# Best fancy shrimp to breed



## steakman (Feb 3, 2012)

Logically, if it's hardy (easy to breed, hard to kill), then the value will be next to nothing, because everybody could do it.

If it's hard to keep alive, extremely hard to breed, survival rate is low, then its value will be high.


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## Oceangirl (Feb 5, 2013)

hardy does not = expensive, and the reverse expensive = does not hardy. the rare shrimp are EXPENSIVE for a reason. Time, money, and breeding costs, set up costs and costs in good breeding stock. 

I would try other Neo varieties before jumping into something more sensitive. 
I mean the rage right now is Tigers! I wouldn't dare keep them for myself, because I know my house gets too warm for them. I also don't have the correct Remineralizer for them, I also am still learning about them. They are popular, reasonably hardy (if you meet their needs, RO water. Unless by some miracle your water works for them.)


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## QuoVadis (Feb 5, 2012)

I guess I meant more is there a shrimp that is more of a happy medium, like more valuable than cherry shrimp (and therefore probably less hardy) but not ridiculously sensitive or expensive.


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## Julianzh (Jul 28, 2011)

Crs/cbs between cheap and below expensive. You just need to get the water stable and suitable.


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## zachsta18 (Apr 11, 2014)

Looking at Neos, if you had maybe Painted Fire Red Cherries or Bloody Mary's, they would still be cherries and would be quite hardy but are also more expensive and rarer than "normal" cherries. 

Rilis have been popular, with Carbon Rilis and Orange Rilis being the main areas of interest. I'm not sure of their popularity on this forum anymore, but in the general shrimp community I think they are still desirable. They're also an offshoot of cherries and are easier to keep.

Moving into caridina, Crystal Red and Crystal Black shrimp as well as tigers/OEBT are baselines. CRS and CBS are very bold and attractive to the eye. They do, however, demand stable water parameters, and if you plan to breed them they insist that they must have lower temps and pH (temps from 68-72F, pH 6.8 and under, generally* because, as I said you can keep them in a wider range if they are acclimated properly and kept very stable with little to no change in water parameters over the course of months). Tigers, such as OEBT I don't have much experience with, but seem to have requirements that are a little different and very slightly more lax than CRS/CBS. You'd have to do some research on them.

Big-time breeding would involve Pure Red Line Crystal Red Shrimp which are delicate and very expensive, and also Taiwan Bees which are caridina and very delicate and expensive. Beyond that, there are new genetic mutations and patterns being discovered all the time. Tibees and pintos are currently areas of interest within finding new varieties of caridina. New varieties is really where the money is with the shrimp game, if you can get a new variety to stick and be thrust into the eye of the community.

So, after all that, I would recommend higher grade cherries, maybe PFR, and if you have another tank available some carbon rilis. Do NOT mix them in the same tank, as they will interbreed and the color variations will dissipate into a wild shrimp colors and patterns. After a few months of having successful breeding, stable water parameters, experience and research you could think about trying to breed caridina.


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## samwoo2go (Apr 27, 2013)

the OEBTs are pretty hardy for the price they go for.


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## QuoVadis (Feb 5, 2012)

zachsta18 said:


> Looking at Neos, if you had maybe Painted Fire Red Cherries or Bloody Mary's, they would still be cherries and would be quite hardy but are also more expensive and rarer than "normal" cherries.
> 
> Rilis have been popular, with Carbon Rilis and Orange Rilis being the main areas of interest. I'm not sure of their popularity on this forum anymore, but in the general shrimp community I think they are still desirable. They're also an offshoot of cherries and are easier to keep.
> 
> ...


Thank you! This is the info I was looking for! As I said I already have a huge breeding colony of cherry red shrimp, and though they are not super high quality, I probably would not buy new ones to breed, I'd want a new species probably. I have cherry shrimp coming out of my ears! The three that stand out are the Chrystal Red Shrimp, Orange rilis, and OEBT (these especially are gorgeous!). Anyone have any comments on those three? 

The temp is not a problem, all my tank are in my basement where it stays quite cool, the only thing I would be worried about is ph, because I think mine is around 7.5. Would any of those three not interbreed with cherry shrimp? Thanks!


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## zachsta18 (Apr 11, 2014)

So, of those three the Orange Rilis will be the easiest to get off the ground. They are technically the same species as cherries (though with very different coloration), and will interbreed with your cherries. The other two, however will not breed with your cherries.

The OEBTs are a bit hardier than the CRS from what I have read. Also, they like a slightly higher pH range than CRS. A pH of 7.5 is actually considered to be about as high as possible while still maintaining a breeding population. However, pulling the pH down a tad to at least 7.2 would be ideal.

