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Good afternoon my fellow Shrimp Keepers, I have received the answers for the 4th SKF interview. Today we have a interview from @newbreed. He is a very well respected breeder (formerly AKA as the Pinto King), He is also a retired admin of SKF and is now the owner of Newbreed Aquatics. You can find his new website at http://newbreedaquatics.com.au SKF - Hi Jamie can you please tell us a little about yourself? JN - I have been keeping aquariums for over 25 years and started to keep shrimp specific tanks just over three years ago. As there was not much readily available information on keeping shrimp successfully, after hunting around I was fortunate to find SKF. The sharing of knowledge and experience gave me the confidence to keep a large variety of shrimp species I had spent many months, many hours each day, assisting people with shrimp tank problem solving. At the end of each conversation I found myself referring people to other companies websites to purchase the necessary items to remedy their situation. In January 2015, I decided I would just establish my own business and have these essential items on hand, so if someone had a problem i could send the items directly and quickly. Seeing as most people within the hobby knew me as Newbreed, this is how Newbreed Aquatics found it's name. Question 1 - What is your weekly/monthly maintenance schedule? JN - Daily: - Lots of shrimp staring, keeping an eye on behaviours, moults, shrimplet spotting, taking many pics with my phone Weekly: - Evaporation top ups with pure (untreated) rain water - BeeMax Bacterial powder added (Boss Booster also used when Beemax not available) - Mineral Powder added (recommend Benibachi or Boss products) - General Tidy up of tanks, moss trimming, removing used/spent IAL - Water testing mainly via TDS test Monthly: - PH/GH/KH Testing - 10% waterchange, siphoning out any buildups and replenishing with rain water treated with Salty Shrimp to desired TDS Question 2 - What is your favorite additive/products? JN - Essentials to me are the bacteria and mineral powders. I dose either weekly or fortnightly, to maintain good bacterial colonies and to ensure minerals available for use by shrimp for moults, etc. Favourite product is Benibachi Bee Max. Always something I add if there are any issues and just reassuring to know bacteria levels are propped up constantly. Also Indian Almond Leaves (IAL) and Alder Cones are a must, again good for bacteria and have helpful natural properties. Question 3 - What is your worst shrimp experience? JN - I had a wonderfully thriving CRS colony up until last year. Started with 15 shrimp and gradually started producing in the 100's. I fed them well, daily and also used baby powder type foods daily. As the colony was thriving and all seemed happy I got lazy with maintenance and conditions worsened over time. I started having occasional unexpected deaths and put them down to age, etc. Only when it became consistent and more deaths regularly did panic set in. There had been a plague of bacterial infections reported but my tanks were isolated from any new stock. The usual waterchanges, adding IAL/Alder Cones and powders didn't assist it. As these were a line that had been selling regularly and consistently, it broke my heart getting messages from keepers asking to buy some, as I could not sell any and risk any issues with others tanks. As I had not identified the cause. In the end a thriving three foot tank which held a colony of close to 200-300 shrimp was closed down to be reset. I figured that the overfeeding and low maintenance had just made the tank unsuitable. TDS, KH, GH and Ph were all good and stable, but must have been a build up of organics that was affecting the shrimp poorly. Some CRS others had taken during this time, after my advice they may be unwell, had thrived in their new homes. The colony was closed down and only now starting to recoup in a new setting. Sad when things were going so amazingly, that it could turn around almost overnight. Has made me much more conscious of feeding regime and maintenance regularity. Question 4 - What are the biggest myths in Shrimp Keeping? JN - 1. Shrimplets will not get through wire strainers on sumped systems (when first rack closed down, I had some amazing sump dwellers) 2.Shrimplets will not survive going through a sump and back into tanks on rack (Sadly my Pure TB line was invaded by shrimplets from another tank on same sump, killing off my 2 year Pure Line program - very sad day when discovered) 3. Shrimp are difficult to keep. (consistency and stability is the key) Question 5 - Unusual things that you use with your shrimps? JN - Can't