp and shrimplets however it is also important not to over crowd the tank with moss because if it get too dense, some of the berried female may get stuck in there and die. Hence, always thin out the moss to a small bunch the size of your hand.
Summary
Taken together, it is vitally important for food to be readily present in the tank but this is also a fine balance between food availability and water parameters. As more food and grazing material is introduced into the tank, the water parameters changes so do choose a good staple food and grazing material into your shrimp breeding setup and it will go a long way. You will be rewarded with more berried shrimps and shrimplets in the months to come. In addition, as lubao is my favourite grazing material as it is easier to manage and control.
It is difficult to ignore the fact that this topic on Shrimp net is often very overlooked and often undermentioned. Reason i say this is because most of the time hobbyist will get any net and use it for ages! I am one of them until i met a craftsman who specialize in shrimp net and have been customizing more than thousands of Shrimp net for hobbyist.
i got very intrigue to learn more about why shrimp net differs so much compare to the normal aquarium net. I was lucky to be introduced to this net craftsman earlier on. He is based in Taiwan where it is the mecca of the shrimp hobby. Learning from him i have understood the importance of how the net should be design the way it is.
customizable length.
No 2 hobbyist have identical setup and it is important to have your net customized to your usage so that you can use the net without having to dip your hands into the tank
get a slightly longer than the height of your tank net. Reason being is the angle when you want to reach the far end of the tank
Net material
Low drag or easy to move the net around in water. The holes of the net has to be kept small but not too small because it will be difficult to maneuver the net in the water.
The small holes prevents shrimp legs/etc from entering into the holes of the net. For example if a rostrum get stuck inside the hole of the net, the barb like structure could be difficult to dislodge.
Net handle to be light – for ease of use
Care of the net
I learn it is important to keep the net dry after use, shaking it dry and hang it to drip dry. For those living in humid conditions like in Singapore at least…your net wouldn’t last very long before the net becomes soft
when net becomes soft, it is advisable to change. This will prevent your precious shrimp to fold accidentally during the netting of shrimp.
It is far easier and less stressful for a shrimp when the net material is still stiff allowing the shrimp to enter and exit easily.
Net too have their expiry date and that is when it becomes soft and limp i will have it change.
That is what i have learnt so far from the craftsman in Taiwan. The YouTube video can be found here: https://bit.ly/3lVWrZZ
Here it is, the net i have been using so far and it really serve it’s purpose. Once the net is replaced by a new net, i will remove the net material and keep the remaining of the net, bend it and make it into a soil leveler. It can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dSLSnLnuJ0
could be coincidence but even Hwa from Taiwan uses this net when i browse through his pictures.
and of cause… the man in action
One hand on the number clicker and the other hand netting the shrimps. with a stiff net, it will make the netting process much easier. These Taiwanese breeders net more than 5000 shrimps in a sale order, and simply put this has certainly change my perspective of a simple net. It has weave through all your precious shrimp from tank to tank. Hope you have learn something through this post!
picture taken from https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002610781257
https://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.png00benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2020-10-18 01:01:492021-04-24 13:58:36Weaving through the nets.
Had a great support to go ahead with vlogging, not something i thought about doing but certainly a good way to improve myself in many areas. Like one of the comments shared with me “You Only Live Once”.
Not the best but getting the first step out is a great deal for me to continue doing it, i enjoy sharing information like in this wordpress and i would now take it to another platform where i integrate information here.
Feel free to share with me how i can improve my vlogging as i’m still very new to this.
3 Tips on getting the tank ready prior to shrimp introduction
https://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.png00benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2020-10-04 09:33:362020-10-04 09:33:36Trying out vlogging
This feels like the kid that goes into a candy shop or a toy store, the butterflies in the stomach. Due to Covid it has been some time where i can purchase Taiwan shrimp directly and ship it legally into Singapore. With all the help from friends who made this possible thank you!
Now i can’t wait to get my hand on the box to see how the shrimp look like. Should i do a vlog on unboxing? It really is exciting. For those who had chime in to make the Mass Order possible, thanks!
Now this is a big controversy when it comes to PRL with Crown or flowerhead pattern, it is undoubtedly being discussed for many years and at length.
Is flowerhead considered PRL?
Yes and No.What kind of an answer is this?
Maybe if we trace back the direction at which the breeder started and also the notion of what constitute as PRL will help give appreciation to the subject at hand.
From a very technical and strict selective methodology a crown head or flowerhead is considered to be cull out from a very pure line of PRL. These “PRL flowerhead” are then place into another tank to survive on their own and when market demands for these pretty looking “PRL Flowerhead” the notion of PRL Flowerhead become popular.
So from the above statement, can we classify these as PRL or the more acceptable term CRS? In various countries, the naming convention becomes misinterpreted and here is an example:
“I purchase a pair of high grade PRL with Mosura pattern from Japan or Taiwan and in the first 3 generation of breeding it is all very pure grade without crown or flowerhead pattern indication. By the 4th Generation i happen to see 1 PRL with the potential to become a flowerhead and i took it out to its own tank. Subsequent generation yield with more flowerhead potential and eventually i have a batch of flowerhead potential. After several generations of selection i manage to get some nice flowerhead. These are generally classified as “PRL flowerhead” for the general breeder. For very strict breeders, the Flower head pattern will be considered Cull hence the pair of high grade PRL will still need to be refined by myself to ensure purity of the line.”
A very strict line of PRL will not throw out anything other than PRL and the flowerhead pattern will not see the light of the day. The breeder in order to maintain that strict line will have to cull it to ensure the line maintains its purity.
Now with a little background on where the branch stems out when a flowerhead is being developed, than how about CRS flowerhead?
Now it gets hairy because CRS flowerhead due to export demands mass breeding need to happen. In general the CRS flowerhead is mixed with a range of shrimp to increase the likelihood of getting a CRS flowerhead. This could possibly mean, golden bee, wine red, PRL where massive number of females are used to help with the supply glut.
When hobbyist purchase from various sources, mixing them together and than claiming it is PRL flowerhead would probably be why the controversial started. First they purchase from breeder A and than breeder B and C and mix all together and claim it’s from breeder A (if it commands a higher price using breeder A name). Now the genes are very diluted, and when the hobbyist purchase it from the seller and started his own mix, nobody really know what it is.
When will someone know if the “PRL” becomes a CRS? Sometime recessive gene only appears after 10-11 generation that is a good 5-6 years at least… so it is difficult to trace back and hence my recommendation is always choose a good breeder to start with hence you have someone to check back upon. Stick to a good reputable breeder.
Businesses are setup with the intention of making profits. As businesses continue to meet with difficult economic situation, a reputable breeder must continue to share upfront the truth of the line. If you have already selected your breeder to purchase from just enjoy keeping the shrimp! But it is up to us to uphold the virtue of the breeders line.
Hence, to uphold the strict breeder’s line, it is important for me at least not to mix different breeder shrimps as it is a hit and miss and also dilute the years of hardwork the breeder has done. i will also not purchase from a consolidator because of different quality of shrimp and lineage. Personally, it is crystal clear to me in terms of the naming convention and i hope this post will shed some light in this often challenged topic.
p.s. this post wasn’t intended to show the difference of Flowerhead, but that could be our next post. For now enjoy shrimping!