The way most people keep their shrimp, especially caridina such as CRS and expensive OEBTs is with remineralized water that has been put through a reverse-osmosis filtration system. The way the system works is that your tap water runs through the reverse osmosis chamber which is in short a high-pressure chamber that filters out organic material from the water. It then generally goes through at least a two-part deionization system which has charged resin that removes dissolved chemicals and substances (such as dissolved metals, chloride, etc.). Occasionally a carbon filter is put in somewhere within the system as well. While Reverse Osmosis is great, the systems start around $150. They are also incredibly slow: the systems are rated by how many gallons of filtered water they produce per day (normally anywhere from 25-150 for more expensive models). The filtered water is then remineralized with a mineral supplement such as Salty Shrimp gH+ to a TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) of between 120-200. This process also generally lowers the pH while also successfully raising the gH without altering the kH (lower pH of around 6.5-6.8 makes shrimp happy; higher gH makes shrimp molt better; I have not found conclusive results on the kH other than possibility to raise the pH). It is a process, but it works.

Personally, I don't use a Reverse Osmosis system. I actually picked up a system that was just a dual-stage deionization system with a single-stage 1-micron carbon pre-filter. My water is just as inert and clean as reverse osmosis water, except there may be a little microscopic organic debris within the tank that is under 1 micron in size. The main thing is that the dissolved substances are completely gone, and that is why most people use RO water (just without realizing that the RO does not really affect TDS from what I've seen). The major benefit of this system is speed. I'm not limited to the gallon per day restriction, and can instead fill a tank at about a gallon per minute with pure water (TDS of 0). It's beautiful.

If you plan to go big with shrimp breeding later on, I definitely recommend you at least get a deionization system. However, if you don't want to sink ~$120 into that just yet, a good option that still lets you have the same amount of control over the contents of your water is to buy it by the gallon from a local grocery or fish store (it may be distilled, RO, DI, or something else but it'll be pure). Then remineralize this and use it in your tanks. If you still don't want to go that route, Seachem makes a product called Prime that is pretty good and highly rated among shrimp keepers who do not have access to pure water. It neutralizes chlorine ions, nitrogen, and other potentially harmful chemicals within the water. It's a great water conditioner for beginners in the shrimp world. If you end up needing something to buffer the pH, some peat moss (make sure it's safe for aquarium/pond use) will bring your pH down and stabilize it, but also make the tank water a tea color. Use activated carbon to remove the tea color. There are also some substrates which bring the pH down, such as ADA Amazonia and Fluval Stratum, but I'll leave that to the substrate board 

So, OEBTs seem like a good place for you to start with shrimp. The For Sale/Trade section is a great place to look for quality shrimp as well. Some supplies you'll want to make sure you have:
Test kit for: pH, gH, kH, Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite
Thermometer
TDS meter
A good water remineralizer or Prime
Again, sorry for the long post! I just want to make sure everything gets through to make sure you and your future shrimp are happy  Good luck with everything!


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## QuoVadis (Feb 5, 2012)

Will Caridina shrimp interbreed with Neocaridina shrimp? Or do they only interbreed within the same genus?


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## QuoVadis (Feb 5, 2012)

zachsta18 said:


> So, of those three the Orange Rilis will be the easiest to get off the ground. They are technically the same species as cherries (though with very different coloration), and will interbreed with your cherries. The other two, however will not breed with your cherries.
> 
> The OEBTs are a bit hardier than the CRS from what I have read. Also, they like a slightly higher pH range than CRS. A pH of 7.5 is actually considered to be about as high as possible while still maintaining a breeding population. However, pulling the pH down a tad to at least 7.2 would be ideal.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the clarification. I already use Prime! it is great stuff, found it originally because it is great for saltwater tanks. The only thing on there I am unfamiliar with the the TDS meter, so I'll have to look it up. I'll have to retest my water to figure out all my exact parems. As far as ph/gh/kh I never really pay it that much mind or try to change it, because I guess my philosophy is that it is better to just have my fish adapt to my water (since it is not crazy), and keep it stable with regular water changes, not messing with it and having it fluctuate. But I don't really keep inverts, other than in my SW tank, incidental snails, and my cherry shrimp colony.

I found this website which gave me a number of new ideas as well. I really like the various blue Neocaridinas and yellow/orange ones!

http://www.shrimpfever.com/shop/category/shrimp/livestock-shrimp/neocaridinas-only/


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## kittenfish (Feb 6, 2014)

No, Caridina will not breed with Neocaridina.

What about Caridina babaulti? They aren't as common as cherry shrimp, but I've read that they are just about as easy to care for.


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