Who's who in shrimp industry?

[Elo500]

Being new to the shrimp hobby, I'm curious as to who are the major breeders and suppliers for the shrimp we see imported into the States and what their specialties are? What countries are the primary exporters? How many major players are there the industry?

[JamesHe]

It would be a long list.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Hmm.. For shrimp importing, speedie is just about it...

For shrimp related goodies, it's a safe bet to assume anyone with "aquatics" or something along those lines as part of their online tag is a major shrimp player.

[GDT78]

Being new to the shrimp hobby, I'm curious as to who are the major breeders and suppliers for the shrimp we see imported into the States and what their specialties are? What countries are the primary exporters? How many major players are there the industry?

Anyone who ships internationally ?

[Elo500]

I've read lots of references about Japan, Germany and Taiwan shrimp breeders. Are most of the hobby shrimp coming from these 3 countries? Is it all a mom and pop industry or are there larger commercial / corporate breeders? is the MK brand just dry goods or do they breed shrimp too?

[JamesHe]

I've read lots of references about Japan, Germany and Taiwan shrimp breeders. Are most of the hobby shrimp coming from these 3 countries? Is it all a mom and pop industry or are there larger commercial / corporate breeders? is the MK brand just dry goods or do they breed shrimp too?

 

Big commercial breeder in Taiwan can have thousands of tank to breed all type of shrimp. for neos, even use big ponds outdoor.

 

Size wise, I can list couple commercial breeder in Taiwan.

YU CRS Center

FU Shrimp International

Crimson Taiwan

C-Sky

 

Medium size breeder, smaller than above commercial breeder, but has top quality:

Ellen Wang

MK-Breed

Elegant Lady

Fitfy Nine Studio

[DETAquarium]

I've read lots of references about Japan, Germany and Taiwan shrimp breeders. Are most of the hobby shrimp coming from these 3 countries? Is it all a mom and pop industry or are there larger commercial / corporate breeders? is the MK brand just dry goods or do they breed shrimp too?

 

MK-Breed (MK Pao) has not only dry goods including food and supplements, but he is also one of the top breeders in the world currently. He just released a new BKK with Golden Eyes.

[Soothing Shrimp]

With exceptions of occasional buyers that fly here to hand select high priced shrimp, I don't think we have any big exporters here in the states.  After all with the major shrimp producers being in the same part of the world as the major buyers- and for cheaper than we would sell due to economy- who needs ours? heh

[randy]

Actually, a few are trying to change the all import phenomenon... expect to see a few US big players on top of a few already doing it.

 

As to the "famous breeders", you'd be surprised the range how many tanks they have. Some may just have 10-20 tanks, some well over 500. But it's really because the goal. There are many in Taiwan who run 50-100 tanks to pump out shrimps we see here, they go for quantity, there are people doing strictly pure line and they only have 10 - 20 tanks.

 

My Taiwanese shrimp breeder tour starts on Nov 17, will hit at least 2 of the 8 listed by James the first day ;-)

[EricM]

Hmm.. For shrimp importing, speedie is just about it...

For shrimp related goodies, it's a safe bet to assume anyone with "aquatics" or something along those lines as part of their online tag is a major shrimp player.

 

there are atleast 4-5 other people importing that i'm aware of.  speedie isnt the only option.

 

the list would be really long of breeders if you included many of the smaller breeders who I love to work with.

remember how many shops there are in Taiwan and Japan now.

[OblongShrimp]

As bostoneric mentioned there are several people currently importing into the US.  I am not aware of anyone exporting shrimp FROM the US (some people do a shipment here or there but nothing large, or probably legal).

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

there are atleast 4-5 other people importing that i'm aware of. speedie isnt the only option.

the list would be really long of breeders if you included many of the smaller breeders who I love to work with.

remember how many shops there are in Taiwan and Japan now.

Yep, you're correct. SoShrimp, ShrimpUSA and another importer (I don't recall his name but I know he's local to me) and a few others all import. I didn't mentioned them because I don't think the first two are members on ShrimpSpot. Also, I think many folks know speedie and so can vouch for him. By no means is he the only one, it just happens that he's only of the more reliable importers with a good rep.

I agree with you that there are many breeders if we're talking internationally. I also agree that small breeders are fun to work with. I love small time breeders as they (to me) seem to have more passion. This makes their end product better as it's a labor of love. I'm actually looking forward to seeing some local breeders by the end of the year.

[Elo500]

The list James provided is what I was curious about. I noticed that c-sky has a new distribution center in California.

I get the picture that there are maybe hundreds of breeders on Asia but we only see what the importers bring into the states and I assume people like speedie only import what the market demands.

Who are the major importers besides speedie ?

