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L R BRETZ is a great source of quality Neos. They're also based in Indiana

Are these any good, see for yourself

Depth of colouration/intensity in shrimps are often linked to several factors. 1. Water Parameters - It is important to research and determine the optimum WP related to your specific shrimp. Ensuring zero - ammonia & nitrites, low nitrates, ideal PH, KH, GH, TDS, Temp...is critical to ensure optimum WP. Great WP = Happy Shrimps 2. Environment - Depending on the type of shrimps, the colour of the substrate (darker substrate, deeper coloration) and lighting .. etc can play a role. I personally do not think shrimps are aware of their colour ( I.e. red, yellow...etc) they are just trying to blend in with the environment. In contradiction to this though, I have some black. Brown and red (female ONLY), that has very dark/deep colouration on a white sand substrate. Food, and additives (Calcium...etc) do/may effect colouration too. 3. Genetics - The MOST important factor of shrimp colouration. Selective breeding is the ONLY way to truly ensure depth/intensity of colour. Even with ideal WP and environment, poor quality stock will not result in the targeted colouration. With a quality selective programe, ideal WP/environment and PATiENCE, we'll well in our way to improving shrimp colouration. Please do add your thoughts and experience ..... Thanks.

I'm a newbie but from everything I've read, I would be cautious connecting tanks. If you end up with a pest or illness in one tank, it will instantly spread to the rest. Just some food for thought.

Thx Jayc. I tried the tape and had to really crank things tight, so far so good! Thought I would ask in case there was some sort of special washer i.e. like the one used from regulator to the bottle that would eliminate the need for tape. I'll monitor close to ensure things remain stable. thx again Cheers, ~M

I have 1 killie and 11 mosquito rasbora in my reset shrimp tank which became infested with seed shrimp! They cleared the entir tank in a day, I assume the rasbora ate some, if not all of them, as if the killie ate them all he would have died from over eating? I never saw a fish eat a seed shrimp as when I go near the tank they all stop doing anything? I would give the rasbora a go! Simon

Hello. You've probably traveled by now. The only thing I did when I move was I bought a 5-gallon cooler and place my fish there for over 3 hours of land travel and they were all okay.

just as the title suggests. I just got my first batch of babies in my shrimp only tank. I have sand substrate. Normally I just stir up the bottom a bit with a finger and suck up a bit of the goo with my hose, but now I'm afraid I might get a bambino. I've got a fluval flex 9 for a tank, and I have a bit of filter floss in the outlets to try and prevent shrimpets from escaping the tank into the filter area. Any suggestions?

I never vacuum vac any tanks with shrimps only, shrimps don't really need it in the way fish do as fish are very much messier! Anything that stops tiny shrimplets from getting sucked up will also stock the muck getting sucked up? If you want to continue with the vacuum then do it into a white container and leave it to settle so you can see after that whether there are any shrimps? I would probably stop vacuuming and maybe get a snail or 2 instead, that will add another interest point to the tank? Simon

I'll be honest - I don't do gravel vacs in any tanks with fry. Whether it's my apistogramma fry who literally swim into the tube, or my ender babies who are just everywhere, or invisible shrimplets. I just stick the hose into a corner and wave my fingers in front of it to keep everyone away. I don't seem to be any worse off for it. And it doesn't really look that bad either. I just can't think of a way to safely do a gravel vac with shrimplets. I've tried putting fine mesh in front of the hose, but the fry or shrimplets get sucked into the mesh and it can injure them, and really stress them out. Interested to hear if there are any good suggestions though. Good question!

I have heard and seen L Bretz videos but I didn't think he was USA based so didn't mention him. His website doesn't say where he is based from my brief look but if he is USA, he is well known in the hobby! The caridina are definitely worth the extra work IF you can get it to work??? They may need some form of cooler in the summer where you live unless you run air-con a lot. My cherry shrimp are ok to about 85 (tanks haven't gone above that ever here) or possibly higher, but when I had caridina 79 was when it started to get tricky? Simon

There is also Aquahun.com, based in washington state. Flip aquatics is Ohio based and Aquatic Arts is Indiana based. With everything messed up at the moment all over the globe it is probably more risky than it was normally through the post! Have you asked the local store whether they can source other colours for you depending on where they get theirs? Caradina shrimp are a whole different level compared with cherry so do lots of reading on here before embarking on those! Simon

I've got no personal experience with them, but I've heard great things about Flip Aquatics. Also Aquatic Arts has some of the more quirky types of caridinas.

hey everyone so i know this is a shrimp forum but im betting that most of the people on here have fish too im a school student and ive decided to design a new breeder box that beats the flaws of other existing products for my major work i was hoping you guys could just reply with what method or model of breeder box you use to save your fry, what kind of fish you use it with and any pros and cons of these methods thanks in advance for any replies.

