# Selling Super Red Cherry Shrimp?



## Ben M (2 Jun 2011)

Hi, I have quite a lot of juvi super red cherry shrimp (not normal cherry shrimp). They are approx. 1cm ATM, and I would like to sell them to fund my Mbuna project. However, I don't know how much to sell them for and at what size to sell them? Also, any info on posting them would be greatly appreciated.

cheers,
Ben


----------



## LondonDragon (2 Jun 2011)

Depends how red they are really, if they are average colour the norm is to sell them for around a pound each, if better colour or true red then higher, I would say no more than £3 each if you want to sell them easy and they are indeed super red. I was lucky to get some Sakuras at Vivarium for 2 euros each, also got some of mlgt for free which was nice 

Always send next day delivery via royal mail, best to use breathable bags, if you can't get hold of them regular bags will do, they don't need a lot of water or air, just need something to hold on to in the water, like a plant/moss or filter sponge, tape the corners of the bag to avoid crushing them, place the bag in a box with plenty of shredded paper, and mark the box Fragile. Don't tell the post office its shrimp 

Good luck


----------



## Ben M (2 Jun 2011)

thanks for the info on posting them. As for the colouring, I've got a pic, but it is washed out, so doesn't show how red they are, but it's close:






The males are clear with red speckles. Are these super red cherry shrimp? That's what my mate bought them as.

cheers


----------



## nayr88 (2 Jun 2011)

There pretty red. I think there worth 2quid. My lfs does some crazy red sakuras for just over 3quid each.

Nice shrimp though mate.


----------



## Ben M (2 Jun 2011)

Thanks mate, what size do you think I should sell them at? I think I have about 12 at 1cm and another 20 that are really small.

cheers


----------



## Alastair (2 Jun 2011)

I'll be interested when it comes to you selling them


----------



## Ben M (2 Jun 2011)

Thanks, I'll give you a PM when I sell them. 

Once I've found out what size to sell them at...

cheers


----------



## Alastair (2 Jun 2011)

Please do mate. Thanks. Maybe look through the for sale bit for when people have sold them before and drop them a pm n ask? No harm in asking


----------



## Ben M (2 Jun 2011)

I'll PM some people to ask about size. I've managed to get some slightly better pics of a couple of adult females:









cheers


----------



## Alastair (2 Jun 2011)

I've had some off here a few weeks ago too, got a few big ones and some about half a centimetre I think. They all made it safely anyway


----------



## a1Matt (3 Jun 2011)

pest control said:
			
		

> The males are clear with red speckles. Are these super red cherry shrimp? That's what my mate bought them as.cheers



I would say the one in the pic is a nice quality standard cherry. I would not pay more than £1 for it.
The one you describe with speckles I would class as a low grade cherry.

Then going up the scale from 'standard' cherry...
'Sakuras' have a more intense red.
and 'fire red' is the next grade up, also an intense colour, but a different shade of red.

Often shops sell 'sakuras' by just picking the most red stock out and selling those separately.
Then when they breed the quality goes downhill very quickly.
A good quality sakura will produce decent quality off spring too. Although work is always needed to keep the grading up.


----------



## Ben M (3 Jun 2011)

Thanks, I'm struggling to get decent pics of them, so it's really hard to show their colour. I'll try to get a video. I asked my dad's mate, and he said he bought them as fire red cherry shrimp. I'll try to improve the colour by removing the less colourful ones and buying some sakuras once I've got the Mbuna tank sorted.

cheers


----------



## hotweldfire (3 Jun 2011)

I use this grading guide:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/foru...-Grading-system-of-Cherry-to-Fire-Red-Shrimps

On that basis yours are low grade sakuras. Males are very hard to judge though. 

It's sometimes hard to distinguish between the sakuras and fire reds as it often depends on light. A good way of getting round that is by judging colour coverage, rather than intensity, by looking at the legs. If the colour on the legs is solid rather than broken up then it's a higher grade shrimp.

I agree with Matt, I'd pay about a quid for the female.


----------



## flyingfish (3 Jun 2011)

PM me when you start selling them


----------



## Bungy (13 Sep 2011)

Ben

I regularly post my Cherries, to be fair I have spent several years perfecting and increasing the red colouration of my cherries and would say that I have got about as far as I can go with them - pic below for example





Mine are no more than simple Cherries, I wont badge them as anything else and sell at 50p each. Size I sell at are from 1cm onwards.  I give my customers the option of FREE first class delivery but not guaranteed so if the package goes missing or delayed I accept no responsiblity but to be honest ive only had 2 not turn up in 3 years....!!!   This method will fit a standard letterbox and will not need a signature. Max weight is 250gms and costs £1.96 postage.

Alternatively they can opt for next day special delivery and RM charge £5.90 but weight is up to 500gms
I place the shrimp in a small bag, add some Jungle Bag Buddy water conditioner, tie it off with 2 laggy bands, place in a chinese food container, press the lid on and slide into a padded envelope. In the colder months you will need half a heat pack taped to the inside of the bag.  Seal the bag and add your post code to the rear.  Address the bag accordingly, use FRAGILE tape and mark LIVE TROPICAL SHRIMP, HANDLE WITH EXTREME CARE (I have printed labels for all these).  Take to the post office and away they go.  

I post all year round and between April and October no need for heat pack.

Hope this helps

Bungy


----------



## chrisjj (20 Sep 2011)

Bungy, 

Very nice shrimp.  Going by the grading posted by hotweldfire, that looks like a fire red, wouldn't you say?