Pure red line (PRL) are really good shrimp to start on your shrimp breeding journey. One of the reason is because they are really hardy and can take quite a wide range of water parameters.
I have friends who kept them up to 800 tds almost liquid rock type of water but they are still alive. Of cause when he found out that he quickly change water and slowly bring it down.
Water parameters I like to keep PRL in.
TDS 85-90
pH 5.8
KH 0
GH 4
Temp 24
Breeding PRL is fairly straight forward once you provide them with the above water parameters, some hiding space, a higher female to male ratio, chances are you will get them to breed about 1-2 months after you first introduce them into your tank.
When the number of PRL increases, so does food requirement. Like in all my shrimp feed, I feed them Hwa version 1 pad. It is necessary to feed them daily to have healthy growth and prevent cannibalization. When the females are fed well with abundance of food source, they will start to saddle and berry.
One important part of the food cycle is preferably some grazing material like the lubao will be good for long term breeding projects. It allow female shrimp to have a consistent source of food available.
hope this post will benefit those who are venturing into PRL breeding. If you have questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Shrimp grading should not only be used during competition or sales. I think it is a good tool for hobbyist used wisely and appropriately can help improve shrimp quality.
In general the shrimp grading would consist of a few broad spectrum and they are :
Size
Color
Pattern
uniformity
In these grading list we will need to look into a few areas like for example color, the overall color of the shrimp, how does it look. What about the legs are they colored as well.
If we based everything upon 100% you can actually develop your own grading ranking chart to improve your shrimp quality.
Setting up the grading
Size and colour is critical because if the shrimp is able to maintain the colors when they are of big size 2cm,2.5cm the scoring increases. The reason behind this is because as the shrimp grow large, their colors fade so if the shrimp is able to attain to the max size and maintain the color it will be scored highly.
As you can compare the size on the left and right, the right Boa have a much large size, max size with full colouration. This would have scored very highly.
The color is also uniform with little to no transparent in the body nor legs. Also the colors of gold/blue and black are all colored well.
Next as we come to pattern, it is critical to score highly here too, while color comes first followed by pattern, it does not mean it is not important. Pattern as you can see from the size of the shrimp vs pattern.
The patterns are well shown on the body with respect to body size.
Now with that in mind, we understand this is how the grading chart works. So if i take this as a benchmark, i’ll work my shrimps towards this grade. I benchmark the boa grading with Skyfish as i have his shrimp also authenticity to understand and learn what entails Grade 1, 2, 3 and Championship grade.
Selective breeding helps to improve the shrimp grading eventually if done properly. However, that is the external features of the shrimp which is done through selection. There is another critical point the internal factor of the shrimp health being attributed by how well the food, water parameters, grazing material and overall tank condition.
These 2 factor, internal and external need to be done hand in hand for better results. One focuses on the exterior beauty of the shrimp, the other focuses on the interior health of the shrimp.
Internal vs external beauty
While we can grade external features of the shrimp such as colors etc we cannot grade the health of the shrimp and i think both internal and external features are important.
Usually if the internal health of the shrimp is fundamentally sound, the process of selective breeding will breed very successful shrimps.
What does that mean? For example, a healthy shrimp may not be within the grading chart, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good shrimp. The environment it was bred in is ideal, there is good food, grazing material and regular water change. In short, the husbandry is taken care well. The health of the shrimp is in good shape regardless of the grading of the shrimp. This is what i call the internal health of the shrimp.
Now with good husbandry associating with good selection we can start proceeding with selection process which is now the external features of the shrimp.
Only when 2 of these internal and external concepts forge together will deliver the outstanding results you are looking for. One cannot work independently and this has been proven and seen from time and time again.
We have breeders who get the same shrimp from the same source and it was hand selected at the place 20 pieces. It was then brought back home and pass to 2 breeders, each of the breeder get 10 shrimp randomly, but one of the breeders faces issue with the coloration of the shrimp for most of the shrimp he keeps whereas the other does not have any issues with it. Persist on and remained like that.
Once is probably a coincidence but it happened more than once and i’m sure you have experience this too. Even the same shrimp kept at different breeders place will result in different colouration. So this exemplifies that both internal and external factors for shrimp breeding is critical.
Improve Internal health
Improving internal health can be understood as the external environment such as water parameters, inhabitants, hiding area, food, grazing material. All these sums up to achieve the Gold standard of the external environment.
Water parameters :
GH 3-4
KH 0
pH 5.8
TDS 85-90
Water change weekly weakly (5-10%)
Filtration : Totto hangon
Hiding areas:
Mosses/plants
Food:
Hwa Version 1 daily pad
Grazing material:
Moss
Lubao
A simple list that i use and used by many renowned breeders in Taiwan.
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When i first started i always thought that having one type of shrimp per tank and i can keep multiple types if i have multiple tanks. That was my initial plan, setup more tanks so i can house more of them. However, as i grow and learn deeper into the shrimp breeding process i met with renowned Taiwan breeders who shared with me over many years the How’s and Why’s.
Having a dream is important and having goals is even more important to get to your dreams. Whatever your dream might be for shrimps it is achievable as long as you set your heart and mind to it. Have goals so that you will eventually reach and get what you wanted.
If you dream is to have the best PRL you have in the country, start learning what it takes to get there.
Focus
When you have your goals, it is important to focus on what you have. Everyone is different and so is space, time, money, etc so you’ll need to ensure that the goals you set is achievable by yourself. I have this discussion few years ago with a group of breeders and it is clear that while breeders in Singapore are generally constraint by space, we had to re-think to get better at what we do.
So focus was the topic of discussion for many weeks and months and eventually we came to realize to be great at what we do, we need to understand what to do with what we have. This particular local breeder is very successful with Gold Standard breeding methodology and he is one true example of breeding successful and awesome looking shrimp.
For him, he focuses on 1 type of shrimp which is the PRL and really do very well on it. Focusing all his time, effort, resources into it rather than to spread it all out. Like mentioned on the onset, everyone is different so if you want to be good at breeding, you will have to make a plan and goal that suits you. Remember that focusing doesn’t mean you only can keep 1 type of shrimp, you can keep a few type but choose which to focus based on your resources.
When the going get tough
All great breeders started somewhere and would have fallen down many times before they got to where they are today. It takes decades to fully appreciate the journey. None of the renowned breeders had it easy and this is a great lesson for those who are starting and also those who are already in this for a long time. There will be times when you feel down because your shrimp just die, it is part of the breeding process and does not define if you are a success or failure. It is simply part of the process. Learning from it is important because we try not to make the same mistake.
If you are not failing, you are not even trying. To get something you never had, you got to do something you never did. This is important because when we think that we are too good, we don’t learn or further tweak to be better. This is a very dangerous place to be at so it’s better to understand why some people are more successful. Learn from them both their success and failures.
