journal My racks and shrimp collection

[alvinchan80]

I have been playing shrimps for quite awhile... as for plants, I have been playing with Echinodorus Opacus and Satan... but couple of weeks back, i started touching Bucephalandra as well..

Enjoy~~

Mini Bolbitis

Fork Leaf Fern

[MrShrimp]

Nice buce Alvin , are the buce plant expensive where you live?

[alvinchan80]

Nice buce Alvin ' date=' are the buce plant expensive where you live?[/quote']

Thanks MrShrimp...

I would say they are more expensive then those normal plants which aquascapers are using for their scape tanks.. The most expensive bucephalandra i have in the tank is the Anubias White which is the 2nd photo.. i am still heart aching at the amount i spent on them (3 stalks there tied per rock..)

I will be 'doing a photoshoot' for all my Echinodorus Opacus/Satan as well as Bucephalandra variants (50+ species in all), in the coming weeks... will share with hobbyist the photos once they are ready... :)

[MrShrimp]

Can't wait for the photos of all your plants. Thanks for sharing Alvin

[Squiggle]

All those plants look so vibrant & full of colour, well done dude! :victorious:

[jrc693]

Omg that was your best post yet alvin. Wow that white plant is amazing I've never seen it before. Would love to get my hands on one of those beauties haha. Thanks for sharing!

[ineke]

Hello Alvin I haven't said hello to you before but I have been watching your thread and loving it. Your shrimp are beautiful and now the plants are adding even more interest. Thanks for sharing your marvellous collection and your knowledge I've enjoyed every page:D

[ninja]

That white plant looks like a garden plant?

[CNgo2006]

I noticed one of your plants is named Bob Marley, is that some sort of underwater marijuana plant? LOL! Thanks for sharing all these great pictures!

[alvinchan80]

Can't wait for the photos of all your plants. Thanks for sharing Alvin

I will try to upload photos of each individual echinodorus and bucephalandra soon.. but those echinodorus will be the rare species (i think..)

All those plants look so vibrant & full of colour' date=' well done dude! :victorious:[/quote']Thanks bro Squiggle.. they acclimatize themselves very quickly.. which is why they are showing good colors.. and seems like they portray better colors underwater then above.. haha..hehe~ thanks.. that white plant is Anubias White.. heard from the hunter that this is extremely rare (and i paid a lot of that 3 stalks.. sad for my pocket...)Hello ineke... thanks for your compliments... these plants are also my favorite next to shrimps.. haha.. like to keep these hard-to-get kind of plants but right now in Singapore, bucephalandra is getting quite common.. What i like about these plants is that they are so slow growing, and even if they are melting in a tank, even left with just the rhizome, they can grow new shoots after some time (a long time actually.. haha..)it is not a garden plant *i think*.. haha.. that is the first plant which caught my eye when it arrives as well..I really dont know why its called that.. haha.. It might be a trading name which the hunters/sellers are naming it... there are so many variants of bucephalandra in the wild or kept in captivity.. i really want to keep a collection of every single type.. but shrimps are already making me want to set up more tanks, now with more plants coming in.. its even more scary with just the thought of it... hahaha

[MrShrimp]

I hear lots of people saying prices for brucephandra will increase in the near future. In your opinion, do you think this is true?? They say collectors are not allowed in the area to be collected as numbers of buce in the wild has drop rapidly. What is your opinion. Thank you

[fishmosy]

Thanks Alvin, just saw two plants (white anubias and fork java fern) which I haven't seen pics of before. I must get the fork variant of the java fern. I have every other variant but not that one.

[alvinchan80]

I hear lots of people saying prices for brucephandra will increase in the near future. In your opinion' date=' do you think this is true?? They say collectors are not allowed in the area to be collected as numbers of buce in the wild has drop rapidly. What is your opinion. Thank you[/quote']From what I heard from the hunters, there are still people who hunt for these plants in the wild.. But there are a community of people who are cultivating these plants themselves.. I think prices might increase due to rarity of the plants until they are able to mass cultivate them.. Where monetary gains are concern, i think those natives who are hunting dont really bother about the nature which is a very sad issue for countries like Borneo.. Maybe what we can do now is to collect those species (if we have enough tanks) and just try to keep them... They are very very nice to look at, and especially when my tank is quite bare with only shrimps and adding in some of these plants make the tank looks nicer.. hehe..Prices which I am getting right now are considered quite ok.. Hope it doesnt increase so much in time to come...The fork leaf fern is very nice.. i really like them too.. you should try to get them.. there is another variant which looks similar to fork leaf fern, its called trident leaf fern.. i have a small bunch of those at the moment but they are in a tank which is not in a very good planted condition, let me tie them up properly and placed them in a nice tank to improve their quality before I post to show you bro fishmosy... :)

[wayne6442]

Love your work mate , your rack looks great, Good luck for the future.

wayne

[newbreed]

The white Anubias is amazing. Some fantastic plants you have there. Great work and thanks for sharing your pictures.

