Mixed caridina project

[Kelly]

So I decided to get into the shrimp breeding hobby. I got 30ish rili/red  neo caridina  and some caridina mix together in a temporary 8 gallon tank. I will be giving some noes to my sister family that also has a tank soon. I just set up a 10 gallon for the caridina.  The noes seems to like the water in 8 gallon  tank. About 3 berried females!  I bought  rio water for the 10 gallon and use it with half tap water. There’s fluval substrate for shrimp and plants in both tanks. I have Java fern, star lily, drawf  hair grass, cyrpt, tiger lotus, Java moss, Anubis  and soon I add baby tears for plants. I also have Malaysia driftwood.  I’m also using nutrafin  cycle to speed up the new tank cycle process. Now I’m not planning on breeding a certain type of caridina but creating something hopefully interesting.... I have raccoon tigers, couple black crystals, 1 red crystal, few red tibees according to big al but who really know? They just look cool to me and different then what they usually carry...and  one black shrimp which I’m unsure if it’s a pinto....it’s small.  It’s black with very thin lines. It’s in a breeding cage because he be very very very very hard to see in 8 gallon since the back of tank is also black.  Anyway I keep you posted. I would post pictures but I’m not good at it.

Edited April 2, 2021 by Kelly

[sdlTBfanUK]

Having a mixed Caridina tank is wonderful and you probably won't get any uninteresting offspring!

My only concern would be using tap water, albeit 50/50. It has never worked for me with Caridina shrimp and I have only come across one person with whom it worked, though I do believe they were also based in Canada, but she hasn't been on here for some time now. It would be safer to use 100% RO water and remineralise with shrimp minerals GH+. The neocaridina should be fine with (dechloinated) tap water, as you seem to already be experiencing. I could keep caridina shrimp for a month or more in tap water but they gradually died off and any babies they had died soon as well. 

You seem to have a nice variety of plants as well, be careful if you plan to use CO2 though as that doesn't work well with shrimps if you plan on that?

I hope it all works out and look forward to reading about your experience and some photos.

I would recommend getting water parameter test kits (GH, KH, PH, TDS) for the caridina tank, especially if using 50/50 water, though using 100% RO water plus minerals you may only need a TDS pen/meter.

Simon

Edited April 2, 2021 by sdlTBfanUK

[Kelly]

Well I move the caridina to the 10 gallon... lost 2 ? but I now have my very 1st berried black crystal.:) unknown father....caridina seems bit hard to see the eggs especially this one.... she’s berried but I don’t think it’s a big batch and her shell is solid white. The black eggs barely show. I hope she doesn’t lose them but I probably won’t be able to noticed if she does. She’s not a high quality crystal but I don’t thinks she low either. She’s more white then black. Pretty little gal. Solid colour even the little black she does have is dark and solid. The other black crystal is definitely lower quality then the berried one. The black is faded and it has equal amount black and white. If I was breeding  a chain of black crystals it definitely be culled. my hunch is one of the raccoon tigers might be the daddy....but could be wrong. I didn’t catch them in the act ?I also have 2 red crystals. 1 Black solid one with tiny white lines that I’m unsure what to call.panda? 2 red crystals and 2 Orangeywhite ones which big al pet store calls red tibees but I have no idea what they are just that they are nothing we usually have here in Canada...don’t think shrimp fever in Toronto has them ...one definitely a female. I’m hoping she gets berried. This tank be called surprise me tank. My province in Canada now in a 6 week lockdown and pet stores be close so I’m tad worried about water changes... but the 10 gallon definitely not over stocked so it should be ok.

[Dsetz]

Your going to get some cool shrimplets out of the mix.

If they are unstabilized tibees you might get mischlings which will be even greater variety!

Why are you worried about water changes, is Rio water something you buy or did you mean RO?

Edited April 18, 2021 by Dsetz
Re-read original post and answered my own questions.

[sdlTBfanUK]

That all sounds great. If you are worried about water changes, there probably is no need, in a tank of that size with so few shrimps, and being newly set up, it will be fine to just leave the water changes for a while anyway!

Hopefully you will soon have shrimplets to watch in the tank in lockdown!

Simon

[Kelly]

So far so good she and a raccoon still berried:)

 

[Kelly]

Well I got the  ro water from big al curb side pick up and lol of course 3 red crystals.... I did a top off and all seems ok. Saw 3 small babies today. Their mom are raccoons tigers and father? Who knows. It seems raccoon tigers are like rabbits always seem to get berried fast.... the black crystal still berried so maybe I have some from her soon too. I added magnolia leaves. I’m hoping for more berried females.  Question does juvenile patterns change as they grow? One of the shrimps was very black when I got it but now the white part seems to be expanding....one of the new ones similar it opposite  looks more red then white and I’m wondering if that will change too

[Dsetz]

Sounds like you have happy shrimp!

Colors and patterns do develop/change as they mature and get bigger the pattern will disperse over a larger area.

[sdlTBfanUK]

I have had a few shrimp colour change, though these were culls from my old tank that I dumped into other tanks. They were completely clear with no colour in the old tank and then went red in the tanks they were dumped into, I put it down to the diffferent water parameters and there have only been a couple. These were red cherry, I doubt caridina would be the same though? It makes it very difficult to know which you should cull so I would let them grow to about half size efore making a cull decision, but I deefinitely recommend culling with neocaridina as otherwise it gets ot of hand (like mine) and the majority will be wild type colour. You don't get the same wld type drab shrimp with caridina so from that point it isn't such a problem, unless you are set on keeping to the  one colour/pattern and improving that of course but even then I wouldn't be too eager to remove young shrimp as they may improve as they get a little older.

Simon

[Kelly]

Cardina are bit different than noes....lol 1st I can’t see the saddles like noes... and the eggs also don’t stick out. Sometimes the black crystal makes me do a double take to notice her eggs. I don’t know how many times I panic thinking did she lose them! until she turns to the right angle and I see her move them around. The eggs are as dark as her colour almost.  She’s not loaded with eggs so I’m sure it be a small batch of babies. 

[sdlTBfanUK]

Caridina have fewer shrimplets than neos so there will be fewer. Also don't panic if the eggs disappear and you don't see baby shrimps as they are born tiny and usually clear so it may be a week before you see them! If the eggs are grey/black then they are nearly ready, they usually start yellow as that is the yolk and change colour as the yolk is used up.

Simon

Edited April 24, 2021 by sdlTBfanUK

[Kelly]

Today I saw a very tiny new born shrimplets. All my shrimp seem to be doing well. They seem active right now but there’s at least two molts. I decided I wanted 70% red crystals 15% tigers and 10%blacks 5% orange Tiawan bees. I know blacks are dominant colour that’s why i got only a few. One tiger is berried and she’s gorgeous... correction 2 wow. She actually has a orange tinge to her....no more crystals are pregnant though .The plants are looking ok I think my tank looks great wish I could figure out how to add pictures....

Edited May 14, 2021 by Kelly

[jayc]

1 hour ago, Kelly said:

The plants are looking ok I think my tank looks great wish I could figure out how to add pictures....

Should just be able to drag the photo into the area indicated by the arrow below, or click on the choose file.

The free forum accounts unfortunately, have a limit on the file size as well as a quota on overall attachments uploaded to the site. So you will need to edit the size of the photo before attaching it. Signing up for Platinum membership not only unlocks these limits, but also helps keep this forum running.

 

Alternatively you can use a free image hosting site and pasting the link here.

 

Hope that helps.

[sdlTBfanUK]

Great news!

Hopefully you can get some smaller file photos and upload them at some point?

Simon