Learn as much as you can, try and keep trying even very season breeders continue to learn. It’s a life long journey. At the end of the day, the focus is on the shrimp, if you can get to your goal of a beautiful shrimp you are halfway there. The other half is sharing. Not much use holding onto everything in my opinion. When you reach your goal, remember to pull someone up, each one, teach one.
Time is limited
Everybody have the same amount of time a day, so it is limited and by focusing your time on what matters is important. Being better tomorrow should be your personal goal as well, this means that you’re using your time wisely and to improve your breeding process, your setup and program altogether. In my previous post about time, it is important to know that shrimps life span is very short. There is only so many times a shrimp can breed and by focusing on that it becomes clear that there is really no time to waste.
Time can be invested or wasted, so do not waste time on the naysayers along the way because they will not be supporting you in getting where you want to go. Let them go. They will tell you a thousand reason why you cannot do it but they never tell you how you can do it (Only holds you back). That is why it’s better to learn from breeders who are successful and have results to show. Hence, i take time to share what works, as i was fortunate to learn from the best and i wanted to share it with the rest.
Yes, Shrimps are Shrimps and i believe everyone agrees with that. Why did i bring this up? One of the important elements during the setting up phase of shrimp keeping is the tank setup, introduction of shrimp, feeding and water change. As we go deeper into the biology of shrimp, we tend to think what is best for keeping our shrimps in the most ideal condition.
So what really am i driving at? Shrimps are by nature scavenges and they have a fairly straight digestive system unlike human. In general the food takes a very short time from consumption to passing out and there are 2 important factors here.
Firstly, shrimps would need to have sufficient nutrients such as staple food, vitamin and trace minerals for healthy growth. In addition, because shrimps feed and digest quickly it is necessary for shrimps to have a comprehensive food to provide the majority of the nutrients and also feed frequently. It is better to feed lesser but higher frequency vs feeding more but lesser frequency. However, i think it is difficult for many to feed 4 times a day including myself. If we can feed them once or twice a day, i think it is considered a luxury. The science behind this is so that excess food does not foul the water and hence i use snails to clean up the rest of the food.
Secondly, between feeds, shrimp need to graze continuously and it is important here to have a few natural biofilm producers such as mosses and lubao. Mosses are great for cover and biofilm for shrimplets to survive as they need those food in the first couple of weeks before they can consume larger food item. I have received feedback from Netherlands breeders that the shrimplets are always on the lubao that they got from me. This is great for the growth and development of the shrimplet as they get their first food which helps increase survival of shrimplets. I have written it here in detail :
Lastly, it is important to note that there are a variety of staple food and i have been using Hwa v1 pads for a long time and it is really have a strong pull/draw factor (written here: https://www.shrimpsanctuary.com/hwa-food-lubao/) with comprehensive ingredients. In addition, i also recommend having a couple of biofilm producers such as plants, mosses and lubao. While lubao is a natural producer of biofilm, it need some learning to use it well. It took me two years at least of trial and error to learn how to control using it.
Maintaining water quality
Other than feeding the shrimps and reminerize after water change, i don’t add other elements into the tank. The reason is because the lesser you add into your tank, the more stable the water parameters will be. Not all shrimps are kept the same and the higher the grade the shrimp, the purer it is and a slight change in water parameters they get uncomfortable and that had taught me to be discipline in breeding high grade shrimps. Keeping the water as consistent as possible with little fluctuation.
Good water filtration is still at the fundamental of shrimp breeding and while there are a range of filtration available, choose one that you be able to stick to. i have tried a range of filtration, box, perm ugf, etc and i stuck to the Totto filtration due to space constraint. Sponge filter will work too i think a large sponge across the tank will also be a good method.
Deciding your method and Taking Risk
I often remind myself, If i want to achieve something i never had, i need to do something i never did.
Taking risk is not just about breeding shrimps but it’s about knowing what you know and what you don’t know. There will be people who will encourage you and people who pull you down. Embrace both.
As Sarah Ban Breathnach mentioned “Consider the track record of your naysayers. How many dreams have they successfully brought into this world?“
Keep trying and never give up. Fall down 9 times, get up 10. Taking risk is also about accepting new views and new opinions. It may be frightening at times but is also rewarding, the changes you take, the people you meet, the faith that you have, that is what going to define you. People who keep trying after the first attempt generally start to see results. Brushing teeth for one day doesn’t do anything, going to the gym or running once a month doesn’t do much. It is doing it consistently day in day out and keeping at it that makes a difference. T
Time can be invested or wasted, and all the failures are time invested to be even better. With all the setbacks you have experience, do not be discourage or disappointed, it is simply a setup for better things to come.
So never be discourage, never hold back, give everything you got and while you fall down along the way, remember to always stand up and keep trying and moving forward. End of the day if you are better than yesterday, you have made progress.
https://i0.wp.com/shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/3681f9c6-f2c3-42a0-95dc-23bf15618eb9.jpg?fit=1024%2C768&ssl=17681024benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2021-06-23 11:16:232021-07-22 14:34:39Being successful: Decision making and Risk Taking
I often get this including myself. Am i a failure if i have dead shrimp? Frankly you are successful and the long and short of it is that if you don’t fail, you are not even trying. Only through failure we learn what was the fundamental knowledge behind why we fail. We dust it off stand up and keep moving forward. I have some tell me that they feel disappointed when their beloved shrimp die and all the time and money that goes into it is gone.
For me it is clear that if i want to get something i never had, i need to do something i never did. For example, if i want to do selective breeding, i need to try, i need spend time, effort and money to have a setup and than go for it. I rather fail trying than not try at all because at least i had some learnings. Shrimp breeding especially high grade shrimps are not straight forward but the learning from it will be beneficial.
There cannot be success without trying. If you don’t start, you will never have a chance of being successful. Not everyone succeed, but those who keep pushing forward, does.
Many don’t even start, some give up after the first fail attempt, the rare few keep persisting on and tweak their process and than stuck to it. Keep trying, keep moving, keep pushing forward.
Knowledge is key to understand and having the will to keep trying is as critical. Many aspire to have the best shrimp but don’t have goals and plans to reach there, all the excuses started to come in, oh i don’t have this, i don’t have that. There are thousands of reasons for not starting, but it only take one to begin.
Now, if not when?
Start now. There is no better time than now, set a goal and then move towards it. Shrimp life cycle is very short, 2 years or lesser so we need to ensure that we provide the best opportunity and probability for the shrimp to breed out their next generation. While we human may have a longer life span compared to a shrimp but the idea is the same.
Don’t count the days, Make the days count. Get your female shrimp ready by ensuring the water parameters are spot on, the male:female ratio is good, have sufficient food, grazing material and hiding space. Get the female shrimp ready before they molt. Make the days count.
Like most things in life, we often delay, wait another day, think too much and eventually life takes control. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and then look back and say i should have done something back then.
There isn’t a day call “Some day”, there is Monday to Sunday and Some Day isn’t in there. So instead of telling some day i will do it, make a plan and make it happen.
So start now, if not when?
if not you, who?
If not you, who?
