# low quality yellow shrimp - what should I do now?



## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

3 months ago I bought some "golden yellow shrimp" off of Aquabid.
The shrimp in the picture provided looked like painted yellows and were very golden. I did not find out until after purchasing that the seller imported large amounts of shrimp and resold them. He assured me they were great quality and that he would not sell a product he wouldn't want to buy.

They were juveniles when I got them. It was $50 shipped for 10 and I got 2-3 extra and all were alive and healthy. I was very excited because although only 2-3 had color at the time one of them was exactly like the picture! A very brilliant and beautiful yellow shrimp.
Sadly 4 of them died in the first 2 weeks, including the "golden" shrimp. 

It was my fault they died but the problem is none of the other 8 remaining shrimp show anywhere near the golden color of the shrimp in the picture or displayed by the shrimp that died. 
The most ironic part is that the most beautiful shrimp I have is a painted cherry red I received mixed with the yellows - Such a nice shrimp but I have seen them sold on the forums for as little as $1.


What should I do? Should I just breed these shrimp and see if I can get a better color? Or should I get better quality shrimp and just start over? My parents are pretty unhappy I spent $50 on some shrimp. If buying better shrimp is the better option could anyone suggest a reliable seller?
Some advice as to what I should do would be greatly appreciated.


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

the really golden color was probably a female. female yellows or mine any way are way more yellow than the males. you could get more yellow shrimp and put in with them even if they new ones are lower grade they are probably not from the same person so you will just increase the genetics of the shrimp


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## daobn24 (Apr 22, 2011)

I just bought Yellows from Greenfish and they came exactly as pictured in the thread below. GL.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/s...cials/173583-fs-shrimp-new-lower-pricing.html


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

Why not pick up a few high-quality Yellows to mix with your current stock? Could be fun.


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## sbarbee54 (Jan 12, 2012)

Yes, and that is why most people buy of a trusted forum member, aquabid can be good and bad. Sorry you got the bad end.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Since you sound new at this, here are a few pointers.

You are experiencing what if feels like to purchase shrimps online, site unseen. Just like any auction transaction really...

Many folks online sell some nice shrimp but some often include culls (lesser quality shrimp) into the mix. IME, this happens quite often no matter where. 

The exception to this rule is if you are purchasing a premium grade and obviously fewer in number... and deal with someone reputable who has numerous transactions with higher grade specimens.

Sometimes it just pays to go to the LFS because you could pick the ones you want or deal with someone in person locally who breeds shrimp, someone you could speak with and see before buying. 

Shrimp deaths happen so dont get bummed. we've all gone through this experience. You still may have a female that is coming to breeding age so dont lose hope. I would recommend not keeping yellow and red shrimp assuming they are both Neocaridina as they will interbreed to produce brownish shrimp. if your yellows are caridina, then they wont interbreed, but note that they are more sensative to water conditions in general.

Breeding, it will happen whether you will it or not. But be aware that not all shrimp breed 100% true. a small % may look better than their parents, most will look like their parents, while the remainder will have less coloring or patterning of their parents as in a bell curve.

This last point may be of personal preference, but eventually you may come to appreciate having only a few higher quality shrimp over a few hundred low quality ones. 

More isnt always better... its just more mouths to feed.


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## ohbaby714 (Feb 23, 2011)

I would start with checking your water parameter. Read more on more on how people in the forum keep and breed colorful neo.
I'm not saying that could be the cause but it's something you can do since you already have some yellow to work with. It might be true that u got wrong and the shrimps are just really poor quality, but hopefully the rest will breed and at least produce some decent babies.

Neo seem to thrive in all condition, but when i kept my fire red in similar condition as my CRS, their color really did improve.

I'm not saying u did anything wrong but you want to make sure you are cover at ur end before spenting more cash on shrimps.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Do you have any pics to show the colors you currently have on your shrimp?


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## jasonpatterson (Apr 15, 2011)

What you do depends on how much you like the shrimp you have, plain and simple. Too many people get into this hobby by buying some shrimp, being excited about them, and then are disappointed that the shrimp they bought aren't the highest grade. In your case you were apparently misled (or possibly have a batch of males) but the idea is the same. If you like the shrimp you have, keep them. If you want to do a breeding project, keep them (make sure you learn the difference between males and females if you aren't already able to recognize them easily, you could cull your way into a single sex tank very quickly otherwise.) If you don't want to do a breeding project and don't like the shrimp you have, take it as a lesson learned and dispose of them responsibly and humanely if you don't have another home for them.

