OEBTs breeding issues and gh 9?

[jumpsmasher]

Just note my figure above was using RODI water which has zero GH, KH, and almost zero TDS to start.

If you are using SS GH+ your KH value shouldn't have any noticeable change. If your GH goes from 0 to 9 after SS GH+ than you are using too much SS GH+

[Greenteam]

I do my mix for my OEBT with my SS GH+ 

 

start with:

5g RO water Kh: 0 GH: 0 TDS: 3-4

 

Mix 1 scoop full (the one that comes with bottle) end result:

Kh: 0 Gh: 5-6 TDS 105-115

 

Tank sits at: Kh: 0 Gh: 5-6 and TDS: 160-165  Temp: 70-72

 

Like Randy it took me a few tries to finally get this darn things breeding like I wanted them. I think it also has to do with where the OEBT originally come from. I had 3 well know breeders I purchased from and they all arrived looking great and even grew just fine, but I never could get the young to survive even with "pristine" water.

 

When I finally found a breeder who was raising his OEBT is the same water parameters as mine I jumped on it and had 0 issues since. 

[countryboy12484]

Im getting some oebt monday! Wish me luck!

[Duque]

OK.  

 

This is interesting.  I got my Royal Blues my two breeders over a year ago, and they are some of the longest lasting Orange-Eyed shrimp I've had.  Trying desperately to accommodate their previous environment, I got "the formula" from one of the guys and followed it.  The ease of keeping these shrimp was surprising and they started to breed.  Nevertheless, there were some difficulties getting the young to survive.  So, I began asking around and got some surprisingly different "recipes" from what I was using.

 

Here's what I was using for 10 months:

5 gallons of RO,

1/2 teaspoon of SS GH+ (roughly the scoop and dosage recommended on the label), AND 1/2 teaspoon of Kents RO Right.

 

I never checked any parameters.  Their survival rate was unprecedented for me (it was like magic) and they were breeding here and there.

Until getting frustrated that only about 20% of the baby shrimp would mature, I didn't bother looking for other advice.

My TDS was 350+, GH 10-11.

 

Ever since finding the commonly accepted parameters and use of SS GH+, exclusively, I've been slowly bringing everything down over a period of 2-3 months.  There appears to be less breeding and approximately the same survival rate, so far.  

 

 

So, now I'm doubting myself and whether I did the right thing.   Should stay on the current path and see what happens over the next 6 months?  Should I consider going back to harder water?

Any thoughts, now that I'm utterly confused?    :-)

 

 

THANKS! 

[DETAquarium]

Duque, I currently have a handful of OEBTs with my TBS in TDS of 135 and PH 6.2, other OEBTs I have are with Neos in  230 TDS and PH 7.2. Honestly tigers from what I have gathered are quite hardy to the majority of water parameters we keep them in as long as you acclimate them correctly. Its not that your doing anything wrong, you just need to figure out the ideal water parameters you want to keep them in, remineralize your RODI water to them and stick with it.

 

Shrimp will breed on and off for no apparent reason, alot of people say they slow down in the winter months, people say water parameters do it, some claim supplements make the difference. It is all ultimately up to the shrimp, all we can do as breeders/hobbyists is provide them with pristine water parameters and leave it to them to do the rest.

 

You are definitely asking all the right questions to us, just be sure its what you want.

[jumpsmasher]

My own experience (~ 3 years) and from discussions I had with other OEBT's owners and breeders, I would say that OEBT probably have the widest range of parameters amongst all the bee shrimps. I have seen people keep (and breed) them successfully in water that range from a pH of 5.8-7.8, TDS from 100 to 400 and beyond gH from 3 to 8+; some people do large weekly water changes, some do it 2-3 times a year; etc;  I would say the common parameters might be the temperature, generally lower than CRS so around 20-24C but there are some that have adapted them to temperatures as high as 26 C.

 

I would say they are highly adaptable to most parameters over time (i.e months or years).  I also think separate strains of OEBT have developed quite independently over the years; an european and an asian strain. 

 

European ones tends to be developed in harder water, higher pH, low temperatures, large water changes, etc; I believe most of the initial ones imported in the United States came from Europe.
Asian ones it seems have been developed in softer water, and seem to have high tolerances for warmer temperatures.  I believe alot of OEBTs brought in these days are from Asian exporters.

Add to that mix the various US breeders who brought them in many years ago and have adapted them to a wide range of parameters. 

 

Because of this I believe there is no "magic" or ideal parameters for them.  Best is to match the parameter from your source and sometimes even that is not guaranteed to work. When that happens to just have play around until you find something that works.

 

A funny thing happened with my OEBTs this year... they adapted to warmer temperatures during the summer.  In past years, when temperatures went over 24C for a prolong period of time they would get stressed out and get bacteria infection and slowly die off.  THhis past summer due to issues with my AC unit, and temperatures reached 26C for prolonged periods of time in their tank and instead of dying off they actually starting breeding with prolificacy for me!

[Duque]

You guys, you're ALL Fantastic with your invaluable advice.   

 

I get it.   It's like raising my kids.  They're not identical.   :-)    

One formula does not fit all.   Alright, now my mind is at ease.

 

Christine, are you with me on this one?   We get to experiment to see who commits Shrimp Genocide or grows a colony first!

 

FINAL QUESTION:

If we find that they have acclimated to a particular water parameter (which is on the lower hardness level) and they start having babies, what is your main focus in helping the babies survive and mature?   Do the water parameters play a significant role or do things such as Molt-assisting food additives provide some success?

 

Yeah, I recognize that this is crossing over into the "Breeding" section, but I'm still trying to curious if water plays a role in it.

 

My Thanks to Everyone Again.   This is really a great community of people.

[DETAquarium]

Honestly Duque, I don't do much more for the babies that I haven't already done for the remainder of the colony. Usually I would have plenty of biofilm and algae for the babies at the point. Sometimes I will add Bacter AE or recently I have tried the MK Shrimp Baby Food which works well.

[jumpsmasher]

Same as DET, I just make sure there is some biofilm on the glass (having decent lighting helps) and i usually throw in some indian almond leaves every couple of weeks and bacteria / baby food every other day or so depending on how many I have.  

 

With tigers I generally haven't seen any molting issues with them while raising them.  Main killer of tigers for me has been bacteria infections and super aggressive males (on just molten female) and power outtages : ( 

[Duque]

Well, once again I'm grateful for all of the advice.  

 

You guys have done a lot to calm my nerves.  These are definitely my favorite shrimp, so there's always concern about screwing something up.   Hopefully, I'll be able to post a happy update.

In advance, I should probably apologize for any further questions you may get peppered with.     :-)   

 

Thanks again to everyone who commented.