Keeping $5 shrimp and $1000 shrimp doesn’t define if you are successful or not at least to me. I love my $5 shrimp as much as the high end ones. I have seen some breeders who are truly good and understand the fundamental of shrimp breeding and selection. Even normal $5 shrimp are being selective bred for excellence.
Don’t listen to your inner voice and say oh no, i’ don’t have the time, and it’s not me, i can only dream because i don’t have good stock shrimp. Again you beat yourself to it because whether you can or cannot, you are right. If there is a will, there is a way. Probably it doesn’t happen now, but do you have the faith to keep trying?
Maybe now you may not have good stock shrimp but you can start off the selection process and see if you get successful results from that, once you are more confident over the years you can than move on to higher grade shrimp. So why not take a chance and believe in yourself that you can do it. Learn, unlearn, relearn.
Don’t be afraid to try because you get one chance in life because if not you who?
I trust you have benefited from this post and keep trying!
https://i0.wp.com/shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/PSX_20210613_205907.jpg?fit=2218%2C1663&ssl=116632218benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2021-06-16 01:33:172021-06-16 01:33:33How to be Successful in shrimp breeding
Setting up a shrimp tank is fast and easy provided you keep it simple. I have tried many methods of setting up a shrimp tank from sponge filter, permanent UGF, box UGF, overflow etc. In my opinion, choose one that will suit your availability of time and effort when you need to reset the tank later on.
Things you need:
Aquarium Tank
Active Soil
Filtration
RO water
Reminerizer
Optional items (added after cycling or during) :
Moss
some plants
quick start bacteria (liquid or powder)
Microorganism ball (Lubao)
Setting up
The steps are fairly simple and if you have everything ready, setting up the tank would probably take 15 minutes.
There are different methods and my method is to ensure during reset it also takes a much quicker time. Reason being is that if you have to use 45 mins or 1 hour to reset your tank, multiply that with the number of tanks will determine the total time required. Also resetting tanks require some form of effort and if you have a lot of tanks, it will also take a lot of effort physically.
People ask why do we need to reset a tank? When breeding slows down and the soil has slowed down in it’s buffering than changing it will help kick start the breeding too.
Coming back to the method of setting up:
Pour active soil into the tank until it reaches 1cm
45 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm tank will use about 1L of soil
Add water into the tank and reminerize to TDS of 85-90 with GH of 3
Setup filter (i use Totto hang on and powerhouse S size Soft water filter media)
Wait 40 days.
This method of cycling is the traditional method and it works as active soil release ammonia which then kick start the nitrogen process.
During this period some will add liquid bacteria (can be any brand) to ‘kick start’ the beneficial bacteria colonization. More importantly is these beneficial bacteria will then convert ammonia to nitrite and then the less harmful Nitrate.
Once it reaches 40 days it is then where the Nitrate is the highest and Ammonia and Nitrite becomes 0.
Few methods to Seed the tank:
Use existing mature shrimp tank water
Use existing filter media
Add Lubao
The first 2 directly place beneficial bacteria colony into the new tank but an ammonia source is needed to keep them going. Active soil and lubao emits sources of ammonia to allow beneficial bacteria to feed on and multiply.
The difference over here is lubao whilst a grazing material will also help condition the water.
Using Microorganism ball
Using microorganism ball to seed the tank can have multiple layers of benefit while it creates biofilm for shrimp to consume, the biofilm creation is due to the fermenting of material in the ball which invariably also feed beneficial bacteria thus in return increase beneficial bacteria numbers.
While the creation of biofilm cannot be controlled as there are no shrimps in it to feed on, what i do is to scoop out excess biofilm that i think the shrimp will not be able to feed upon when they’re release into the tank after cycling. Incorporating microorganism ball as part of tank reset or setting up new tank what i’ll do is to soak the ball for a day in RO water to leech out the tannin and then let the process begin.
After 40 days
After 40 days i’ll then measure the water parameters and if the parameters are fine, i’ll do a 20% water change, reminerize and wait for another 2-3 days and re measure the water parameters. Once everything is fine, i’ll add mosses, a claypot of plants and frogbits. By day 47 the tank will be more or less ready.
However, there is this unspoken feeling, gut feeling based on experience that if the tank doesn’t appear to be ready, i’ll continue to keep cycling till day 50-60. Once that is done, i’ll re-measure the parameters before adding the shrimp.
The shrimps will have sufficient food in the tank and i’ll hold off feeding for a few days. If you’re adding new shrimp in hundreds, they’ll strip off biofilm very quickly so you can then start feeding after 3-4 days in the new tank.
Thanks for reading and i hope you have learn something from this post.
https://i0.wp.com/shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Flowerhead-scaled.jpeg?fit=2560%2C1920&ssl=119202560benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2021-06-10 09:40:042021-06-10 09:41:36Tips on setting up a new shrimp tank
There are many ways to take a good picture. I picked up photography when I was young and spent countless hours in the field taking macro photography.
Certainly it will be great if everyone can afford a DSLR a macro lens etc to get the perfect shot. However, what dictates a good photo? In my opinion a good photo is one where you can capture the moments.
In this blog post I will not be sharing how to use a DSLR to take shrimp pictures but simply using your phone and a clip on lens.
Clip on lens
Using this clip on lens is what i need to achieve clear pictures, and i have tested quite a few of them and this inexpensive clip on lens works great for cellphone with 1-2 lens. I haven’t yet test on a 3-5 lens cellphone. The whole idea is to use just 1 of the cellphone lens and then use this clip on. You can view the inexpensive lens $15 here: https://amzn.to/3yvHCVm
There are some other types as well which i think serve the same purpose:
I will also make sure that area is the feeding area. Shrimp will know eventually that is the feeding area.
I prefer taking pictures horizontally so I tilt my handphone sideways.
When focusing tap and adjust the brightness of the photo to reduce exposure and snap away.
Phone camera in general uses light optics to capture image so a good strong light for focusing will be good.
I like taking my shrimps horizontally due to the depth of field in phones.
Things to take note:
Keep the shrimp and camera lens as parallel as possible as the Depth of Field is horizontal and if you capture the subject in a parallel, your picture will be crisp and sharp
Most aquarium light nowadays are very bright, it is recommended to dial the brightness down using the phone function to capture more details
Just keep practicing and in doubt please let me know and i can certainly help you out
Taken together
The clip on lens will do wonders after trying so many types. Give it a try and keep shooting!
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While i have written on the 4 elements of good shrimp keeping here (https://www.sgshrimp.com/the-4-main-elements-to-good-shrimp-keeping/) this post is to share with breeders who have just started and advance breeders on some key tips of a sustainable shrimp breeding tank.
Tank size: If you have a 20L/40L or bigger tank, it is important that you cycle the tank a full 40 days based on nitrogen cycle. A bigger tank with higher water volume will have more stable water parameters, the margin of error you are allowed to make is also bigger.
Soil: Now you have got your tank, what soil do i recommend? I still recommend ADA but i know there are other soil out there which can be suitable as well. For example Tropica is another great example of soil that can be use. As long the soil is active and has the capability to lower pH and keep the water soft with consistent buffering throughout the soil life can be considered.
