SKF Breeders Award

[fishmosy]

Shrimp Keepers Forum Breeders Awards

SKF breeders awards can be considered to be the equivalent of breeders awards in fish aquarium societies. Whilst they can be considered a competition, they should be taken as more of a personal challenge with a spirit of openness and the sharing of knowledge.

The purpose of these awards is to:

1. Recognise the great work of shrimp breeders

2. To encourage more breeding of shrimp in Australia

3. To accumulate and spread knowledge on shrimp breeding techniques

4. To encourage the development of breeding techniques for Australian native shrimp

There will be two categories for the awards.

1. SKF Shrimp Breeders Achievement Award

2. SKF Annual Breeders Award

SKF Shrimp Breeders Achievement Award

The SKF Shrimp Breeders Achievement Award is open to all members. It is based on a points system whereby points are awarded for breeding shrimp, with points allocated based on the criteria below. Points are aggregated over the entire length of time that members are active on SKF.

The award levels are:

Novice 30 points

Intermediate 100 points

Advanced 200 points

Senior 400 points (including at least one native shrimp)

Master 600 points (including at least two native shrimp)

Senior Master 1200 points

Grand Master 2000 points (including at least three native shrimp)

In addition, the moderation team can award a SKF Lifetime Achievement Award:

Awarded to long serving SKF members who have demonstrated a long history of shrimp keeping and breeding, and who have freely passed on their information and experience to other members.

Once awarded, these levels will be displayed on your profile as a badge.

Points can only be claimed once per shrimp colour/pattern/grade combination or variant. For example, a red cherry is considered separate to a red rilli. A cull grade red is different than a sakura or painted. Red is different to other colours (orange, yellow, blue, ect.).

100 Bonus Points will be awarded if the breeder writes an article on the shrimp for inclusion in the SKF library on either the shrimp or specialist techniques or equipment used for keeping/breeding the shrimp.

Given how long this project has taken to get off the ground, points will be allocated retrospectively. Shrimp bred after the starting date of the forum will be eligible as long as you can provide suitable evidence (i.e. Link to a thread here on SKF).

The criteria used to allocate points are based on the table below:

The grade is dependent on the average grade of the parents or colony.

Low grades are cull and cherry grade for RCS, B and C grades for CRS/CBS.

Medium grades are Sakura for RCS, and A,S for CRS/CBS.

High grades are Painted and Fire for RCS, and SS, SSS, golden and snow white for CRS/CBS.

Very High grades are BB, TB, Tigers, ect.

Rilis will be considered as medium grade given they can be more difficult to keep than regular cherries, but do not have their own grading system in common use (yet).

Mischlings will be considered as high grade as they do not have their own grading system yet.

Line breeding points will be awarded where the applicant can demonstrate that the shrimp being bred were part of a line breeding program.

For example, a painted red cherry would get 55 points.

- high grade (50)

- mini adult shrimplets (5)

The elusive black zebra shrimp (Australian native mentioned by Bob aka Northboy) would get 605 points

- first time that that species/variant has been bred (250)

- new colour variation (250)

- native (100)

- mini adult shrimplets (5).

As there is no grade system for Australian natives, it isn't eligible for those points.

Just to demonstrate that the points outlined are achievable (remembering that this is a 'lifetime' achievement award):

Senior Master

Three native shrimp (assuming no firsts and direct developing shrimplets) = 315

Low, mid and high grade red cherries = 95

Low, mid and high grade yellow cherries = 95

Low, mid and high grade orange cherries = 95

Red rilli cherry = 30

Mid, high and very high grade CRS = 190

Mid and high grade CBS = 85

Very high grade CRS derivatives (x3) = 305

Total: 1210 points

In order to get to Grand Master you need to be producing new variants/patterns, writing articles for the library or breeding shrimp that have not been bred before (our native shrimp are prime candidates for this).

Until we can guage the support for this initiative, we will be only offering the SKF Shrimp Breeders Achievement Award.

SKF Annual Breeders Award

This is a competition for the most shrimp varieties/species bred within the period of one year between the 1st of XXX of one year and the 31st of XXX of the following year.

1 Point is awarded for each species bred after the 1st of XXX and surviving for at least 15 days. 2 points are awarded for each native (to Australia) species bred afterthe 1st of XXX and surviving for at least 15 days. 3 Points are awarded for species that have been bred for the first time. Winners will be judged by the moderation team based only upon applications for points received within this time period. As we intend for this award to be sponsored, the winner will receive any stated prizes, receive a breeders badge in their SKF profile and have their name appear on the SKF Breeders Award winners list. Although a certain variety/colour/pattern of shrimp may be scored once only for the Breeders Achievement Awards, breeding may be scored once per year for the purposes of the annual breeders award.

Award Rules:

1. Do not cheat. Buying both adults and juvies from another keeper and posting the pics up at different times may get you points. However, you are really only cheating yourself as the Breeders Achievement Award is more of a challenge than a competition. Once up and running, there will be much closer scrutiny for the breeders award and any cheaters will have their eligibility for any SKF breeder award revoked, and may incur other consequences up to and including bans from the forum.

2. Evidence of breeding must be posted on SKF in the appropriate subforum, including pictures of adults (preferably including berried females) and juveniles, prior to submission to the award subforum. Juveniles must live longer than 15 days or reach at least 10mm for shrimp with post-hatching larval stages.

3. Shrimp must be in the possession of the breeder for the whole time.

4.To be eligible to receive points, the member wishing to receive the award should post an application in this subforum in a new thread using the award tab under the forum logo including:

- The award/s they wish to partake in,

- One picture of the adults and juveniles (or two pictures of kept seperate),

- A link to the thread outlining their breeding success,

- The number of points they believe they have accumulated and the rational as to why they should receive that amount of points,

- Any additional information that may contribute to assessing point allocation.

Once again, the application form can be accessed through the award tab under the forum logo.

5. Tracking of points is the responsibility of the breeder. Once he/she believes they have reached a new level in the Breeders Achievement award, he/she needs to contact the moderation team for verification and presentation of the award.

Edited June 22, 2014 by fishmosy