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Neocaridina: Blue Pearl Shrimp | Red Cherry Shrimp | Neocaridina heteropoda | Yellow Shrimp Other: American Glass Shrimp | Bamboo Shrimp | Green Lace Shrimp Caridina: Amano Shrimp |
Bee Shrimp |
Crystal Red Shrimp | Cardinal
Shrimp | Tiger Shrimp |
Malaya Shrimp
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Archive for the ‘Research’ CategorySpinach as foodSaturday, February 6th, 2010I have been growing spinach in my garden for the entire winter here in Central Florida and now that I am about tired of eating it I have started to feed it to my shrimp. I just blanch it and throw it in the aquariums and the shrimp LOVE it! The good news is the spinach is also VERY good for the shrimp! It has a lot of vitamins and minerals that are easily taken up by the shrimp, including calcium! Are you feeding your shrimp anything fresh from the garden? Coloring Shrimp with Food?Saturday, April 11th, 2009Recently I wrote a blog post called Redder Red Cherry Shrimp . The post focused on what affects the coloring of Red Cherry Shrimp. There was a comment left on that post that included some information that I forgot to mention:
The chemical that cases the wild salmon to have so much more color in them is Astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is naturally found in algae and crustaceans (among a few other things). When a Dwarf Shrimp consumes a food that contains Astaxanthin (found in small amounts in shrimp based foods and in larger amounts in foods intended to deliver a large dose of Astaxanthin) color changes do happen. Red Cherry Shrimp that are not geneticly predisposed to display deep, dark reds will display a bit more color. Some shrimp, such as the yellow shrimp, may even display a totally different color, such as a blue green. Once this food source is removed and the shrimp no longer eat Astaxanthin the changes will be reversed and the shrimp will revert back to its natural coloring. I personally have done a few experiments with food heavy in this chemical. I used it with Red Cherry Shrimp, Yellow Shrimp and Crystal Red Shrimp. The results were quite variable, but the overall theme was a slight color change. The Red Cherry Shrimp seemed to get a bit darker, the yellow shrimp seemed to turn blue green, and they Crystal Red Shrimp seemed to have a bit more contrast. There was no downside to the food that contained this chemical, and in fact it is known to be a great antioxidant. If you want to find a food high in Astaxanthin look for foods that their first ingredient is Krill or foods that advertise Astaxanthin as an ingredient. Redder Red Cherry ShrimpMonday, March 16th, 2009
I am often asked how to make Red Cherry Shrimp even redder. Well, this is a question that has many answers and in my opinion there are basically 3 factors to consider to get Red Cherry Shrimp to express their color to their optimal amount water conditions, environment and genetics. But, before I get into those three factors it is important to know a little bit about the Red Cherry Shrimp (RCS). The RCS does not exist in the wild. It is a selectively bred color variant of the Neocaridina heteropoda (or Neocaridina denticulata sinensis). In the wild this shrimp displays a pale brown color that is quite variable to dark brown to almost clear. These shrimp are found in South East Asia in rivers and streams. Now, on to the 3 factors. Water Conditions All aquatic creatures are their most healthy and look their best when their optimal care requirements are met. Cherry Red Shrimp are no different. When the water in their aquarium is in their optimal ranges it allows the RCS to display optimal colors! So what are their optimal conditions? Ph Range: 6.2-8.0 Environment When a Cherry Red Shrimp has ideal water conditions the next thing to consider is their environment. This subject is often debated, but I believe that a darker substrate and plants cause a RCS to display brighter reds. And here is why! In the wild, the Neocaridina heteropoda, like most aquatic invertebrates, will adjust its coloration to blend in with its surroundings. When they are on a light substrate they will turn to a lighter almost clear color. When they are on a darker substrate they will turn to a dark brown color. This holds true with Red Cherry Shrimp. When they are on a dark substrate they turn to a deeper red. This red color, obviously, does not blend in with the dark substrate, and in fact does quite the opposite. The shrimps natural instinct does not know that it is red and it is just trying to blend in! Genetics This is the most important factor when considering coloration in a shrimp. No matter how perfect the water conditions are and how ideal their environment is a Red Cherry Shrimp will never get redder than its genetics will allow. Selective breeding has created some strikingly red shrimp, but a lower quality stock will not come close to the coloration these shrimp display. How do you know what type of genetics a shrimp has? The only way to know for sure is to see the parents. Out side of that, it is trial and error! Hope this all helps! Please feel free to discuss! To Hybridize or Not to Hybridize, That is the Question! (Part 2)Friday, January 23rd, 2009Yesterday I discussed what hybridization with Dwarf Shrimp was and today I will go into why I think it is a bad idea. Here is a list of reasons I believe so.