Filtration: Sponge filter, hang on, external cannister, UGF, Uplift, etc. There are a ton of filtration out there that does the one thing: Filtration. Depending on how much time and budget you have, this is certainly the more important aspect in my opinion. Water parameters is the utmost important element in shrimp keeping/breeding and this affect directly to our shrimp. If you have a lot of tanks and want to keep cost down like how Taiwan breeders are doing than 2 unit of dual sponge filter per 100L tank is recommended. If you have a smaller tank and wish to put 2 x dual sponge filter, it is also possible. If you have a slightly higher budget and wish to provide more filtration, the matten filtration and external cannister is a good option. I’m a filter media person ever since i started aquarium hobby 19 years ago. So for my setup, i use a specialize Totto filter which i have mentioned in some of my post, it has the ability to remove nitrate as well. Yes Nitrate. The entire process from breaking down ammonia to nitrite and then onwards to Nitrate and eventually release as Nitrogen into the water column and dissipated. I enjoy having the ability to trust the system and view my shrimp given my very busy schedule, hence i opt for this option. I have tried many types of filter but this method suit my schedule the best. If i have slightly more time i would gone for sponge filter because they are really inexpensive and you have to just wash them in tank water once a month or more depending on how clog up it gets. So ask yourself how much time are you willing to allocate for maintaining the tanks, then it will give you an indication what kind of filter you can use. So far the better filter i have tried are uplift, sponge, cannister, hang on back, permanent UGF (not box) are possible ones.
Plants: In one of my post i have mentioned about the types of plants you can use. I would give a summary here that any aquatic plants are suitable however you have to ensure it is contain and not over grown as this is a shrimp tank vs a planted tank. A planted tank has the focus on the plants with shrimp as one of the inhabitants whereas a shrimp tank has focus on the shrimp and plants as inhabitants. I like a lot of aquatic plants and hence i setup planted tank to satisfy my love for plants. For my shrimp tanks, i usually use Taiwan moss and plants such as echinodorus, crypto or buceps. The key to all these is they don’t grow too crazily over time unlike many stem plants that require weekly trimming. We don’t want to be dipping our hands into the tank every few days. Floating plants are fine too to absorb excess nitrate.
Bacteria: Startup bacteria is often sold as to help speed up the nitrogen cycle, however there are a myriad different type of bacteria in the market. While i’m an old school aquarist, i still stick to the very traditional free method of cycling it 40 days. While i have easy access to beneficial bacteria but still i prefer to ensure i don’t speed up things that shouldn’t be sped up. You have a lifetime ahead of you to breed the shrimps well, 40 days in a grand scheme of things is not too long. Understanding the nitrogen cycle is simply to get the beneficial bacteria ready to convert ammonia to nitrite into nitrate.
Cycling: I’ll still put here a minimum of 40 days cycling time, there are ways to improve the speed of the cycling time however the key to stable water parameters is to start the note on the right foot.
Airstone: What? Yes i actually like placing an airstone either to the outlet of the filter to introduce more agitation to the surface thus having a higher O2 exchange. The reason for this is more true for countries where we use cooling methods to cool down the tank. When temperature rises, ammonia become highly dangerous and thus consuming Oxygen, that is also why when there is an ammonia spike fishes gasp for air at the surface, shrimp doesn’t really do that (no indication). This is to help prolong the time for you to diagnose what the issue is (faulty chiller, dead shrimp that was concealed resulting in an ammonia spike, etc. Airstone are inexpensive and last a long time so drop one into every tank can be beneficial.
https://amzn.to/3un8DYE
Food: A newly setup tank will have quite a lot of ‘food’ biofilm in the tank hence there is really not much you need to feed them after the first introduction. However, if you are going to introduce a lot of shrimp (50-100), they can strip off the biofilm in a matter of a day or 2. A good staple food i use is Hwa version 1 which is highly recommended as my main feed. It helps stressed shrimp to get to the food and consume as it has a strong drawing power. While the drawing power is important but more importantly the ingredients are all rounded. When there are a lot of shrimp, it becomes critical to introduce lubao as a grazing material as it has a long time duration in the tank up to 1-2 months per ball (i know some hobbyist use it even longer with no adverse effect – recommended still 1-2 months max). So in this section we listed 2 important word: Drawing power and Time Duration. Whenever i categorize the food and give ratings, i usually use these 2 as a basis for my understanding. Like for example, Moss is a very good ‘food’ as it harbors microorganism and also biofilm and time duration is endless. However the quantity it produces is fairly low. Indian Almond leaf is also another very good one, high creation of biofilm, medium time duration. While you can use a combination of those grazing material it is important to get that checklist tick.
https://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.png00benetayhttps://shrimpsanctuary.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/shrimp2-1-300x300.pngbenetay2021-05-04 03:44:022021-05-07 01:48:10Tips on setting up a shrimp breeding tank (Beginner’s guide)
The background of cycling the tank is to ensure that the beneficial bacteria has now in good number and ability to convert ammonia from nitrite and then eventually to Nitrate.
The long and short of this is that there are sufficient beneficial bacteria to convert ammonia to a less poisonous state. The tank will continuously produce ammonia as there are shrimp waste, food, rotting plants and that is the food source of beneficial bacteria, by ‘eating’ the ammonia and converting them to Nitrite and Nitrate.
As you can see there is a time line against the nitrogen in the tank, so when the ammonia and nitrite levels hit 0 it takes about 40 days.
Now we are aware of the reasons behind why we need to cultivate beneficial bacteria, is there ways to speed it up by 50%?
Certainly there are ways to speed up the cycling process however if you are a new breeder, you might want to find someone who is reputable to help you out.
Tank seeding, this means to seed the filter in another established tank for a week or two so that the beneficial bacteria can colonize the filter and then bring it back to your tank. This is much easier if you have already an established setup. If not then you can still continue with the 40 day cycle. Alternatively if you have other established tank and are 100% healthy no pest etc, you can consider exchanging one of the old sponge into the tank. This will help kick start the process as well. How fast does it help to cycle? It will certainly help to reduce the cycling time.
Bacteria products: There are many nitrifying bacteria products on the market, it helps introduce the beneficial bacteria in hope to colonize filters quickly and establish the colony. However, there are no dates as to when the batches are made and some do not see any results by using it.
Elements affecting speed of cycling:
low pH doesn’t do bacteria growth any good, so it slows down the bacteria colonization process hence it is a good idea to ensure there are oxygen in the tank, and a good filter media such as sponge filter/hang on back/cannister.
That is also the reason why cycling may take longer than usual for low pH tanks. There is no rush in cycling the tank because once you get it right the shrimps will keep breeding.
Add more tanks: If you can’t wait for the next tank to be fully cycled, than keep adding tanks until you are able to. That is what i normally say jokingly.
Weight loss fads a staggering $71 billion!
The weight loss industry in 2021 is worth $71 billion. What am i trying to relate here? There is a lot of financial incentive to introduce fads and connotation about speeding up cycling. The faster someone is able to cycle the tank, the faster they can purchase livestock and i think while we can super charge our tanks to cycle faster, we can’t magically turn a blind eye on science.