think of anything that 'out there', I use lots of fun quirky shrimp related products like bee shelters and moss ledges. Many non shrimp keeping friends think I am odd when I grab my magnifying glasses out, to show them my newest sexy shrimp. lol. That may count. Question 6 - Can you give us tips on selective breeding? And how to improve the quality of our shrimps? JN - I always love watching my shrimplets develop and always look for new or unusual traits. I like unique strains and cross breeding at present. I guess the main thing with breeding is to know your goal, and what you want to achieve. Then it makes it easier to start selecting shrimp for desirable traits. Once I have a goal in mind, I isolate candidates into their own project tank and let things develop. With the CRS I was aiming for more red colouration in the legs. So I asked another breeder for some males with that trait, I then isolated my best formed females and let them go to work. It is amazing how each generation can vastly improve on the previous one. Also, key factor is to understand the genetic history of the shrimp you are breeding. If they are not from your direct lines, ask the breeder for a history. Majority of the breeders I have talked to over the last few years are very willing to share their experiences and knowledge, especially here on SKF. It makes your job a whole lot easier if you know what you are working with. Improving quality again comes down to regularly culling the undesirable or lower grade shrimp from your breeding group. (culling is not killing. just isolate them to another tank, where you are not concerned with the outcome as much) Keep and Breed the best quality shrimp you can afford to. The best foundation of a good colony is good quality, well fed parents Question 7 - What do you think will be the next big thing in shrimp? Will it come from crosses or line breeding pure species? JN - Hard call. Tigers, Tibees and Taitibees seem to be all the rage at present. As there is so many variations to come from these, I think the trend will continue for a long time yet. Many have been getting into Sulawesi Shrimp and recently there have been international images that look to be a cross from Sulawesi to Caridina, that would be a whole new world if it is indeed possible. I am personally a fan of cross breeding lines and know there will be some great developments from there. But I think there will be much interest in getting back to more Classic Pure Line TB in the future too. And lets never underestimate the Cherries, Colour developments and patterns will arise in these in the future that will also turn heads. Question 8 - How do you mineralize and what WP do you aim for? JN - When I setup a tank I always start with a sprinkling of bacteria powder and mineral powder before adding substrate (Thanks Jay for sharing this with me ages ago). Give the tank it's best start. I add mineral powders weekly to fortnightly. Also I remineralise my rain water with Salty Shrimp minerals. Depending on strain being kept. I aim for TDS 130-160, Gh 5-6, Kh 0-1, ph 6-6.5 (my main tanks I try to keep all strains in, so i mainly use the GH+ minerals) I run all my tanks at 22-23 degrees. Question 9 - What food enhances the welling being of shrimps and increase shrimplets survival rates? JN - I am a fan of a varied diet. I feed Boss Shrimp Crack, Benibachi Red Bee Ambitious, Benibachi Kale tabs, Shrimp Snow alternating every other day and always have Indian Almond Leaves(IAL) in my tanks. When shrimplets are present i usually feed Baby Powder foods daily, and I always keep IALs as they colonise beneficial bacteria even the smallest shrimp can graze on. Also a good level of biofilm in your tank will provide a good food source. Question 10 - How often do you cull? JN - Any shrimp that have obvious deformities or negative traits i cull as soon as identified. I would cull on a monthly basis, especially now as I am delving back into cherries, my culling has to be more regular and more brutal. Question 11 - What is your funniest shrimp experience? JN - I took awhile to try out Alder Cones. When I first put these into my CRS colony tank, they went beserk, just nuts. The alder cones were being pushed around on the water's surface by the canister filter, and the shrimp were piled on them, about six per alder cone, surfing just under the water's surface, being pushed from one end of the three foot tank to the other. It was great to watch about ten alder cones racing around with CRS clinging to them madly. They kept at it under the alder cones eventually sank a few hours later. These shrimp never stop entertaining! I wanted say on behalf of SKF and its members, Thank you very much Jamie.