----------



## Bungy (20 Sep 2011)

I agree they look pretty good and IF this is an official grading list then mine would be right up there at the top - but at the end of the day they are still bog standard Cherries which ive selectively bred for the last 3 years.  I would not wish to mislead anyone by badging them as something they are not.


----------



## hotweldfire (24 Sep 2011)

Bungy, I understand where you're coming from. I've bought shrimp badged as sakura in the past and have ended up with some very different shrimp. Some high  grade like yours and some pretty colourless.

However, I think the same argument you make would therefore have to apply to crystal grading too (e.g. the one on planet inverts everyone uses). I.e. you'd have to say a SSS grade is still just a bog standard crystal red. The grading guide I posted is in no way as established and I'm not entirely happy with it (e.g. I think the low grade sakura grade is confusing). BUT I do think such guides are useful because they give a buyer some indication of what they're getting. 

Most people who are interested in cherries know that the term sakura denotes better colouration than bog standard cherries. IMHO by refusing to call yours anything but cherry you are misleading buyers, albeit to your own detriment. Fair play to you for selling them at those prices though. You could get a lot more for them. I've see that grade being sold in shops for five to six quid. I've sold my sakuras, which aren't up to yours, TO shops for a fair bit more than what you're selling yours for.


----------



## daniel19831123 (25 Sep 2011)

Agree with the above. The grading is there to let buyer know what qualirt of shrimp to get. I my self have been dissapointed on a few occasion.


----------



## Bungy (26 Sep 2011)

Well finally it seems that most are agreed (at least on this forum) that Fire Red and Sakura are in fact Neocaridina Hetropoda Var. Red - that has always been my bug bear and I needed clarification that all are the one species.  That being the case I can certainly start to GRADE the adults and sub-adults BUT I would not wish to dissapoint anyone in this regards and I give an example - I have approx 10 tanks allocated for Cherry breeding/rearing - I have a tank where they have pretty well gone ferell - IE reverted bank to colourless form, I set up a Bristlenose breeding tank and added a scoop of these shrimp and within a few weeks the Fems had turned to produce a fantastic vibrant Red and would easily be graded as Sakura or Fire Red....but in their original tank they displayed no such colouration...!!!  The point being is that my stock HAVE THE POTENTIAL to reach the very highest grade in terms of colouration but may not do so due to the conditions/environment they will eventually be kept by potential buyers.


----------



## Antoni (26 Sep 2011)

Yes I think we are speaking about the same species. The difference in colouration is due to the conditions of the tank and the nutrition. 
I have bought few cherries from a LFS and their colour was far from red. After about 2 weeks in the 'Hare Hill' tank which I have set up especially for shrimps, they have nice red colour. 

This phenomenon is observed with fishes in the natural habitat as well. 

I have been examine rudd, that lives in a clear water pond/rivers with abundant vegetation and dark bottom. They have intense colours, blood red fins, dark colouration of the body. In the same time in different habitat, with murky water, not much vegetation or light bottom, their colour is paler. This is more or less adaptation to the environment and protection from the predators. We are not talking about different species or grades of rudd.

In my opinion in the case with the RCS this is just a pure marketing trick. It is noting to do with the genetics.


----------



## Bungy (26 Sep 2011)

Im of the same opinion Antoni however I do believe that it is very easy to lose the colour strain with passing generations when in-breeding is taking place. It is imperative in my opinion to keep the gene pool healthy by adding different strains from time to time.   Not all colonies of Cherries have the ability to produce a vibrant Red colour.


----------



## Antoni (26 Sep 2011)

Certainly! The inbreeding is weakening the gene and some mutations most certainly appear! Not to mention the immunity resistance and health state of the generations of close related parents.


----------



## Bungy (26 Sep 2011)

My "ferell" cherries are throwing up some interesting colour forms - im nurturing a batch of Orange shrimp at present and seem to be producing Orange consistantly now 3 generations later.


----------



## hotweldfire (26 Sep 2011)

I've seen Kesgrave selling "orange sakura" which may be a similar mutation to what you've got. The blue and black fire strains coming out of singapore at the moment are also interesting and I've been thinking of trying them. How do you find the stability? I've heard people complain that subsequent generations of these new variants lose colour quicker than the reds. This would make sense given it's a new mutation.

RE: environmental conditions and colour, absolutely. A stressed shrimp will lose colour. But you can't be held responsible for people keeping your shrimp in crap conditions. You grade when you have them and if they lose colour in someone else's tank then that's their fault.

The only exception is if you as a seller are deliberately feeding them foods that are designed to enhance colouration (i.e. with astaxanthin in it). This isn't necessarily out of order but some might see it as misleading.


----------



## Bungy (27 Sep 2011)

Stability wise, Im getting an Orange hue in all of the offspring, some a lot more than others so im just sifting through the best ones and putting the rest into my ferrel tank - this is the tank where all the poor coloured shrimp go to see what eventually gets thrown up...!   Question for the geneticists....If I were to say try and produce a good Yellow strain but only had Yellow Males, would I get better results by pairing with a very Red female or a poor coloured female...?


----------



## spyder (27 Sep 2011)

You could try a backcross with the mother shrimp if possible. Works with angelfish genetics not too sure about shrimp though


----------



## Bungy (27 Sep 2011)

Difficult as I have approx 10 adult Red fems in with 10 adult Male yellows which would make it near impossible to know what mother the resulting offspring came from and I dont have the tank space to separate out any further.


----------

