Archive for February, 2008
 
During the expansion of TheShrimpFarm.com’s hatchery one of the less popular shrimp, but arguably one of the most important to the hobby, was not getting the attention it deserved. The breeding population of Neocaridina heteropoda was placed in a bare bottom aquarium with plenty of filtration. They were fed normally and water changes were performed as per usual, but the breeding came to a near stand still over the last few months! Why?
The water that comes out of the tap in my area is very hard with and has a natural pH of 7.9-8.1. Nearly every aquarium that TheShrimpFarm.com uses to raise shrimp has a substrate of Aqua Soil Amazonia, which brings the water hardness down as well as the pH. In all of the Neocaridina aquariums that has Aqua Soil Amazonia as the substrate the pH is maintained at around 7.0-7.2.After realizing the Neocaridina heteropoda had stop breeding I decided to get an aquarium ready for them using Aqua Soil Amazonia. After the aquarium was cycled and had some plants added, I moved the Neocaridina heteropoda over to the new set up.
5 days later the berried female was observed. This seems to suggest that while Neocaridina heteropoda can be very adaptable to most waters, extremes should still be avoided.
Helpful References
- Neocaridina heteropoda
- Growing Pains
- Cycling Aqua Soil Amazonia
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After a short time of selective breeding of my Blue Pearl Shrimp I am starting to see some adults that have a little bit more blue color. I am hopping to continue this program for a while to see what kind of results I can have! I have added 3 new Blue Pearl Shrimp pictures to the Dwarf Shrimp Pictures section of TheShrimpFarm.com. Here is a nice sample!
Helpful References
- Dwarf Shrimp Pictures
- Dwarf Shrimp Photography
- Blue Pearl Shrimp
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I have added 7 new pictures to the Dwarf Shrimp Pictures section of TheShrimpFarm.com. I added 4 Cherry Shrimp Pictures, 2 Tiger Shrimp Pictures and 1 Blue Blue Pearl Shrimp picture.
Here are some samples:
Cherry Shrimp
Blue Pearl Shrimp
Tiger Shrimp
Helpful References
- Dwarf Shrimp Pictures
- Dwarf Shrimp Photography
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While many Dwarf Shrimp will adapt to a wide range of water parameters there are a few Dwarf Shrimp that can be fairly demanding about the pH of their water. Some of the most popular Caridina species of shrimp, such as the Crystal Red Shrimp and the Tiger Shrimp, demand a slightly acidic pH while some of the Neocaridina species, such as the Cherry Shrimp and Blue Pearl Shrimp, prefer slightly alkaline water.
When attempting to control the PH in an aquarium it is important to note that stability is far more important than hitting an exact number. If you are trying to breed Tiger Shrimp and want a pH of 6.5 and you can easily maintain a stable pH of 6.8 but when trying to achieve a pH of 6.5 you often have fluctuations maintaining the pH of 6.8 is far more beneficial to the shrimp.
The single best way to control pH is by using substrates that buffer the water. If you are trying to raise your pH putting some crushed coral in your filter or using a small amount as a substrate addition works very well. If you are lower your pH using a substrate such as Aqua Soil Amazonia works great.
See the article PH in a Dwarf Shrimp Aquarium for more details.
Helpful References
- PH in a Dwarf Shrimp Aquarium
- Cycling Aqua Soil Amazonia
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Tiger Shrimp are becoming one of the more popular Dwarf Shrimp amongst American hobbyist. The question I am most often asked about Tiger Shrimp is “I have had my Tiger Shrimp for quite some time now and they seem healthy and happy, but why are my Tiger Shrimp not breeding?”
Tiger Shrimp are a fairly hardy shrimp. They will adapt to most commonly found aquarium water parameters and can be quite long lived. These shrimp, however, will not breed well in water that is above a pH of 7.0. I have found that keeping these shrimp in water above a pH of 7.0 not only slows (if not completely stops) their breeding but also seems to shorten their life span.
When attempting to breed Tiger Shrimp I suggest water with a pH of 6.5 with a temperature around 74. Other than that Tiger Shrimp breed just like any of the other popular Dwarf Shrimp!
Helpful References
- Tiger Shrimp
- Breeding Dwarf Shrimp
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