Twister54 Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Hi everyone, I'm very new to shrimp keeping, so sorry for all the stupid questions! I have a tank with some cherries in it. They were rescued from a filter of one of my boyfriends fish tanks that used to have shrimps in. The poor guys didn't look to healthy, were very pale and quite small. But somehow they have survived and have started to breed. I want to selectively breed them to try and improve the color of them. Some of the shrimps have coloured up nicely and I have a couple of really nice females. Some of them are however are still very pale, almost clear. (Will try to get some pictures tonight) The fist lot of shrimplets have now grown and the females have got saddles. Can the females breed as soon as they get saddles? At what point do the final adult colours show, some of the young shrimps have saddles but are still really pale. And still quite small is tis due to genetics or are they just unhealthy? Is there anything I can do about it? Any tips of how to selectively breed for colour would also be very helpful. I also have some pest snails in the tank, is there any reason to remove them, will they cause any harm. Sorry for all the questions! Thanks MableBile and JosephKex 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 If I notice a pale or clear shrimp with a saddle I know it will not develop the red color im looking for so I would cull. I like to let my colony get about 30-40 adults then cull out the light colored ones leaving only the darkest red but make sure to leave a few males. Soothing Shrimp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twister54 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 This is an example of a really pale shrimp, it's still small but has a saddle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyeGuy411 Posted July 17, 2015 Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 Yeah that is a cull for sure, I have never had a female that clear! Looks like a ghost shrimp! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twister54 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 I know that was my thoughts! There was one female that came out the filter and was that clear, I think these are from her as most of them are this clear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aennedry Posted July 21, 2015 Report Share Posted July 21, 2015 Well, you could set up another breeder tank and breed 'ghost' cherries. I have one in my cull tank that my lazy bettas refused to eat. Bad bettas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twister54 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 I wish I had the space to do that! Unfortunately it's one tank only for me at the moment! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbenjamin16 Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 could you set up a marina breeder box or a breeder box in general for selective breeding? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twister54 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Haha that's exactly what I've spent my day so far doing! Although I've had to make some modifications so the marina box sits on top, if I hang it on the front it blocked the view of the tank, and I didn't like having it hidden behind. I've spent the afternoon catching all the ghostly types and putting them in there not sure what I'm going to do with then yet, but at least they won't be breeding into the main population at the moment. 90% of the young shrimp are very pale, the mothers are nice looking, but I don't have any decent males. The only down side is the air pump is very loud. Is there anyway to make them quieter? New set-up Some of my younger babies (in the main tank) Adult female mbenjamin16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soothing Shrimp Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Since you are working with a low grade of cherry, those badly colored ones may be males. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twister54 Posted July 25, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Some of then are, but I have a whole bunch that have saddles. They are a significantly lower grade than the mothers, I'm not sure why there's such a difference, I can only assume it was down to the quality of male they bread with. (Sorry about the photo quality, but here's some examples of the first offspring of the nicer females) Females These are the males mbenjamin16 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbenjamin16 Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 thats a very nice set up im not sure how to make the air pump quieter. i have mine on the front of my tank and my tank runs just on my one dual air pump lol. but good luck with breeding the clear looking ones. if you can get a stable line going i bet many people would be interested in them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wygglz Posted July 25, 2015 Report Share Posted July 25, 2015 Hi Twister. Others will probably have other ideas for your air pump, but we have found that a big sponge from the hardware store is a cheap, quick, and easy fix. Just set the pump on it and it should quiet it down. I know there are silicone mats made as well, but the sponge is quick too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.