# Shrimp army!



## NeilW (8 Apr 2011)

Hello everyone   

Recently I have unintentionally become a CRS breeder of true 'Wheres Wally' proportions. I was after some advice from other shrimp keepers before I have a situation like this;






Initially like most people I had a problem breeding CRS, but since moving in the last few months I have had a birth explosion which meant the population has gone from 8 individuals to something like 30! I havn't changed any parameters with a PH of 7, a temp of 22.5 degrees C and dosing liquid carbon (so not well known breeding conditions).

This is the result;








I wondered if you guys had any links/advice on how to mail shrimp out and also whether people would be interested if I did. I would say the grades vary between A-B. Another option would be to selectively breed them between this tank and the Mini-S I still need to set up. Any advice appreciated  

Cheers,
Neil


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## Westyggx (8 Apr 2011)

Hi Neil,

When i have received shrimp in the past they came in a small box with a Kordon breathable bag inside which allows oxygen into the bag without leaking water apperently. It also contained a heat pack, but buy the time i received the shrimp it wasnt warm and they were all alive.

People tend to send the shrimp out special delivery with a date specified by the buyer.

Oh, and i would be interested in buying some


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## bigmatt (8 Apr 2011)

Where are you Neil and can i have some? 
Cheers,
Matt


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## LondonDragon (8 Apr 2011)

if you want to start selling them i would suggest you only start doing so when you have around 100, so that you can breed them quicker and therefore be able to sell more often. Selective breeding with two tank is also a good idea, in the event of an accident in one, you will still have a colony to keep you going.


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## NeilW (8 Apr 2011)

Thanks for all the great info guys   

Does anyone know what sort of prices these go for? I've seen retail prices between £5 and £9 for the grades I have but I was curious as to what people really pay rather then what retailers are asking? Would it financially be enough to even make up the cost of all the heatpacks and specialist kordon bags for mailing?



			
				Westyggx said:
			
		

> Hi Neil,
> 
> When i have received shrimp in the past they came in a small box with a Kordon breathable bag inside which allows oxygen into the bag without leaking water apperently. It also contained a heat pack, but buy the time i received the shrimp it wasnt warm and they were all alive.
> 
> ...



As soon as you said about the heat packs it reminded me of an old link I'd bookmarked and forgotten describing exactly that;
http://www.planetinverts.com/Shipping%20Shrimp.html

Looks like that will be a great guide!



			
				bigmatt said:
			
		

> Where are you Neil and can i have some?
> Cheers,
> Matt


Hey Matt, sadly I live miles away from most of you more 'northern' guys - I'm in Basingstoke, Hampshire. Would you still be up for some posted?



			
				LondonDragon said:
			
		

> if you want to start selling them i would suggest you only start doing so when you have around 100, so that you can breed them quicker and therefore be able to sell more often. Selective breeding with two tank is also a good idea, in the event of an accident in one, you will still have a colony to keep you going.


Great to hear some advice from an experienced shrimp keeper such as yourself. I think setting up the Mini-S with more moss, less liquid carbon and a HOB filter for the higher grades will be a good move as you say. Most things I have read on shrimp breeding recommend at least 60 litre tanks so it will be interesting to see if it works out. Have you had much success with CRS or are they real hit and miss?

Thanks again everyone


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## bigmatt (8 Apr 2011)

Another southerner!  Depending on how much they were i might have a few!
Cheers
Matt


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## a1Matt (8 Apr 2011)

I echo Paulo's advice. Split the colonies and get 100+ in a tank before you sell them.

I sold CRS before (mixed grades, grade A and Grade B) for £2.50 each.
Judging by the demand I have no doubt at all that I could have got more for them, but I personally did not feel they were worth more than that.  I sell my blue pearls for £3 each as even though they are easier to keep and faster to breed, they are rarer shrimp.  I suspect many think I have things the wrong way around   

As to the larger tank size, I think that is largely down to stability.  Shrimp are more sensitive than the average fish to instability.  Also, when the colony reaches a certain size they will stop breeding.  So a larger tank works well there too.  

As an example I currently have 4 different shrimp species in my 160l tank (carefully chosen not to hybridise) and I aim to keep 200 of each species in there (selling the excess).


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## LondonDragon (8 Apr 2011)

Has Matt says, the larger the tank the better, I lost 300 cherries in a nano due to filter stopping and when I looked into it and managed to get it working it dumped a whole lot of crap into the tank and killed the cherries, had the tank been larger I am sure I would have time to do a water change and save most, this way I had no time to react at all, all dead in less than 5 minutes.

I would say a nano is fine to keep most shrimp (not Sulawesi) but if you want to breed them I would recommend minimum a 60l tank thats for sure.


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## a1Matt (8 Apr 2011)

LondonDragon said:
			
		

> I lost 300 cherries in a nano due to filter stopping and when I looked into it and managed to get it working it dumped a whole lot of crap into the tank and killed the cherries, had the tank been larger I am sure I would have time to do a water change and save most, this way I had no time to react at all, all dead in less than 5 minutes.



Exactly.

I've lost a CRS colony in a 10l nano by simply disturbing some filter mulm. Or you do a WC too fast and shrimp die. etc.

Conversely, my heater failed in my main tank and reached 35deg, whilst I did lose about 100 CRS, the colony was fine and bounced back inside a few weeks.
Bigger is better


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## LondonDragon (8 Apr 2011)

Since you mention heater!! The other thing to remember is that summer is approaching and CRS like low temps of 18-24C, so a nano tank is even harder to maintain low temps, the purchase of a temp controller and fans will help, I have done that for my 60l tank


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## a1Matt (8 Apr 2011)

Very good point!
Bump up your old thread about this Paulo 

Lots of people succeed with CRS in the cold months then lose them all in the summer. Very sad.

I really must plug in my TC and fans soon....


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## NeilW (8 Apr 2011)

So unless I want to go full out with kit it seems you guys are suggesting I sell any extras I breed as I go rather then risking losing them to unpredictable nano parameters? Hopefully in the future I'll be able to afford and have the space for a dedicated large shrimp setup   . 

For this current setup my main problem will be the temperature as I have nothing to keep it cool. The filters overpowered for the tank size fortunately so hopefully I won't get issues there.

I think at £2.50 a shrimp I would struggle to make back the cost of postage (plus all the specialist packaging) if I sent out to a few people, so I think I may end up just sharing these between my new tank. 

I'll check out that cooling fan thread too

Thanks again for all your help,
Neil


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## a1Matt (8 Apr 2011)

All just my opinion...

But yes, I'd just sell extras.  

You can do pick up only until that avenue is exhausted. I've done that and never had a shortage of buyers (admittedly I've not sold many batches). If you post add that on extra to the £2.50 to cover costs.


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## chrisjj (24 May 2011)

You could try offering them to your lfs.  You might not get a huge amount for them, but easy money with no postage hastle if you have loads.

I'm currently breeding CRS (slowly til I get the fish outta there!), & have had offers of £2.50 from a couple of shops.


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