Rili or Not?

[John.]

This shrimp was born a couple of months ago, and its now berried for the first time. I have no rili's in the tank & I'd like to know if she is a low grade rili and worth separating?

Cheers for any advice

 

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[ineke]

John we need to have a full shot of her. It looks like she is OK but I can't make out if her middle is clear or if she has some stripes. Head and tail should be nice and red. Here is a picture of one of my old girls who was very good. This is what to aim for. I don't think your girl is too far off it but as I say we need a better picture

[John.]

Nice Rili Ineke!

Mine certainly isn't at that level, she's come from ordinary cherries with no rili lineage. She has a little red stripe along the top of the clear part that's about it. I guess she is something I could start with, and see where it goes.

I'll see if I can get some clear pictures tonight when feeding if she comes out.

[ineke]

I would say there is Rili blood in your reds for her to look as good as she does. Her eggs are also the Rili colour eggs. To get the clear body you just need to cull hard once you have a few reasonable types. Just keep culling out what you don't want. You may only get a few good ones out of each brood but it is worth it. My old girl died last year but I had a few culls in my display tank and started again with them 2 months ago. I now have 5 reasonable Rilis but their babies are not good enough to work with luckily I have 1 male and 4 females so should be able to get my good grades back. It is worth the effort as a good Rili is a nice addition to a collection.