The stronger less delicate fishes and shrimp may be able to handle a 7 days cycle or a shorter cycle time without much effects.
I was also made known on many occasion that to get around it is to use old buffering soil which have lesser capacity to buffer which would in a short period of time send your ammonia test kit reading 0. Technically this can easily fool many new breeders but to an experience breeder we all know all too well because the tank will continue to remain sterile, microorganism can’t thrive and reproduce which on my other post on how to see if the tank has mature.
Water parameters the hard and soft value are equally important so if you are serious about shrimp breeding in the long haul, it is critical that cycling and maturing the tank before the shrimps are being place into it. Like i’ve mentioned the hardier ones would probably get through, but along the way people will look you up as a mentor to guide them. It is never wrong to do the right thing.
I have got many pictures from hobbyist where their tank look almost sterile with no life to it. Despite it being ‘fully cycled’, the tank just couldn’t get to a point where shrimps are happily breeding constantly.
Here are some impacts to a poorly cycled tank:
Shrimp doesn’t breed
shrimp look lethargic
female shrimp do not want to saddle
shrimps do not consume daily feed eagerly
hiding most of the time
constantly 1-2 dead shrimp on a daily to weekly basis
no microorganism visible
sterile looking tank, no algae, too clean
These observation can deduce a few things
insufficient beneficial bacteria
insufficient biofilm
insufficient microorgasim
insufficient balance to the tank
There is really no shortcut to maturing a tank, like wine, the wait is where the goodness is. Can’t rush it, because how you do anything is how you do everything.
This is a less in-depth shrimp post and taking this time to share some of the background of the Why’s of Shrimp Sanctuary and why it exist.
As the title says sharing and supporting has created Shrimp Sanctuary with the sole purpose of educating the hobby. This to me is one of the cornerstone of why it exists. In my home page, i did share the high level reasons for the existence of Shrimp Sanctuary and would take this opportunity to share more.
I get the opportunity to communicate to a lot of shrimp breeders all over the world and have forge strong friendship from it. From Russia to Malta to Poland to most of Europe countries and to Africa, Brazil, USA and not forgetting Asia. This has given me a very broad perspective of what is happening in each of these countries.
While we all have different languages, the common language we talk about is shrimp. However, what i also observed is that the politics we have in common in this hobby is fairly similar across the countries and the many sub groups within groups.
In Singapore there is no difference, however i believe that this can be change a person at a time with the notion of Sharing and Supporting. Sharing information that allow breeders or even beginners to kick start their hobby. In this day and age, information is widely available however we need to discern between accurate data and not so accurate data.
Like all new hobby, there is a learning curve and many prefer talking to someone to get up to speed as quickly as possible. So usually platform like YouTube and Facebook are great ways to obtain information if they couldn’t find someone to guide them. However, one must also be weary on what information is beneficial. A litmus test is to see if they are truly a shrimp breeder who have high quality shrimps. This will differentiate between noise and voice because great ideas cut through all the noise.
Why do i take hours and hours every week just to share something which i feel passionate about.
One of it is to debunk the fallacies in the hobby is we are drowning in information but starved for knowledge. A lack of knowledge creates fear, seeking knowledge creates courage. So when one is able to gain knowledge and put it to use, it dispel fear.
The secret to having good shrimp breeding is actually knowledge. The knowledge of breeding, knowledge of food, knowledge of setting it up. when we have all these have success, share them because knowledge gain is wisdom, sharing knowledge is humanity.
Why Shrimp Sanctuary
As the name denotes, a sanctuary for breeders and new hobbyist to come and learn more about the shrimp hobby. Information is free and can be use for learning but putting these information together and then trying it will give you knowledge over time. Experience does it.
At Shrimp Sanctuary we value free sharing of information which would otherwise have been kept a secret as i understand that good information is really lacking and hence learn from Taiwan and share it here. This journey continues as i continue to provide more information about shrimp breeding and sharing what works for us here in Singapore.
Wouldn’t we offend sellers by revealing all these information? I have been asked about this why invest time in things without benefit? At the end of the day we need to stand up for something we believe. Yes there will certainly be people for and against us.
Everyone have a finite time on this earth, time can either be invested or wasted, so i choose to stick to investing my time and energy to the top two quadrant, which accounts for 50% of the breeders. A special shout out to those who continue to read my blog following closely every week and encouraging me to continue writing. Thanks for that and for those who have sent me a token for “Virtual Coffee” greatly appreciate it.
For those in the last square, i simply do not invest any time to even try, and i’m sure many of you have them in your life. They will tell you what you can, what you cannot. Just Ignore the naysayers, because they may temporarily bring you down, but they will not be able to write your story. It is your story and it is your life, they don’t run it.
Hence, i continue to forge on creating blog entries to share as much as i can, which i learn from Taiwan. Do let me know what would you like to see in the next blog entry and i can write them for you while sharing with the rest.
As the pandemic continues on, i would like to reach out to everyone and say please stay safe!
This post is really about sticking with it and staying the course. I have received good feedback about breeders who truly stuck with it and make it work. Those who really stuck with it got to make it work.
Shrimp breeding is fairly straight forward and there isn’t much you need to do once everything is in place. Letting the shrimp do their thing and breed with the environment you have setup for them matters.
There isn’t one best way to breed shrimps nor a best water parameters, there are many ways to breed shrimp just finding a suitable and optimal way. In most of my post, i often share what works for me and stuck with it because it has given me results.
i would encourage you find yours and make as much mistakes in the beginning to learn. Once a method is really doing well for you, can stick with it until you learn something that you never had known about. Then adjust and gain better and better. Improve them over the years and do what you can for creating the environment for them.
Selective breeding in my other post have provided an in-depth information on what it takes to breed good shrimps. However, to build the shrimps up for breeding, the often overlooked part is biofilm because the rest of the process are quite similar.
In many of my articles i have shared the importance of biofilm and the consistent use of it will encourage breeding and overall enhancement of water quality. Continual usage will ensure that beneficial bacteria have food source to feed on and the biofilm is the key to better saddling and breeding.
When we use the kallax ball or lubao, it helps encourage growth of beneficial bacteria but if we remove the food source for them, the beneficial bacteria will lower in tandem with the amount of available food. We all know that beneficial bacteria helps maintain high quality water condition and it is important to maintain it stably.
using and introducing biofilm is a long and slow process, quitting won’t make it faster and to get there we need to stick to the process and continue on while we may not see results in 10 days or even 20 days. As ecosystem require a longer time frame before the shrimps start growing into it, we will need to be patient and stick to it.
For those who stuck with it at least for 3-6 months started seeing results because the entire ecosystem start to work well for the shrimps. Breeding will increase and shrimplets will breed through.