[alvinchan80]

Been some time since I posted my PRL.. So here are some..

One of my favorite females in this tank.. Still need to improve on her offspring for legs..

Now for my PBL..

This female has just given birth.. Shall wait to see if she has some nice babies..

Happy shrimping everyone and have a great week ahead...

[Squiggle]

All I can say to you pics Alvin is WOW! Stunning as usual dude! :victorious:

[honcho]

Beautiful coloured shriml alvin.. simply amazing..

Quick question... how many generations does it take you to improve the colour of your legs, is it easier because they are prl or pbl..?

[alvinchan80]

All I can say to you pics Alvin is WOW! Stunning as usual dude! :victorious:

Thanks for your 'everlasting support' brother Squiggle.. Haha..These photos taken with iPhone.. :p

Beautiful coloured shriml alvin.. simply amazing..Quick question... how many generations does it take you to improve the colour of your legs' date=' is it easier because they are prl or pbl..?[/quote']'My legs'? :pShrimp legs not really easy.. I would concentrate on red/black first, then white after that.. Legs and body shape would be last as they are the hardest.. it will be easier on PRL or PBL because they already have those little tints on their legs.. But of cause CRS or CBS can also do that because I have tried to get some white legs on my CRS flowerhead colony.. Just be patience and endure.. This hobby is ever learning.. :)

[wayne6442]

Gee Alvin I love your shrimp, Wish I had the guts to get back into crystals again, my mouth waters every time I see some!

[alvinchan80]

Gee Alvin I love your shrimp' date=' Wish I had the guts to get back into crystals again, my mouth waters every time I see some![/quote']

Don't give up.. Try, try again.. It's an challenge to try keep them initially.. But it will be an achievement once you manage to get some good results..

I have failed many times initially due to lots of personal stubbornness but as times go by through the mistakes we all did and learn, we will succeed..

Keep this passion alive and there will always be a 'higher level' which all shrimp keepers/breeders want to reach from high grade CRS (other then spending money to purchase) and right now to the hybrids like Tibee and Pinto.. Never easy to reach on your own but it's an ever learning curve in shrimp keeping..

:)

[hoang1912]

such a stunning shrimp. But I got a dump question, it that PRL are crystal red with solid red and white or high quality crystal red? :o

[alvinchan80]

such a stunning shrimp. But I got a dump question' date=' it that PRL are crystal red with solid red and white or high quality crystal red? :o[/quote']

Its not a bad question... dont worry..

Pure Red/Black Line, just signifies that the CRS or CBS has not been cross breed with Golden/Snow White shrimp before.. In the past, people has been crossing Golden/Snow White to get higher pattern like mosura and flowerhead patterns, but in the long run of cross breeding with these white shrimps, the intensity of the shrimp's red and white will be affected.. Then the Pure Lines shrimps has never been cross with white shrimps and always been using the same bloodline to improve and selective breed..

Thats why when people get Pure Red, they have to get from reputable keepers/breeders because the white genes cannot be seen by the eye, only upon breeding them, if you see Golden/Snow White appearing then you know that you have been hoaxed..

In summary, Pure Lines are CRS/CBS which has not been crossed before and kept to maintain their consistency in coloration. Do note that Pure Lines still do breed out bad shrimps with bad colorations, so its not always the issue that Pure Line shrimps are always fantastic... its still depends on the work of the keeper if they gotten some cheaper grades to start.. :)

[ninja]

Well said Alvin.

[alvinchan80]

When I started shrimp keeping, there has been a taboo to crossbreed shrimps of different species.. Meaning crossing Crystal Red/Black Shrimps with Tiger Shrimps..

But last year starting, there was a hype on growing shrimps which are hybrid of these 2 species.. Due to the unpredictable outcome of offsprings and also their different in patterns, it has cause a hype now.. And I believe that due to all these new patterns in shrimps which is coming up, shrimp hobby will carry on for a long time (I hope)..

I shall cut short of all these talk (sorry, getting long winded.. Haha).. Here are some of those previously shown 'baby' Tibee.. They have grown up more now..

First up, one of the mama..

Now, the juveniles...

Looks a little like 'spotted head' Tibee..

A red one with red stripes..

Lastly, white body but red head.. Little spots on the head..

I believe all these which have been bred out in my tank are not of best quality.. Shall wait and see if I can improve them better slowly in time to come..

Happy shrimping...