Possible Release into the wild. This problem could cause great problems and could lead to the loss of native Dwarf Shrimp species in the wild. The release of a non-native species of shrimp (hybrids are non-native to any waters) into the wild could have, and has historically shown, to have major effects on the local native shrimp populations. A hybrid shrimp could possess a specific trait that the native shrimp does not and could out compete the shrimp for food and space. This would gradually eliminate and replace the native species with an invasive hybrid. Another problem with release into the wild is the hybrid may breed with the local population, possibly introducing large problems with the natural population. They hybrid could posses a weakness to a local disease or water condition that the native population does not have. The introduction of this possible trait could devastate if not eradicate a local population. Slow down of the currently slow scientific research The current pace of scientific research on Dwarf Shrimp is quite slow. Adding new hybrid species to the mix would only slow down and confuse the research. When scientifically studying a population of shrimp it is far easier when hybrids do not have to be described. Muddying of the gene pool In a new hobby (Dwarf Shrimp husbandry is a relatively new hobby in North America) it is important that the hobbyist be able to recognize what shrimp they are caring for. While this is already difficult due to the VAST amount of Dwarf Shrimp found around the globe, muddying of the gene pool will only make this more difficult. Hybrid shrimp are often difficult to identify as such. Because of the vast amount of Dwarf Shrimp that have not be described by science, there could easily be confusion about a shrimps origin. Loss of purity in the hobby This is one of the least important arguments to the world that I have, but one the more important to me. I enjoy having a pure line of shrimp. I enjoy what nature has created. Now don’t get me wrong, I also enjoy selectively bred shrimp (not hybridized), but a large majority of the shrimp I keep are “wild type” shrimp. Added confusion for the hobbyist The Dwarf Shrimp hobby already has quite a bit of confusion attached to it. Many hobbyists do not know what species a given shrimp is and there is a large amount of misinformation being spread. Arguments for Hybridizing
I will attempt to refute the arguments for hybridization tomorrow. Again, any and all comments on this discussion are welcome! Update: To Hybridize or Not to Hybridize, That is the Question!Thursday, January 22nd, 2009Over the years there has been a lot of talk and debate about weather or not hybridizing different species of Dwarf Shrimp is a good idea or not. In all public forums that I have contributed to the debate I have always made it clear where I stand. But before we get into that, lets discuss what hybridizing is.
When discussing Dwarf Shrimp there is quite a bit of confusion about what shrimp is what species and this is because there are far more species of shrimp than have been described, and the amount of study that is dedicated to Dwarf Shrimp is not that great. The most common Dwarf Shrimp in the hobby have been studied a bit and have been given scientific names (many of which are being debated even with the most popular species). For example, the Amano Shrimp’s scientific name is Caridina multidentata (formerly known as Caridina japonica). The first part of the name is known as the Genus and the entire name is known as the species. So lets relate the hybridizing definition to Dwarf Shrimp. The offspring of a Neocaridina heteropoda and a Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis would be considered a hybrid. The offspring of a Red Cherry Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda var. Red) and a Yellow Shrimp (Neocaridina heteropoda var. yellow) would not be a hybrid. The Red Cherry Shrimp and Yellow Cherry Shrimp are the same species and are just color variants. Now that we have that kind of cleared up, here are my thoughts on hybridizing Dwarf Shrimp. Dwarf Shrimp should not be hybridized at this time for many reasons. Here are just a few of them and I will go into each individually in tomorrows post as well as attempt to refute arguments for hybridizing. Problems with Dwarf Shrimp Hybridizing
Arguments for Hybridizing
Tomorrow I will dive into each argument, and as always, I welcome any and all input on this topic! Update:
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