As long as you are using the lubao and kallax ball that were carefully blended and individually hand pack by myself will be fine. The process of preparing it for use followed to the T will certainly bring many more breeding females in the long term. Many renowned breeders have use the ball crafted by me and have real positive effects and does not float after 5 days. I’ll not put my name on something that doesn’t have the best in me, as i too wouldn’t want to have a ball floating up after a week. When the ball is half submerge between the water surface and ambient air, the fermentation process is disrupted and it create a rancid smell when expose to air. That is the reason why the Shrimp sanctuary ball will continue to remain under water where the shrimps are.
if we take a look at this example, we start with 2M 10F and after awhile, we got 4 female to berry and ideally we get about 40 shrimplet for a newly minted female since they’re not large yet to carry bigger brood size.
What i have observed is that if our conditions are right and biofilm is introduce from like plants/moss/lubao, it encourage more female to saddle which overall helps to get more female to breed. With the additional 20 shrimplet will certainly provide more shrimp numbers so you can start selecting process easier. While not all females look the same and to get that particular nice female you have to breed is like playing Russian Roulette, so we have to induce and encourage females to saddle as much as we can.
The more difficult the shrimp for example BFT, Boa, the more we would like the females to berry constantly and carry out their next generation because time isn’t on our side. There is only so much time we have to ensure the shrimp breed to good numbers before they retire.
Another example would be to get that particular nice female to saddle and breed may take in general 3-4 months but by introducing biofilm, it helps to further encourage to get saddle as soon as possible since biofilm is usually the last missing puzzle.
Continue to push forward
While there are setbacks in shrimp keeping, it is important to know that the setbacks are actually meant as a setup for you for better things to come. Reason being is that if we don’t fail, we are not even trying. I’m not asking you to fail but it is important that failing is an option and that you pick it up each time you fall. As you grow through it, you gain more and more experience and breed better and better shrimps. There are many successful breeders breeding excellent shrimp and you can follow their methodology and get there as well.
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A shoutout to the breeder who have asked for this article to be covered, thanks for your support!
According to definition inbreeding is breeding very closely related shrimps with each other such as father-daughter (F0-F1), mother-son (F0-F1) brother-sister (F1-F1). Outcrossing is breeding totally unrelated shrimps or very distance relative, While line breeding is breeding lies somewhere in the middle.
Line breeding as you can see lies somewhere in-between inbreeding and outcrossing and can be understood as a planned inbreeding or a strategized inbreeding.
The purpose of inbreeding is to keep or enhance a certain trait or bloodline such as to continue for example the redness or size of a PRL.
The purpose of linebreeding is to keep the trait of a particular shrimp. For example red legs on a PRL.
So using both breeding method has it’s pros and con because too much inbreeding while can continue or enhance the desirable trait but run the risk of degrading shrimps of deform nature.
Where should i start?
When we first purchase our shrimp from a breeder, high chance the shrimps are closely related, however buying from a bigger breeder the chance of the shrimp being related are further apart.
When the shrimps are closely related, we can assume that they’re most likely brother sisters or cousin or close cousin. That way, we will start with mass breeding them before starting to select.
For example, i have selective took out from a brood 2 males and 3 females to selective breed, they are closely related cousins as i control the males that i use from 2-4 depending also on the number of females.
When close cousin breed, they will firstly continue the desirable trait but will not really enhance the trait and with mass breeding, the idea is to get as many shrimplets as possible in the shortest possible time. From there lock in after a few generations the desirable trait you would like and then start inbreeding.
When should it end?
We can safely assume when we purchase shrimps from a breeder chances are the shrimps are very closely related unless the breeders keeps multiple tanks of the same parentage and keeps a strict breeding methodology.
As you can see in the example if we start off with a pair and slowly breed them to masses and then when we have our shrimplets (also helps to prevent too much inbreeding as male as small as 0.8cm can fly), it is important to remove them. The whole idea is to create 2 lines and relative or half/brother/sister (cousins). This way it will help pass on desirable trait and minimize undesirable trait when half brother/sister mate and at the end of the continuum if one would like to inject yet another desirable trait, an outcross can be made when you purchase the same line from the same breeder as we can safely again assume they are distant relative.
This PRL has been inbred (crossback) to maintain the desirable trait of size and redness. Now i’ll start breeding to a good number and split into two tanks so that i’ll have cousins. It takes almost 2 years to get to this stage.
selective breeding “Be All End All”
Selective breeding takes time, years and years of consistency but many give up before results are seen. Selective breeding is the Be All End All in raising the quality of the shrimps.
This can be modified depending and minimally you’ll need 3 tanks to get to the desirable trait, i have expanded the number of tanks to split out the improvement tank and championship tank.
Main Breeding tank: when we start breeding 2M 8F of decent quality, this tank will continue to breed for shrimplets.
Shrimplet tank: this is where we will house all the shrimplets and once you have decent female, put it back into the main breeding tank. Over time you will find that there could be 2-3 good males and 10 good females, you can then take them out and put into the improvement tank.
Improvement tank: Strict inbreeding happens, and then the shrimplet can be scoop out into another shrimplet tanks and then the process above continues and then get to the championship tank which would probably be your goal to get there.
However, when you get there, the shrimps are fairly inbred, so now it will be good to split the tank into two and then get cousins so that the genetics pool do not get too similar.
Hope it helps! If not drop me a PM in messenger facebook and i can clarify any questions 🙂
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A shout out to a breeder down under and this post is dedicated to you. Your question regarding if lighting helps with shrimp breeding. I think the long and short of this is it will really depends. What kind of answer is this?
Sunlight is the food source of everything and it is important to the entire ecology of Mother Nature. So is lighting important to breeding, yes it does to a certain extend but does not have an immediate impact however critical.
The reason for this is because light helps plants such as moss and floating plants grow and make food which in turn provide shelter and food for microorganism. In the same line the plants also help cultivate biofilm providing food to shrimps. With this it may appear that lighting is important.
Does shining light for long hours make shrimps nicer? No it doesn’t. Light does not make a shrimp nicer by shining long hours on it. They too do not get sun tan like humans do. The only thing that is achieve certainly is a higher electricity bill.
Type of lights
There are plenty of light choices in the market now and are fairly affordable. When i first started this aquarium hobby it was only florescent light tubes and then then Pressured Lamp and moved on to T5/T8 and eventually now with LED with multiple colors for different purposes.
I have used quite a number of light sets before and for shrimps it is rather straight forward, since we are not growing high light plants, then there isn’t really a need to splurge on high end light sets. However, it is important that the lights promote growth of your plants at least and not so dim that even mosses don’t survive.
For shrimp keeping both T5 and LED are recommended, however i will now lean towards LED because it is light, doesn’t give off too much heat and have a very long lifespan.
T5 light sets are fairly heavy and i have retired my T5 light as there is a need to change the tubes annually and it is expensive to keep it running. LED on the other hand can be cable tie to the rack and or place on the tank and easily moved around since they are lightweight.
The prices for LED nowadays are as affordable as T5 if not more affordable as the massive shift towards LED. With more advance LED light set there is also dimmable feature, sunset feature, timer, wifi all inbuilt.