Well on the weekend drove from Brisbane to Maryborough for a breeding system. Was a long drive and even longer home thanks to some fallen power lines just out of Gympie. But for the price it was worth the drive. Wooden stand, 12 2ft tanks, 4ft sump, lights, sump pump, some media and all plumbing for a crazy price of $300!!! Only problem is that I have no room until I buy a house at the end of the year. So this will sit at dads house until then. All 13 tanks went into the cruiser and the stand into the trailer. Few pics of the car and trailer Will be changing it around a little bit. Not to keen on the way the sump is set up so will be changing that. White paint will come off and redone in black. Currently the top tanks feed to the bottom tanks then to the sump and pump back up to the top so that will be changed. Will have another 3 tanks next to the sump that will run separately. Depending on how big the shed will be maybe another 6 tanks on top. Re-enforce the stand. Take out the fluros for some LED's. Thats it for the moment I think. Will be updating when I change things around. If you guys have any idea's for it don't be shy! This will be my first shrimp system. Cheers Zac

Yeah, his fault I ordered some the other day too. Can't wait to take some macro shots of my macro crabs. Tank is setup and ready to go. Will be with my bloody mary and tang tigers.

We also just sit, count, find the new colour morphs and take on the slave role to their existence.

@KeenShrimp I can live with 10% of the blame :P Selective breeding sounds exciting! Wonder what colours I'll get! I'll find out soon haha. I'm getting 2 males and 8 females so high chance I get a female the same colour as one of the males and I can try breeding from those. Hmmmmmm I have enough tanks to put a pair of each colour in each tank. This is dangerous!! I would like to try line breeding black and white. If the lines stabilise then try crossing those lines to see if it yields some crazy weird results just for fun.

I don't know what personality flaw makes me want to try all new things out there- I review all those products because I keep getting tempted to try stuff in case it's awesome. Now I had to go and get me some crabs. Thanks @waffle, I will blame you 10% for this ? For a special price you can have crabs of whichever colour you choose. I have bought 3 black and 3 khaki and will put them in my tiger-parameters cull tank. I can see how some of you end up with 10-60 tanks. I limited myself to 4 period. But now I have a cull tank. It starts. Very excited to start line breeding these little guys! At the price of cherries, who can resist the cute little beady eyes with those little pincers. There is not much in my cull tank, so I will be watching these guys closely as I have exactly 6 shrimplets in there and a few oddballs.

I wonder why they did not address the fact that it was a express post parcel and it took 13!!! days to get there. The fact that there was plants is a different matter. IF you pay extra for express post there should be some kind of compensation for it taking that long.

Thanks for the questions @Disciple. Had to really think hard on some answers, lol. Hope I haven't bored everyone silly!! ?

So a couple of my mishling mummas, finally had some shrimplets...pretty sure I can see some CRS types, a WR, panda and....A baby steel blue!! Whoop whoop...Fingers crossed they all grow up nicely, but will post up some pics (if I can find them hiding in the subwassertang :-P ) when they get a little bigger :-)

When I built the kids lego table, to make sure the sides were straight, I made it backwards, starting with the table top, top frame and then the legs. lol

Aye Aye! Up to that part now

Thanks guys...I love just sitting in front of the tank trying to work out what's in there LOL..

@OzShrimp well that picture looks familiar :P okok lets see how i can fix first how thick is your MDF? you said you cracked your timber, what screws you used? 8g 10g? should say on the pack, i think we decided 60mm long now for the fix, im guessing 12mm MDF, the stand i did for you is way way way over designed, and now the tank is even smalled XD first if you dont mind having the stand bigger than the tank then what you could do is take the 53cm support from the bottom and add it to the top, so just make it 4 at the top spaced out even, or measure so the sides of the tank sit on the 2 inner supports, you then can get a new one cut for the bottom if you wish

Share any funny ads for aquarium-related stuff here! I'll start. Someone was selling duckweed on Gumtree tonight for... well, just look, haha. One spoon scoop for $25? Pah-leese!

No, I don't need any. I've got too much already! Now that I come to think of it... I might have a few million dollars worth. I am, however, after some of the really small variety (the one that is the smallest flowering plant in the world) if you have - or know anyone that has - any of that I'd be interested.