So maybe 99% of the shrimp www see come from Taiwan?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JamesHe]

there are atleast 4-5 other people importing that i'm aware of.  speedie isnt the only option.

 

the list would be really long of breeders if you included many of the smaller breeders who I love to work with.

remember how many shops there are in Taiwan and Japan now.

 

Here is an auction FB site in Taiwan, you would be amazed how many very nice quality shrimp changing hands per day.

Unfortunately they don't do international shipping.

[JamesHe]

The list James provided is what I was curious about. I noticed that c-sky has a new distribution center in California.

I get the picture that there are maybe hundreds of breeders on Asia but we only see what the importers bring into the states and I assume people like speedie only import what the market demands.

Who are the major importers besides speedie ?

So maybe 99% of the shrimp www see come from Taiwan?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I knew few US/Canada dealers that import from oversea in regular basis, 

 

Randy is the top one who focus on quality and I would recommend.

Speedie is good too.

 

Some dealer you don't want to deal with him/her any more for the bad transition lots of keeper experienced. I don't want to mention his/her name here.

 

some dealer imports low quality shrimp to US market, I really don't like it. I don't want to mention his/her name here as well.

 

People used to import JPRL(Crimson, Nishiki, Benibachi and Ebi-ten) before, but I guess that there is just no market here, so I didn't see any new import recently.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

I knew few US/Canada dealers that import from oversea in regular basis,

Randy is the top one who focus on quality and I would recommend.

Speedie is good too.

Some dealer you don't want to deal with him/her any more for the bad transition lots of keeper experienced. I don't want to mention his/her name here.

some dealer imports low quality shrimp to US market, I really don't like it. I don't want to mention his/her name here as well.

People used to import JPRL(Crimson, Nishiki, Benibachi and Ebi-ten) before, but I guess that there is just no market here, so I didn't see any new import recently.

If I'm not mistaken, isn't Randy Canadian only? I'd love to buy from him but it'll require an important license, no? And if someone does have an import license, the entire world opens up.

By the way, anyone wanna fill me in on where to start on getting an import license? (Doesn't matter the fees, the hassle, or the headaches). Whenever I see someone ask, those were the typical response from folks that knows how and the subject is usually dropped.

I think Max was the importer of JPRL over at The Planted Tank. I don't think he is a sponsor any longer but he was for some time. I think there's a big disparity between what we paid and what we expect. It's foreign for NA to pay over 200$ per shrimp but it's pretty normal for the Asian market. As such, not many will fork the top dollars for it. A while back I paid $80/ea for a few PRL. I should say "PRL" because when I got them, they had terrible colors. I just tossed them inside my mischling tank and I couldn't tell the difference. Since then I've refused to buy PRL I cannot hand pick in person.

[JamesHe]

If I'm not mistake, isn't Randy Canadian only? I'd love to buy from him but it'll require an important license, no? And if someone does have an import license, the entire world opens up.

By the way, anyone wanna fill me in on where to start on getting an import license? (Doesn't matter the fees, the hassle, or the headaches). Whenever I see someone ask, those were the typical response from folks that knows how and the subject is usually dropped.

I think Max was the importer of JPRL over at The Planted Tank. I don't think he is a sponsor any longer but he was for some time. I think there's a big disparity between what we paid and what we expect. It's foreign for NA to pay over 200$ per shrimp but it's pretty normal for the Asian market. As such, not many will fork the top dollars for it. A while back I paid $80/ea for a few PRL. I should say "PRL" because when I got them, they had terrible colors. I just tossed them inside my mischling tank and I couldn't tell the difference. Since then I've refused to buy PRL I cannot hand pick in person.

 

No, you don't need import license for your personal enjoyment, unless you resell it.

 

I have an artical talking about how to get a license. let me dig it out later.

 

in short,

It's about $100 annual fee. the license it good for one year, and you need to renew it every year. application is pretty simple and just need fill out forms. 

 

then it's about ~$50 per shippment. couple forms and deal with custom and wild life/fish department for inspection. so if you're not doing it in regular basis, it's not worth it.

 

You're in CA, which city?

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Oh snap. Let me pm you for more details as to not derail this thread and further.

[EricM]

Yes getting the license is pretty easy. its all the tacked on fees when you import that really dont make it worth it unless you bring in couple thousand shrimp at a time.

 

for example. if you just want a few XXX shrimp say 25 of them. yes you'll probably pay less direct from taiwan but after you tack on international shipping, F&W fees, customs fees, if you get a broker fees.

it really adds up. in the long run for just a few shrimp better to deal with any of the various US sellers.

 

I import but I dont match the numbers some of the other importers do. 

[EricM]

The list James provided is what I was curious about. I noticed that c-sky has a new distribution center in California.

I get the picture that there are maybe hundreds of breeders on Asia but we only see what the importers bring into the states and I assume people like speedie only import what the market demands.

