Have been thinking about getting some Taiwan bee Shrimp for a while but the thought of purchasing an R.O kit and chiller has always been stopping me. I live in Adelaide and my pH sits around 7.0 - 7.2. Not sure of TDS but I'm sure another Adelaide member can confirm. Ofcourse the water temperatures can get very hot here too but I do have a couple of fans to combat that. What I'm asking is:

 Would it be possible to keep and breed Taiwan bee shrimp in typical Adelaide conditions?

I don't want to spend the money on the shrimp and then slowly see them die out. 

 

Thanks in advance,

Louis

I wouldn't normally respond to this as I don't know about your water, but I think if you read this it may be of some help in making up your mind as to whether to try it:

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/topic/14025-tap-water-taiwan-bee-uk-zerowater/

FROM MY PERSONAL (UK) EXPERIENCE, even if the tap water fits the desired parameters it will be unlikely to work. You really need to get pure water and remineralise it for something as fussy as Caridina shrimps. If you aren't planning on a big tank the Zerowater Jug will work as it produces RO water, or the alternative would be a complete RO unit. I think it really depends on the water source, tap, rainwater, well etc but MY UK EXPERIENCE is that even if the (tap) water parameters look fine the shrimps will die off in a short time, wasting a lot of money and being very frustrating/bewildering, see the thread? As a summary, if you take the water back to ZERO and use the shrimp specific products you can't really fail.

Hopefully there will be others from nearer to your home that will give you their advice. Also, hopefully you may find the article interesting/useful?

Simon

ps This video may also help

https://skfaquatics.com/forum/topic/14161-basics-for-shrimp-keeping-video/?tab=comments#comment-134997

 

Edited January 25, 20197 yr by sdlTBfanUK

Wow thanks for such a great reply Simon. I have actually bred crystal Reds before quite a few years ago and had great success considering that temps would get to the high 20s and I was just using tap water. I have found a breeder in Adelaide who is selling Mishlings with pinto genes and he has been breeding without a chiller and just tap water. Maybe the shrimp do build up resistance to certain conditions quite quickly when exposed to them over a few generations? I will likely buy his Mishlings and see how they go.

 

Thanks again mate!

If you had success with crystals then you may also have success with TB, but as the chap says in the video, even Cherry shrimp do better with the RO remineralised water over Tap water. If the breeder is using the same tap water as you then I can't see there could be a problem and that would be the best route to go if you want to avoid the RO water remineralised route. The PH is a little high by accepted standards but if they come from that same water PH I assume they will be ok and it is only slightly over? I think the way to go is to keep it steady and simple and don't try altering too much just to get an exact figure, for instance you may be able to lower the PH very slightly using Indian Almond leaves and they are very good/natural for the shrimps in other ways as a bonus?

My TB tank water got to 26 degrees a few days last summer without any problem, but having  said that I suspect that is top temperature before there could have been a problem.

I suspect my TB shrimp have some Pinto genes as I am getting some very funky ones, half pinto and half TB, but all beautiful in there own right! I have to say that that is why I like the Taiwan bee mix, you never know what the babies will look like, I have red bolts and Red Mosura and I didn't have any of those before?

Hope it all goes well.

Simon

I would highly recommend comparing water parameters... what is the breeders GH, KH and TDS? (tap vs tank) What substrate are they using? How does that compare to your own parameters? First hand experience, I can say that just because a breeder uses tap water and nothing special in tank doesn't mean someone else can do the same. (cherry shrimp as an example...)

Fancy/high end shrimp often bred in low pH parameters often don't do well in higher pH with different GH/KH/TDS. I've taken YKK's bred in Caridina parameters (low pH) and put them in similar Neocaridina parmaeters (higher ph and KH but GH/TDS close) and had success with them, however I would not compare these guys to TB by any means.

Yeah. Always find out the water parameters of the seller / breeder. And match it as closely as possible. TDS, ph, GH, KH, and temperature.

 

 

 

Following on from Zoidberg and JayC great advice, and back to the beginning. If you don't have the test kits and you don't want to buy a whole set when you are only at the 'decision' stage (doesn't make sense to buy all the kits if you aren't yet commited otherwise they will end up in the trash) I expect you could take water to the seller of the shrimps you plan to buy or an aquarium place and they would do the tests for you (they do here in UK usually anyway and charge a minimal fee), then you will at least know whether your tap water, and shrimp sellers are the same (or near enough) and therefore MAY work, or whether you may need to consider going the (unwanted cost and hassle) RO water route, which I fully appreciate, hence I use jug alternative? 

Simon