Grading Caridina logemanni, Caridina mariae and Taiwan Bee Shrimp

[NoGi]

Gading of Caridina logemanni, Caridina mariae and Taiwan Bee Shrimp has been a hot topic recently on various groups and there hasn't been a consistent application of grading across these shrimp. There is a lot of hearsay but nothing documented anywhere. As a result, to ensure we maintain a consistent approach to grading here and on our Facebook group, I'm putting forward draft gradings for feedback from the SKF community. 

Grading Table

Grade	Description	Examples
High	> 90% total body coverage of the identifying colour the shrimp looks crisp and perfect to the naked eye may still have some small imperfections under magnification.
Medium	70% - 90% total body coverage of the identifying colour the shrimp is not as crisp also has some slight imperfections in the overall appearance with the naked eye.
Low	35% - 70% total body coverage of the identifying colour the shrimp has the appearance of being patchy and imperfect  the overall appearance with the naked eye is poor.
Cull	The shrimp has reached a point that it is barely recognisable as belonging to the intended group also genetic and physical deformities etc that mean the shrimp should be removed from the general population.

Championship: The shrimp must appear perfect and under magnification show no imperfections or blemishes. The perfect example with full body coverage of colour and pattern for the given variant.

If anyone has examples that we can use in the final grading information, please attach your watermarked images here. Also, should the quality of the offspring be representative (or better) of the parents grade?

Edited September 25, 2015 by NoGi

[Gbang]

Yup this sounds about right to me :)

[jayc]

Looks good.

I don't think you can assume the offspring will be representative of the parents.  You could still get culls from two high grade parents. 

[larrymull]

I agree with the grading, the only issue I have is it can be a little subjective, especially from my perspective as half the time I am a bad judge.

[NoGi]

I agree with the grading, the only issue I have is it can be a little subjective, especially from my perspective as half the time I am a bad judge.

That's true but we need to start somewhere and by having this documented, we can then work on replacing subjectivity with consistency. 

[larrymull]

@NoGi totally agree, communication and help with grading our shrimp will be a lot of help.

[fishmosy]

Yep Its a good place to start and we can always adjust it as the need arises. 

[jayc]

I believe once we start getting pictures to match the grade, the text description will make a whole lot more sense.

 

[NoGi]

Yes, I'll have a chart with drawn pics and also with pics of actual shrimp as people send them to be included.

[Disciple]

As a guideline for everyone to use I really think it is going to be really useful. It is taking away a lot of guess work and subjectivity on grade your own shrimp.

ATM everyone will have their own way of deciding what is high grade and what is low grade. So I like the idea we have a standard, at least with sales in SKF.

Good work ‌@Paul Minett and ‌@NoGi

[Shrimpmaster]

I always wanted to make a poster/webpage with about a 100 pictures. The x axis would be the pattern and the y axis would be the quality. So you have 10 different patterns with each 10 steps of quality. But this is so much work, and you need so much shrimp, I don't think I will get it done soon.

Edited September 23, 2015 by Shrimpmaster
typo

[NoGi]

I always wanted to make a poster/webpage with about a 100 pictures. The x axis would be the pattern and the y axis would be the quality. So you have 10 different patterns with each 10 steps of quality. But this is so much work, and you need so much shrimp, I don't think I will get it done soon.

I'm working on something at the moment but with drawn pics. I'd prefer to have actual photo's for reference though to remove any ambiguity. But before I can proceed, need to ensure we are on the right track with the grading info above.

Oh and we are looking at a little less than 10 levels of grading. lol It's hard enough to get agreement on the 4 above outside of SKF.

 

Edited September 23, 2015 by NoGi

[jayc]

I always wanted to make a poster/webpage with about a 100 pictures. The x axis would be the pattern and the y axis would be the quality. So you have 10 different patterns with each 10 steps of quality. But this is so much work, and you need so much shrimp, I don't think I will get it done soon.

Cmon Shrimpmaster, you can do it ! 

[Shrimpmaster]

Haha, thanks. I started very enthusiastic, but soon realized what a huge project it was 

So indeed NoGi's plan is much better for the moment. Even 4 levels is quite some work. But maybe a 5th level would be nice: 'the perfect shrimp' / 'top level'. You probably hardly see them in real life, but everything the high level has, but without any small imperfections, cracks or whatsoever. The ultimate shrimp to aim for. Would this be of extra value to add? 

 

[Paul Minett]

yeah I did have the champion level the elusive perfect shrimp but it wasn't popular. I think we all need that extra almost unachievable level to aim for to give us motivation to always improve the colonies we keep. The idea behind this is to help everyone especially new people to understand that quality is just as important as pattern when picking the shrimp to keep and the ones to remove. thanks for the feedback guys

 

[Jo]

I like the idea of the 'perfect' shrimp level too, even if I'd never achieve it.  I would classify it as anything better than 'High' :)

I'd be happy to take some pics of the shrimp in my tanks to help illustrate the levels, but as I've discovered this evening taking pictures of specific shrimp is HARD!  They move too fast dammit. 

I've got a few previous photos online, have a look and if any of them would be useful let me know and I'll dig out the originals: https://www.flickr.com/photos/10013620@N05/sets/72157656753508963

[NoGi]

Ok, so given the examples in the table for definition, how do we define "Championship" grade shrimp?

[Jo]

How about:

"100% total body coverage of the identifying colour the shrimp looks crisp and perfect to the naked eye and also under magnification."

[Paul Minett]

The shrimp must appear perfect and under magnification show no imperfections or blemishes. The perfect example with full body coverage of colour and pattern for the given variant.

[Jenbenwren]

It all sounds great so far, especially if the perfect shrimp is added to it

[NoGi]

Ok guys post example photos here so my guy knows what to draw

[NoGi]

Work has started on the poster, any comments appreciated.

The article that the poster will be attached to will include real photos of the various graded shrimp as well.

[NoGi]

Comments on this chart? We fill the blanks with photos of the actual graded shrimp.

[larrymull]

@NoGi I am just wondering why use the word 'cull' as someone's trash can be another ones treasure? Other than that it looks good to me, good work

[jayc]

"Cull" shouldn't be confused with low quality.

Cull really should be removed from the breeding cycle due to defects. 

And as such should not be sold or even given away. 

Giving away a cull specimen to someone who thinks it's a treasure will mean that the defect is bred and allowed to propagate. It has the potential of ruining many generations of line breeding shrimp in this country.

 

Low quality on the other hand, doesn't exhibit defects. It's just not as bright or colourful or whatever.

It doesn't pose any danger in the gene pool by introducing defects. Breeders can sell low quality shrimp at a reduced price or even give them away without any risk. Assuming the seller labels them appropriately as low quality and prices them accordingly, and the buyer is aware of it.

Edited October 5, 2015 by jayc