I use a few different breeder boxes, and while none of them are perfect, they seem to do the job for me. I don't have any idea what models or brands they are, besides one - the Aqua One Mini Float. I bought it for endlers and shrimp, and I doubt it would work for guppies, mollies or any other larger livebearers, since it is (as the name would suggest) pretty small. It's hard plastic, which I like (for usability), the suction cups kind-of suck, although it does have two compartments on either side that hold air, so it won't sink if the suction cups come off. It's a great size for my 5 gallon tank. My problem is that the gaps are too large for shrimplets. I think there should be some alternative option that has a very fine mesh (like in a shrimp net) that can be attached over the areas that have water-flow holes. It also comes with a removable divider for fry seperation. I do prefer breeder boxes with a divider option. I also have 2 of those rather common large mesh ones, that pack really small and have a net that goes over the hollow-cube structure. One has 2 dividers (so you can subdivide it into 2, and have a baby-catcher underneath still) which I found very useful when I was breeding lines with 1-2 males and 2 females, as the females would drop their fry around the same time. So I think the metacube idea is a really good one. There are a couple reasons I prefer hard plastic (with a fine mesh attachment possibly) over mesh with plastic scaffolding (like this) - firstly, the plastic ones are easier to move when you remove the fry. I have on multiple occasions accidentally left a fry in the mesh one without realising. Luckily I noticed in time, and I haven't had any deaths from that. Secondly, there are slight gaps between the mesh and the scaffolding, and the fry have a tendency to get stuck in those gaps. If I don't notice, there's a fair chance I could lose some of those fry. I also have problems with the mesh ones getting algae on them. If the hard plastic gets algae, I can easily rub/scrape it off. The mesh just does not let go of algae though, and it can be a bit of an eyesore (in addition to how ugly the mesh ones already look). If I try to suck it off with a syphon (just cuz) the fry get sucked into the net and stuck. I hope that's helpful. I do realise it's a massive mess of text. To sum it up, the things that are important to me as a shrimp, endler and guppy breeder are the following: Clear, hard plastic box Divider option Safe for baby shrimp Has a possibility to use multiple beside eachother - possibly interlock GOOD suction cups (like Eheim ones) Smaller size Works with and without a lid No places for fry to get stuck. Cheers, Crabby.

thank you so much for your reply, i forgot to ask before, as my assignment will be focused on a model that also better protects the babies from the parents during and in the window after their birth, i was meaning to ask if your method also has a divider so that the fry can drop down safely away from mum. i would like to ask that any more responses also include that information (baby divider; yes/no). sorry for the missing information and thanks again in advance for any further replies

We would like to move away from that image. Hence the forum name change to SKF Aquatics. We cover Shrimp, fish, and anything to do with the aquarium hobby. Breeder boxes are used with shrimp too. The Ziss breeder box is almost perfect. I say almost, because the internal hanging mechanism still uses suction cups, if you have a tank that has a lid. If your tank has a lid you can only use the suctions cups. The other method supplied hangs on the side of the tank means you cannot close the tank with lids. The problem is, suction cups fail after a while. And if it fails the breeder box will fall into the tank allowing whatever is in the box to escape. If you can, figure out a better attachment mechanism for the box that still allows you to close the lid on the tank, that would be great. All the other features of the Ziss is perfect for a breeder box and should be the bar for every other breeder box design. The other limitation is, modularity. I'd like to be able to hook/lock another box to the side, expanding the capacity. Metacube breeder boxes was good in this sense, where you can connect additional boxes to expand sideways or even down. But Metacube is no longer available.

Product: Up Aqua - Shrimp Sand Price: Usually around $15 - $20 per 2L bag Cons: Didn't find any at all really, The grains are quite light weight so can be hard to plant in. However some simple plant clips solved this problem. Pros: pH buffer, No Ammonia spikes when added at all, Clean looking, Light enough for shrimps to pick up and eat bio film off. Rating: 8/10 I've been using Up Aqua Shrimp Sand in my 20L nano now for a few months (6-9 I loose count) and have found it to do everything it claims and to be a fantastic looking soil that buffers perfectly and consistently. my pH has been a consistent 6.4 since I put it in. There were no traces of Ammonia or Nitrites or anything since I added it, even on the first day. Unlike other brands it doesn't buffer for GH or KH however, If you wanna play with these parameters yourself and change it this can be a good thing. From my experience I'd happily recommend this product to people looking for a nice clean looking Shrimp Sand that buffers the pH.

+1. Though mine buffers to PH6.5, GH6 & KH1. So it does affect hardness.