Currently because it is fairly affordable to get LED lights hence i’m using Chihiros normal white light LED which does the job well.
how much light is sufficient
Generally if you see plants such as mosses and floating plants growing then you have sufficient light for your tank. I’m using a 6000k Chihiros light there are 5 levels of light intensity i’m setting it to level 3 and they are doing great. When the entire ecosystem is well establish and mature, while light doesn’t appear to have immediate impact but overall it does help.
Just like lubao/kallax ball which create biofilm, while they don’t have immediate impact but overall it helps with the ecological system in your tank. This is yet another soft value that is often overlooked.
So does the amount of light helps or impact breeding, indirectly it does because a decent amount of light certainly still help with the whole eco-system hence all these small sum adds up to a successful breeding experience.
Water Parameters Hard Value
I split water parameters into two different large category namely the Hard and Soft parameters.
This post is a follow up of the previous one where i touch on water parameters. This will help to provide a clearly picture of what it meant to have both hard and soft water parameters and the importance of it.
Hard water parameters are those that most of us use test kit to measure, this is where the hard values are tested and indicate a value corresponding to either acidic, dissolved solids etc.
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One of the most important steps in breeding shrimp is to have a goal in mind and a direction where you would want the shrimp to develop into. This will help lift you up when the going get tough. I have breeders tell me that after 1 generation of breeding they can’t get any nice shrimps from their brood. Do not breed shrimps with a defeated mindset.
With the goal in mind, even with 1 pair of shrimp, one can still succeed as long as the process of breeding them are kept the same like your other proven methods. High grade shrimps can be costly hence it’ may not be financially viable to get a big colony to start with. Even if one starts with 1M 2F it is still possible to be great.
The 1M 2F trio should then be bred to masses first and from there keep using the female shrimplet from the F1 to breed more and get to masses as soon as possible.
Racing against time
Shrimp have a very short lifespan, hence it is a racing against time to quickly get them to breed as fast as possible. Female shrimps when they reach about 1.2cm start to breed but their brood size is small but with higher frequency.
As they start to mature their brood size becomes larger but with lesser frequency. When the female start to get old, their breeding slows down to once in 2-3 months. Hence the ‘breeding’ duration is really short.
Why am i saying this? The reason is because the conditions have to be optimum during the breeding period and to ensure maximum clutch size everytime. Not forgetting newly minted female often need to gain experience in the first few brood before successfully deliver shrimplets.
Water conditions often measured by parameters are just one side of the equation. The other part of the equation is if there are sufficient biofilm, microorganism, hiding space, breeding ratio.
Second part of the equation
A large part of the 2nd equation consist of biofilm/microorganism/hiding space/male to female ratio etc. This is where it is often overlooked and equally important to water parameters. I like to categorize it as the last piece to obtain an optimal ecosystem.
As hobbyist we can’t measure biofilm or amount of hiding space, it however has a very strong contribution to the success of breeding. We can setup a tank with soil, filtration, plants and get the right water parameters but that does not mean your breeding tank is well established or optimal for breeding.
Getting to that optimal point is where considerations such as if there are sufficient biofilm in the tank (can be lubao/kallax ball/moss/leaves etc). Is there microorganism in the tank that is feeding on the biofilm as well. Hiding space while important also has to be visible so shrimps don’t hide and die in there without knowing. How about the male to female breeding ratio of 4:20? All these are measurable elements that are often missed out but contributes a lot to the success towards breeding.
While the hard numbers measuring for pH/KH/GH/TDS/Nitrite/Nitrates are important, a successful breeder goes beyond just the above measurements to ensure breeding success.
Hence, it is important not to have a defeated mindset when breeding shrimps. Look beyond measurable water parameters, these are just the foundation of shrimp breeding. Once your ecosystem is well established, breeding shrimps would then be rewarding and gratifying. Till then, never be discourage, never give up, give it all you have and remember one day when you succeed, reach out to those who need help. Each one teach one.
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How does grazing material impact the breeding process
It is becoming difficult to ignore the fact that grazing material is one of the key elements for successful shrimp breeding process. It can be understood from the abundance of available grazing material to ensure continual breeding to happen. Shrimps like in the ‘Animal Kingdom’ breed when the conditions and environment are ideal. They thrive and procreate their next generation. In their natural habitat, shrimps feed consistently all the time. While their ‘hands’ are constantly feeding they’re trying to pick up the biofilm and consume them. Biofilm is an important source of nutrients to shrimps as they consist of nutrients that can be absorb naturally by the body. In this day and age, high quality feed is made to create as much beneficial nutrients to the shrimp. However, according to some research (Importance of biofilm as food source for shrimp), the feed they use although ingested were not properly incorporated by the shrimp tissue. In other words, it appears to suggest that while we may feed our daily feed, there are still some nutrients that must be compensated through biofilm consumption.
The term grazing material really encompass a large area but what i would like to share in this article is while most grazing material are used, it is the biofilm they produce that have a direct impact to shrimp overall health and breeding. Biofilm grows almost anywhere, and it is not simply the biofilm that is the important intake, it is also the microorganism that the shrimp consume. With an abundance of microorganism and biofilm, that is where the ‘invisible’ nutrients are playing a major role of the breeding process.
Growing biofilm
There are many ways to cultivate biofilm such as leaves, cholla wood, media, plants, mosses and microorganism ball aka Kallax ball or lubao.
Leaves such as Indian almond are good source of biofilm generation, the leaves soak in water will start developing thin layer of biofilm for the shrimps to consume, however the leaves will not be able to consistently produce biofilm as the leaf tissue are consumed together with the biofilm by the shrimp.
A wide variety of biofilm producer is ideal, and personally i’m using plants, mosses and definitely the lubao or kallax ball.
While one cannot directly see the impact of shrimps consuming biofilm, however there are research paper that is done scientifically that natural food for shrimps are biofilm and is the key that allow shrimps to continue their existence.
Biofilm, female shrimps and shrimplets
If one have put leaves in the tank or have use Kallax ball or lubao, it can be observed that during the conditioning phase of breeding (saddle), they can mostly be found near biofilm source. When female shrimp berried, it is often seen that they are on the biofilm generation such as lubao in this case when i use them. While shrimp feed are fed daily, the female shrimp continue to graze on the lubao very frequently more so when they’re not berried. This observation is seen across many tanks when female shrimps berried.
Another observation and reported by many who have used lubao is shrimplets find their way to the biofilm source and graze for the first few weeks of their live and then move on to other food source. The constant biofilm allows females and shrimplets in my opinion benefitting the most out of it.
With the above, it in turn help to encourage females to saddle more readily and directly improve shrimplet survival by providing first food.
Long term impact
The long term impact for having a consistent biofilm source in the tank outweigh the risk of deformity and degrading, and hence important to have different sources of biofilm readily available in your tank. Like i’ve mentioned, every surface area in the tank is able to harbour some biofilm but the more direct source it is, the more you’ll be able to control.
While we may not be able to see any impact immediately, biofilm is still an important source of grazing material/nutrients for the shrimps and if you’ve not considered them before, i hope this article would allow you to wade deeper into the water and learn more about the intricacies of why biofilm is an important source of nutrients to shrimps.
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