Msjinkzd, one of the forum sponsors, has great invertebrates. If you're looking for a source for new shrimp, I'd check out her listing. There are a number of other sellers on this forum who will also give you fair deals for good shrimp; I just have had excellent experiences purchasing from her.

Best of luck. If your parents are too upset about you spending $50 on shrimp, you should tell them about the crazy habits of Asian buyers. Hundreds or even thousands of dollars per shrimp for some new varieties.


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## dhg is my plant (Dec 19, 2010)

some of my females are so yellow they are like orange pumpkin color its insane its like nail polish was painted on beautiful!


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

Thanks for all the responses.
I really want quality shrimp which is why I went with yellows instead of cherry shrimp. I have the cherry shrimp in a 2.5g tank and the yellow shrimp in a 10g tank. 

Last time I rounded them up for a head count I had 2 females. I know the cherry shrimp is female and judging by her colors she was happy with the water parameters before I moved her to the 2.5. Now she has lost a lot of color and seems very lonely so I may get some amano shrimp next trip to the LFS.

If I can find a good camera I will try to get some pictures.
I think I will just count my losses and try to find a better seller on the forum and try again. If I get better shrimp should I let them interbreed for now and cull later, or separate all the shrimp with dull colors immediately?


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

i would just put them all together and part with the less yellow ones in swap and shop but be sure to let people know they are lower quality. same kind of shrimp from a couple diff people is a good thing it makes them stronger.


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## acitydweller (Dec 28, 2011)

Bear in mind, if you start having them interbred leaving dozens of brownies, you may ultimately want to get rid of them through culling, feeding them to fish or killing them off. Not sure if you have considered the efforts in culling. 

Easier to avoid all of this than try to rehome ugly shimp IMHO.


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

However breeding yellow to yellow won't give you browns.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

You should make sure the pfr mixed in with the yellows is removed- that is not a good idea and it scares me that the seller could possibly have them mixed together. They will hybridize and it will effect the future generations.


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

I will definitely keep the fire red separate but I have at least 1 male yellow that has OK color. If the new shrimp I get are superior in color should I let all of them breed or just the highest quality?


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## Soothing Shrimp (Nov 9, 2011)

Depends on what you want. If you just want some nice shrimp for yourself to display, sometimes varying shades of yellow is more interesting to look at.

If you are breeding for a project for yourself, YOU get to decide what you want and cull the ones not matching your plan.


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

Here are some pictures. The camera was not working with me.
The brightest yellow male died today and I have no idea why. Yesterday I did a water change of about 30% and today the parameters are:
0 ammo
0 nitrite
2.5 ppm nitrate
7.9 PH

Are any of those high?









Here is the only living female. She has spots of yellow on her back but I am not sure if they will spread








The other 4 remaining shrimp look like this









What are some things to check to make sure the tank is healthy for the shrimp? I will probably end up getting more yellows but will try to get this female to breed so I know how to start right next time.


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## hedge_fund (Jan 1, 2006)

your PH is a bit high.....check it out here http://shrimpkeeping.com/


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## thechibi (Jan 20, 2012)

But my pH is 7.8 and my neos are doing alright. Did you notice any changes in color or behavior before they passed on?


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

i would so love to have that yellow female to work with it looks like a yellow rili and would go for big bucks if you could get them to breed that way most of the time


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

wicca27 said:


> i would so love to have that yellow female to work with it looks like a yellow rili and would go for big bucks if you could get them to breed that way most of the time


Thanks! Glad to hear you like that. I am definitely going to pay attention to her offspring and hopefully they will not lose that trait.

I only noticed the shrimp after it had died.

Looking at the table I think my water parameters would be great for Sulawesi shrimp, but I have read that they are difficult to raise.
What is an easy way to lower the PH? The water out of the tap is around 8.


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## msjinkzd (May 12, 2007)

your pH is just fine. You don't need to change it. Unless you are going to work hard at the rili trait, those are some bad yellows. I am sorry you got such poor quality.

We used to cull for that trait, now it is desireable (to some). I still prefer the nice vibrant yellow shrimp.


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