Is it really necessary?

[Merth]

I was going to comment on another thread but didnt want to hijack or derail it with opinions.

 

My question is this ...with the increasing amounts of products finally being more readily available compared to a couple years ago it becomes confusing to the average or casual shrimper as to what is necessary.

 

I understand the need to provide the most stable and "perfect" environment for our babies especially when we are talking about shrimp that costs upwards of $50+ apiece.

 

What I'm curious about is the expense related to alot of these products really so beneficial to the average hobbyist? Is someone keeping rcs for instance going to see increased longevity, increased growth, better breeding, better survival rates, increased hardiness? Or are these products really designed for folks keeping the high end shrimp in order to increase survival rates and thereby allowing them to breed and sell? 

 

Cause really whats the point of breeding and selling these super fantastic shrimp that the average hobbyist may fall in love with and splurge to buy only to lose them because they dont have the products and skills to keep them alive?

 

Sure its great for the seller (for a time) but is it really in the best interest of promoting the hobby?

 

I know this is probably a can of worms but would love to hear opinions

[Soothing Shrimp]

I can only speak for neos, because that is what I have the most experience with.

 

The only thing needed for neos, IMO, is a container, sponge filter, substrate and a plant to help with water quality.  Boom.  Done.

 

We like to try to make awesome environments because 1) WE like to feel like we are doing something, and 2) we want to see how we can set up the best environment possible.

 

In addition, as a selective breeder, I like to try to get the best yield so I can further my projects faster.  More babies = better chances of getting closer to my goal.  (More culling too, but my fish don't mind. LOL)

[randy]

To me, for Caridina, active substrate and RO are necessary for easy success, everything else, if picked properly and know what they are for, add a few more % to the success, but not necessary.

 

Also it adds some confidence for me too, and I have found confidence an important factor in shrimp keeping. Sounds weird? It's true. I tried OEBT three times before it finally worked for me, I don't know what I did wrong and I don't know what I an doing right, but OEBT becomes very easy for me.

[ctaylor3737]

I was going to comment on another thread but didnt want to hijack or derail it with opinions.

My question is this ...with the increasing amounts of products finally being more readily available compared to a couple years ago it becomes confusing to the average or casual shrimper as to what is necessary.

I understand the need to provide the most stable and "perfect" environment for our babies especially when we are talking about shrimp that costs upwards of $50+ apiece.

What I'm curious about is the expense related to alot of these products really so beneficial to the average hobbyist? Is someone keeping rcs for instance going to see increased longevity, increased growth, better breeding, better survival rates, increased hardiness? Or are these products really designed for folks keeping the high end shrimp in order to increase survival rates and thereby allowing them to breed and sell?

Cause really whats the point of breeding and selling these super fantastic shrimp that the average hobbyist may fall in love with and splurge to buy only to lose them because they dont have the products and skills to keep them alive?

Sure its great for the seller (for a time) but is it really in the best interest of promoting the hobby?

I know this is probably a can of worms but would love to hear opinions

For Neos they will,breed in pretty rough water conditions. They seem to thrive though in better conditions for me. Anything more like the caridina shrimp you really just need a good substrate and RO reminerlized. Honestly, I stopped using all the extra stuff. Its to expensive and to me doesnt do much. I just feed quality natural foods and does wonders. Yea theres so much out there its confusing but its really not needed IME. I do push ADA soil as it seems to auto pilot my tanks which is what I want more time to stare at them. Less time spending tweaking everything, and a good cycled tank always helps.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

I think I’ve made posts about these new shrimp “specialty” products before on previous threads but let me express my thoughts regarding these goods.

You are very correct when you said there has been an increasing in the amounts of shrimp related goods available now as compared to only a few years ago. My personal opinion is that this is true and false. True, because there are many brands available to choose from and of those brands, there exist many products doing similar things (mineralizers, foods, etc). False, because of those many brands, if we don’t account for the duplicates, there are many products that I’d like to call “repurpose” products. IAL is an example of one such product. IAL was first introduced for betta breeding and have since been adopted for shrimp breeding. Another would be pelleted foods. Snowflake, barley, and those Nettle+ pellets are nothing more than industrial feed, pond clarifier, and bird feed, respectively.

You have to remember that although we consider this a hobby; many folks do this as a business and this is their main source of income. This is particularly true for overseas farm where shrimping is big business. What can you do when you’ve already sold all the shrimps you can and a market for shrimps is saturated? Well... a good start would be selling corresponding goods to keep/breed said shrimps. This is where we start seeing ridiculous things such as “feeding nets” and “absorption” tablets. The latter has yet been proven to actually help absorb any ammonia as it’s advertised. Ask anyone who has it and they will surely tell you they’ve not noticed it work and it’s more a comfort/peace of mind item. If you have excess income or the urge to consume, it’s a good item to buy. For the former, I do not get the concept of a feeding net. I understand and can see the benefits of have food contained in a spot for easy removal, but then again, why feed so much that you’re require to remove the excess on a regular basis. It is just wasteful. I’m a firm believer in a natural sustainable tank and so, I believe a healthy tank should contain more than just shrimps. A health tank consists of a health substrate that contains natural decomposers. Decay and decomposition is almost a taboo in shrimp keeping as these words strike fear and thoughts death inside a tank. The natural cycle of breaking things down will help feed the substrate and help it breakdown and release natural humic and fluvic acids back into the system, ultimately recharging your substrate…. Why fear that? If you don’t feed your substrate and keep it healthy you’ll face more problems down the road. I also find that it’s crazy when folks so adamantly defend a certain product only to reverse their thought process and defend a product that is equally opposite of the first. Example – Folks where seems to love certain pelleted foods only to turn around and adamantly defend/advocate for the natural/organic foods. I’m seeing more and more folks feeding fresh left foods to their shrimps. The general censuses seems to be “if they don’t die, it must be healthy” and I would have disagree. I think a few years ago folks were feeding dandelion flowers. It was the entire rave, huge vitamin C, super nutritious, organic… haven’t seen a post since then regarding anyone feeding this. About a year ago, it was all about cholla wood and adder cones… now I barely see anyone using it or even discussing the subject. It seems like we seek to try new things to keep the hobby interesting and refreshing but that causes us to lose sight of the more important stuff. Sure, dark chocolate is super healthy and full of anti-oxidants, but you won’t find me feeding my dog that… What’s healthy for one species doesn’t always translate over to another.

That said, there have been many products introduced/developed for the hobby that has greatly helped ease the process of keeping shrimps. One such product that comes to mind is mineralizers, both dry and liquids and buffering substrate. Prior to the release of these mineralizers, it was blind luck breeding the more difficult shrimps. Unless you were a top tier breeding or had the ideal tap water, it was blind luck if you were successful at keeping shrimps. My tap water was idea for breeding Tiger species, but I never had luck breeding CRS.

Buying mineralizers and substrate suitable for shrimp keeping is important. Investing in a good RODI system for the more sensitive shrimps is also important. Food is important (to a degree), but overall, be smart on what you buy. Is it necessary going around buying a “new” substrate (costing more) when ADA Aquasoil has been tested and proven to work? If it sounds ridiculous, it most likely will ridiculous. Rarely do I ever see products sold by name brands having any real data supporting it. It’s always word of mouth and/or a nice picture that supports their claims.

Sorry for the long vent-like writeup, but these are my views on the current trend of shrimp keeping. Buy or don’t buy, don’t let me deter you. This is just my personal views developed from years of shrimp keeping and thousands spent on shrimp products.