I wouldn't even pay 25c for a spoon scoop, man! I was thinking that, too. Maybe this one?

What I want to know is how big is that spoon he is talking about? ?

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Great review, even if the product isn't functioning as you expected it to. I wonder if CO2 diffusers would work the way you want it, ie, produce finer bubbles. Have you tried using CO2 diffusers? Pump air through it of course.

If anyone ever needs Tertacycline: I erroneously bought 3 bottles full of Aquari-cycline instead of three tablets. Just let me know and I will post them to whomever needs it- I can't see postage being more than $5.

i remember reading this years ago on planet inverts - "There are many unknowns as to the exact science behind the mating process. It is believed that shortly after molting the female is ready to mate. The way in which the male knows that the female is ready to mate is unknown. Perhaps she releases a chemical signal or some other type of notification that only shrimp can detect. It is known though that when a female molts the males in the tank will swim around the tank in a drunken manner looking to find the ready female. When you see a bunch of shrimp swimming around in the tank against the glass make sure to sex the shrimp first. If you look closely you may notice that they are all males. If that is the case then everything is ok, they are just looking to mate." and this is from wikipedia. - Red cherry shrimp reach sexual maturity when they are around 4-6 months old. Breeding only requires a sexed pair of shrimp, stable water parameters, and a food source.[5] Eggs may be observed developing in the female's ovaries as a green or yellow triangular "saddle" marking on her back. When she is ready to lay the eggs, which occurs after moulting, she releases pheromones into the water to signal her availability to males. The male shrimp in the tank will often become agitated, swimming very actively about as they search for the source of the pheromones. After a brief mating process, during which the male deposits sperm onto the female's body, the female lays her eggs and affixes them to her swimmerettes. The eggs are not fertilized within the female; they are fertilized as they pass from the ovaries to the outside of the body. Therefore, it is certain that any shrimp carrying eggs has mated. A female carrying eggs under her abdomen is said to be "berried". and this from another site "First a female will find a comfortable hiding spot in the aquarium. Once she has become comfortable she will molt (molting is the shedding of the exoskeleton to enable growth of invertebrates). After molting the female will release a pheromone into the water indicating to the male shrimp her readiness to breed.The pheromone in the water will sometimes cause the male shrimp to swim erratically in search of the female. Once the male finds the female he will mate with her. They will mate belly-to-belly, and the male will deposit sperm. This process does not last very long, and because the female is hiding most times it is rarely observed.After the mating process has occurred the female will pass her eggs threw the sperm and deposit them in her pleopods (swimming legs) under her tail. The female shrimp will carry the eggs until they hatch, normally in 20-40 days. The female will often be observed fanning and cleaning the eggs. Once the eggs hatch, there is no longer any parental care of the young shrimp" still doesn't answer my question though :)

Thanks for the kind words! I think he is coming good. Spot is still there but doesn't look as bad as it did. Ended up treating the whole tank with the anti biotic as a precaution.

Life is like a box of chocolates.

Well, look on the positive side. You can tell your wife you have been busy filing household bills/documents when she questions why you have been in the garage for the last 2 hours. ?

Congratulations. It's so exciting getting shrimplets. The hybrids are even more exciting because you never know what you might get. Good luck with raising them, look forward to seeing those pictures.

I'm the guy who sells the Amarinus Laevis. I supply Exotic Aquatic in Carnegie and a few other places around melbourne. I'm a shrimpkeeper myself and these guys absolutely do not eat shrimplets. if they wanted to and they wanted to, and if they where somehow fast enough, they have no way to grab it.

Lol yeah it was the filter at tank height. Was trying to work out why it wasn't priming etc... for 30mins. Read the manual twice and then the old light bulb went off. But by then I had already cut the pipes so didn't have the length to move down and had to improvise by bringing a filing cabinet out lol

Some recent pics.... Cold weather brings on the action! CRS from HeavyD My Misch tank Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk