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Just thought I would write up my journey with my CRS. I bought these guys July last year (from Fishmosy) and had them in with my TB for seven months without any berries, super frustrating. After a reset on one of my three foot tanks, I moved the CRS in there by their lonesome and the magic started to happen. The quality of these isn't the best but also not the worst. I recently was very lucky to be a recipient of some 'culls' from Gbang. With these boys in the mix I am expecting to see the quality of offspring increase dramatically over the next few generations. The tank they are in has benibachi soil, eheim 2213, chiller, two sponge filters and two Mini Oxydators. I have been adding mineral powder, Bee Max, Genchem beta-G as required. And have just started small additions of Blackwater extract with water changes. I noticed a drop off in breeding a few months ago and realised I had stopped adding IAL. Once these went back in, the juvie survival rate improved, I am of the belief this is a great source of micro bacteria for the tank and an awesome food source for the littlest ones. It has been running with an Aquamedic Twin T5 light for the last five months. Lots of plant growth and biofilm on the back panel, usually see a gang of little shrimp grazing there in the mornings. Unfortunately, some of the plants are being infested with BBA, but I will trim in a couple of weeks to remove this. I have allowed the plants to grow like mad and the CRS seem to really enjoy their forest. I feed a mixture of Benibachi Kale, Beni Ambitious, Boss Snow, Boss Crack and occasionally some frozen Kale (prepared as in Bluebolts thread). For baby feeds I have followed Squiggs example and used powdered Spirulina, Barley Powder, powdered bee pollen, mixed with water and syringed to different corners of the tank. Now have also used Borneo Wild Bebi and the little ones loved that too!

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Yep. I don't think it works either. Not to cycle real aquasoil. I hear Dr Tims One & Only is very good for cycling tanks. You could try that if you are impatient.

Thermometers on cheap TDS pens are unreliable. Don't trust it 100%. You bought a TDS meter, not a thermo meter. Yours seems to be 2deg C low. So from now on just remember to add 2, if you really have to use the thermometer on the TDS meter. The thermometer on TDS meters are there to make adjustments to the TDS reading in relation the temps. TDS readings can be higher or lower depending on temp, even if it was the same water. So those cheap thermometers are there to adjust the TDS reading as needed. It doesn't need to be accurate. Close enough is good enough for a TDS reading.

Glad that made you laugh. I chuckled while writing it myself.

That was properly a really stupid statement and your reply made me LOL in front of my work mates, and then spent ages explaining about my hobby and why I wanted to keep shrimps and not eat them...! ? Sorry @Zoidburg, I am still getting used to this forum software and completely missed your original reply! I've ordered some SS GH/KH+ as sold on the method of remineralising and now makes perfect sense to do this in order to keep things more measureable. Thanks for the comment on not worrying about the PH but getting everything else right first. The only thing I need to figure out is the substrate and having a look at the plants you guys have mentioned: I'm looking at running an Eden 511 external filter or a HOB filter as i want to hide as much of the equipment as possible inside the display. What about a Söchting Oxydators that every seem to have, is that worth me getting? Thanks again for your valuable time!

It's the only way to go if you want full control over what is in your water and control of the water parameters. Rain water is another alternative. Shrimps and many softwater fish (generally) like low pH, low TDS water. And for many people this is almost an impossible task with their tap water. pH comes out at close to 8.0 and TDS is 80-100, at least the last time I tested my tap water here in Sydney. That 80-100 TDS is made up of a lot of unwanted chemicals and metals. If you also knew what was in our tapwater, you WILL want to swap to use RO or rain water and add your own minerals using products like Salty Shrimp.

You will find CRS don't do well in high ph. They cope much better in anything from 5.5- 7 and do Best around 6 - 6.5ph. They also do better at a lower TDS anywhere from around 130 - 160 although a bit higher doesn't seem to worry them - stability is the key . RO water is the best way to go but you must use a remineralising product like salty shrimp GH + as RO water in itself is too "pure". Generally a buffering substrate is highly recommended as well. Feeding is not hard , firstly they thrive on the biofilm in their tank, blanched leaves such as mulberry leaves , spinach or other blanched vegetables, IAL ( Indian almond leaves) commercial shrimp pellets , also a bit of protein in the form of either frozen black worms or black worm pellets or similar foods fed weekly. temperature plays a big part too as they don't do well in constant warmer temperature - we aim for 21-24 C usually so in Summer you need fans or chillers on the tank to keep the temperature stable. Regular small water changes also play a part in keeping your colony healthy. Generally 10-15 % weekly but this varies depending on size of tank and size of colony

Hi guys, Just want to share this photo.

Nice feeding frenzy there. Very christmasy.

That means they are SSS grade CRS. So if you want to get more SSS grade shrimps then you can also separate all the white SSS shrimp into one tank for greater chances of getting more SSS grade offspring. There is no harm in leaving them in the same tank.

Thanks for all the great advice guys. I just wanted to come by and give a update. You guys were correct and she is a female. Since my original post, she has actually had 3 batches of babies so far totaling 30-40 shrimps that survived and is currently berried. She's my best female breeder currently and has made me proud!

That's an easy worry to take care of... sell the excess shrimp! Then you can go buy more different kinds of shrimps... As to your actual question... I suspect the answer would depend on the conditions your shrimp experience, especially temperatures. I've heard some peoples' shrimps don't breed at all or as well during certain months. Which months these shrimp keepers are talking about varies (some have low winter output, some low summer outputs).

Hey now... you can't have it both ways!!!

I don't find these pictures are showing the transparency enough. Often, the lower the grade, the more transparent the colours. That is, you don't get a solid red or white colour, and you can see more internal organs. Like the following examples (borrowed from the web) ... low grade tiger tooth notice the transparent parts where it should be white? And notice the red on the head is not solid but transparent? Notice the spotted red colour? And the red and white colours bleeding into each other. ie, red showing where the band should be all white, and vice versa. Legs are all transparent and devoid of colour. versus high grade tiger tooth Where as this high grade specimen shows solid whites. Solid reds. No transparency. White bands don't show any red, and red bands don't show any whites. Legs showing good colour.

PM me if you want a few Crystals to try. I will be doing a cull soon and will have a few different pattern CBS that just haven't got the depth of colour I want but their patterns are good. You are welcome to have a few for free -they are fairly tough but I do keep them in RO water at a low ph so they need to be acclimatised very slowly.

Hahahaha!! You forget, this is me your are referring to! Mr impulsive spender!! Any sales I have made are just funding more and more stock, products and general nonsense! But yeah, that tank has more than paid for itself. And has helped the next stage begin.... But that will be another thread!! :)

Oh wow! Lovely to see so many generations. From small to adult shrimps. I see some really good quality Mosura in there as well. It's an infestation. I'd be happy to take some off your hands, if you need to get rid of some

You can never have too many CRS.

Thanks Ineke!! I am just really chuffed with how everything is developing now! Guess that patience thing really does pay off!?!

More pics... So all in all, have gone from a startup of around 15 to just over fifty now. Love staring at this tank as everywhere you turn you see someone playing and swimming around. Can't wait for the number to hit 100, will look stunning. Hope you enjoy the pics!!