Who are the major importers besides speedie ?

So maybe 99% of the shrimp www see come from Taiwan?

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

CSKY USA is just a reseller of CSKY Taiwan shrimp.  Last I talked to them they are changing their name because they want to work with other major breeders and dont want to be locked into the CSKY name.

not that that is a bad thing, but allows them more options.

 

We (resellers/importers) try to predict what shrimp will be the new hot shrimp to have. just like any other products. gotta stay ahead of the game. 

there are standards that sell. CRS, Neos, etc those are what cover your fees. not much of any markup on them.

[JamesHe]

Yes getting the license is pretty easy. its all the tacked on fees when you import that really dont make it worth it unless you bring in couple thousand shrimp at a time.

 

for example. if you just want a few XXX shrimp say 25 of them. yes you'll probably pay less direct from taiwan but after you tack on international shipping, F&W fees, customs fees, if you get a broker fees.

it really adds up. in the long run for just a few shrimp better to deal with any of the various US sellers.

 

I import but I dont match the numbers some of the other importers do. 

 

Yes, totally agreed.

 

It's not big market for PRL in US right now.

 

Unless combined with Neos, TB with your import, it's not worth it.

[Ch3fb0yrdee]

Yes getting the license is pretty easy. its all the tacked on fees when you import that really dont make it worth it unless you bring in couple thousand shrimp at a time.

for example. if you just want a few XXX shrimp say 25 of them. yes you'll probably pay less direct from taiwan but after you tack on international shipping, F&W fees, customs fees, if you get a broker fees.

it really adds up. in the long run for just a few shrimp better to deal with any of the various US sellers.

I import but I dont match the numbers some of the other importers do.

I suppose monetary “worth” is dependant on the person. I don’t plan on import/export as a main source of income. It’s nice to have as secondary or supplemental as the hobby can get expensive, as we all know. I have a day job that pays much better and affords me the luxury of importing for the sole purpose of getting exactly what I want. I think we’ve all been in a situation where cutting corners ended up costing more in the long term than it would have cost if we did it right the first time. I think forking over a few hundred but being able to get directly from importers is a neat idea.

I think purist will always strive to explore and try new things because it’s that excitement of trying new things and learning that keeps them going. You can buy a gaming PC or build a gaming PC. Both will play games but there’s that “fun” element when you build something yourself and put in that extra effort that makes it more special and meaningful. I think that’s the same with shrimping and why this hobby is attracting so many new folks each day.

CSKY USA is just a reseller of CSKY Taiwan shrimp. Last I talked to them they are changing their name because they want to work with other major breeders and dont want to be locked into the CSKY name.

not that that is a bad thing, but allows them more options.

We (resellers/importers) try to predict what shrimp will be the new hot shrimp to have. just like any other products. gotta stay ahead of the game.

there are standards that sell. CRS, Neos, etc those are what cover your fees. not much of any markup on them.

I’ve noticed this trend among importers. Many importers always bring in a ton of Neos because they’re really cheap. I remember being part of an importer’s import a few years back. I bought 200 neos at .03-.05 apiece. I was able to flip them back for $1/ea on CL almost instantly, but that got boring really quick.

Yes, totally agreed.

It's not big market for PRL in US right now.

Unless combined with Neos, TB with your import, it's not worth it.

There’s always going to be a market for cheaper shrimps. Good PRL aren’t cheap, and cheap PRL aren’t good (and sometimes expensive PRL aren’t even good!! LOL!!). NA has the mindset that if they pay $10-$20 per PRL that they’ll get amazing shrimp. That’s chump change over in Asia. I’ve had folks PM me about my PRL about how they want “Deep Reds with Red legs” and I’m thinking “I’m charging you $10/ea which is already HALF of what Speedie is charging for the exact same bloodline/lineage.” It’s almost better not selling them than to sell and have people disappointed that their $10 PRL isn’t wonderful and doesn’t live up the pictures of PRL they see online. Folks don’t understand that what they see online are exceptions and rarely the rule. That’s the NA mindset and such; I don’t feel like we’re ever going to be ready for the high-end shrimp market.

There are a few folks who enjoy the finer things. I like good PRL and so I don’t mind paying more. I’ve paid more and gotten duds, so now I’m on my own quest to source small breeders. I want to hand pick my own shrimps, and be able to establish relationships with those folks. Hence, obtaining an import license is beneficial for me (even if it’s for small scale importing). I wouldn’t do the importing thing for resale as it’s more of a hassle. I like the challenge of breeding and working towards something. I see a lot of folks quit the hobby the moment they make their hobby their jobs.

No one wants to play a game when they can buy in-game contents or enter a line of cheat code to advance a level. The fun/challenge is gone.