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So what do we do with culls????


ineke

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  • HOF Member

This is a dilemma that we all come to and I don't think it would get that much easier as time goes by. What do you do with culls? My original thoughts were to keep them all together in a huge tank- problem is they will then continue to breed and I would probably end up with needing more tanks just for culls. Pass them on to noobs to learn with -still ends up with a lot of poor quality shrimp that nobody wants.

Am I cruel to put them into my large fish tank that has lots of hiding places for them and let them take a chance at life?

So what is the final solution- any thoughts comments? What do most of you do? This is a topic rarely touched on but it would be a big help if some of the longer term breeders could help us newer people out with some ideas.

If they could survive outside in a pond I would be happy to do that but in Adelaide the summers get awfully hot and water in pools would get high.

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Buy some nice big fish :P I Guess you could sell them off as feeders, depends how low quality they are really.

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I'm leaning to putting them in with my fish it's a big tank and lots of hidey holes. At the moment I would only have low grade RCS so guess not much call for them. Later with the different types of shrimp there may be more of a call for beginners to try their hand at cheap or free culls.

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Great question Ineke. I just put my thoughts on this on your other post.

I recently saw someone looking for cherry shrimp for their child. Children arent fussy so that could be an option. The majority of us know what we're looking for in a shrimp, however there are people out there (the kind of person who doesnt have much inclination to join a shrimp forum) who want shrimp for the sake of having shrimp (cos they want clean up crew or cos they like the look of them). So i think advertising them for cheap or free on a site like Gumtree would work.

The other option, like you mentioned is to put them in with fish. This is what I think i will end up doing. I personally dont think it's cruel (certainly no more cruel than people buying feeder shrimp). The fish will keep numbers down yet you still give your shrimp a chance at a life :)

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Hi Ineke,

This is a dilemma for all breeders who selectively breed for colour. You can always have a chat to your LFS who might want to take them off your hands. Like you said even though they are inferior (due to what you are trying to select for) but they might make a good starting point for others. Almost everybody first learn to keep them alive (and regularly fail) first before trying to selectively breed etc.

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Thanks Torface and Serkan.

I have spoken to several LFS and they really want the RED shrimp not interested in an ordinary Red Cherry which I guess most of my culls are- although quite a good colour not the deep red they want -I think they all want painted reds and that wouldn't be my culls.

I thought this was a good topic just to help us all out . It is something people don't really talk about but it is a good thing to get out there so we can make a judgement of our own.

Crystals wouldn't be such a big problem because they are very good to learn with. RCS culls on the other hand are probably not worth enough to make people want to pay for shipping so local advertising is best. My way of thinking though is if people are just after feeder shrimp then the shrimp may as well have a chance in my own tank.

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Why don't you put it up for free to any one just starting out. They can pay for postage . This will give your culls a second chance in life and they will thank you for it.

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People won't pay for postage and then feed them to there fish. It's worth a try to put an add as free cull. You will feel better knowing you did your best to find them a second home. Just my opinion.

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The Fisheries over here went to people's homes that advertised on Gumtree and nuked their tanks. My culls always have gone into a 300lt indoor pond. If you put guppies in with them the shrimp .babies don't survive so not a overcrowding issue. I also have frogs that get in there if the door is left open and sometime dragonflies get in and lay eggs in there. So a fish tank would be the go for you.

After all it's the same as living in the wild.

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The Fisheries over here went to people's homes that advertised on Gumtree and nuked their tanks.

I wouldn't be giving out my address :cower:

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I am happy to offer the RCS culls that are leftover for free and will do at least 1 pack that way but what the problem with RCS culls is they aren't really worth the postage- If I post them out free it will be a minimum of $20 -not sure what it is now- and I'd be happy to do a few like that but to ask if anyone wants them and then they have to pay for postage would probably put them off. I am also not necessarily asking this about what can I do -I won't have that many to find homes for just now- but just in general what do others do.

I don't think it has been addressed and it is good to know what others do.

Again with the higher grades and colours people would be happy to start out with culls- I know I was and I was happy to pay for them and their postage.

So the question still stands what in general do we as a community do with low grade culls???

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Hi Ineke, I know Neville (aquariumtherapy) was after some cherries, he texted me the other day. Maybe you could get in touch with him to see if he was interested?

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Hey ninja, why would fisheries go to people's home and nuke there tanks? And also advertise what on Gumtree ???

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Hi Ineke' date=' I know Neville (aquariumtherapy) was after some cherries, he texted me the other day. Maybe you could get in touch with him to see if he was interested?[/quote']

Hi HexaD I'm not aware of aquarium therapy but I will look him up ,thanks. Are you able to pm me his contact number or ask him if you can give it to me?

Again this was a general question about culls not necessarily about me and mine. I was using me as an example

Cheers

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i used to see RCS which now i would consider culls sold for 20cents each. there is always gonna be someone interested in them as what you might see as a cull in them someone may like :)

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I don't think there is any question that you can sell cheaply or give away any surplus stock and that is probably what happens to 90% of culls. But to seriously improve the quality of stock out there is this what we should do? I know i can give my grandchildren a tank full of shrimp and they would enjoy them for a week or 2 then the fun would be gone and the shrimp would end up dead but probably a slow death!

I don't know if I am actually getting across what I am asking. I want to know what we as shrimp breeders should be doing with our low grade culls and what do the serious breeders do. it was a question in general not specific to me. We can give them away to beginners and that is probably a good way fro them to learn as I am still learning now to care for CRS/ CBS etc but what should we be doing. What does Dean do -although what he calls culls we would probably drool over, Personally I would have no problem giving them away or putting them in my fish tank I just really wanted to know what other people do:)

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Yes it also depends on a breeder's definition of a cull. Just ask anyone that's bought my yellow culls. :p

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So I've heard Nogi and I'm not very happy with myself for not being able to write an article for the library to get some!!!

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MrShrimp, some people advertised Cherries for sale on Gumtree in WA and were visited by the fisheries, who then proceeded to tell them that the shrimp were illegal and then nuked their tanks. I kid you not!!!!!!

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