Bloody Mary shrimp

[alex_l]

Hi all,

So I picked up four BMS from my LFS a week ago. They only had four so I took them all. They're in my son's tank (excuse the algae... we're working on that).

Sadly I've lost one already! I'm not overly concerned as the other three seem fine, as does the amano which is in that tank. I've tested and all is good.

Anyhow, I'm hoping against hope that three is enough to get some youngsters. I reckon I've male and female still... male I think in this photo?

Perhaps I can pick some more up when they next get stock.

But I read a thread the other day saying how disappointed people were in their attempts to breed BMS as they don't breed true and only about 5% were coming out at the right grade. This was an old post... I just wondered whether this was still the situation? Or even if this shrimp is a good enough example?

I'm only breeding for fun, just to have a super red strain in my tanks

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[xZaiox]

Looks like a chonky female to me. The females will usually be a much more vivid colour than the males, as well as being larger. The easiest way to tell is by the presence of the "saddle" which will show in mature female shrimp of breeding age (young females won't have the saddle though).

Sadly I've lost one already! I'm not overly concerned as the other three seem fine, as does the amano which is in that tank. I've tested and all is good.

Shrimp can sometimes be a bit fragile when acclimatising unfortunately. Your shrimp in the pic there looks beautiful

 

[Andy Pierce]

They breed true. I think the one in the picture is a female.

 

[Hufsa]

Keep in mind that intensely colored females (like painted types or close) wont show a saddle as the pigment on them will be too opaque to see the saddle through. Yours has a very nice colour and looks to be a female as the others have already mentioned 😊
Unlike Caridina, Neocaridina will always trend towards going back to wild colors if the breeding population is not altered by the aquarist, but it usually takes a while for poor color ones to show up, it will depend on the lineage/quality of the group you got. But if your starter specimens look this good then I wouldn't be concerned about that if i were you.
Hopefully they don't all look as nice as this one, otherwise I would suspect youve got yourself a bit of a sorority 😅

 

[alex_l]

Hi all... thank you for your answers.

Drat... they do all look just the same... no wonder I was struggling to see differences between them to sex them

Three girls it is then!! I'll have to get looking for a couple of boyfriends for them...

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[Hufsa]

Three girls it is then!! I'll have to get looking for a couple of boyfriends for them...

Resist the urge to pick out the reddest ones of the next batch from the LFS and you should be able to get your lassies a man or two

They're not as good looking as us but unfortunately still needed in a few cases

 

[Hanuman]

They're not as good looking as us

I was unaware you were a shrimp

unfortunately still needed in a few cases

🚨🚨🚨🚨 - warning - XY chromosome trigger sentence.

Ok I'm out.

 

[alex_l]

Haha... males have their uses

Thank you

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[Wookii]

You could probably do with a few more shrimp just for genetic diversity. You can get them on eBay, I've had some from this seller and they were very good quality shrimp:

10 X amazing BLOODY MARY good quality aquarium shrimp size approx 1.5 - 2 CM | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 10 X amazing BLOODY MARY good quality aquarium shrimp size approx 1.5 - 2 CM at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

With regards to your lost shrimp, did you drip acclimate them? Shrimp and fish are sensitive to changes in water parameters, so a few hours of drip acclimation with help them adjust and avoid losses.

In my experience Bloody Mary's do breed well, but are no where near as prolific as standard Cherry shrimp. You will get occasional genetic throw backs to standard Cherry shrimp - my population of pure Bloody Mary's has even thrown out a blue shrimp, and a couple of Rili's. If you want to keep the genetic lines and colouration as pure as possible so you only have Bloody Mary's in the tank, then those genetic variations need to be removed and housed in a separate tank, or given to a friend etc before they get of breeding age.

 

[Courtneybst]

If it's any consolation, I bred a whole colony of Bloody Mary shrimp from 1 female and 1 male. Just after the female got saddled the male died so I was extra worried but they pulled through and I never had to cull any, the colours on them were amazing.

As @Wookii said, it's best to diversify the gene pool with some extra additions but it can be done!

(All these shrimp came from one pair)

 

[alex_l]

You could probably do with a few more shrimp just for genetic diversity. You can get them on eBay, I've had some from this seller and they were very good quality shrimp:

10 X amazing BLOODY MARY good quality aquarium shrimp size approx 1.5 - 2 CM | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 10 X amazing BLOODY MARY good quality aquarium shrimp size approx 1.5 - 2 CM at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

With regards to your lost shrimp, did you drip acclimate them? Shrimp and fish are sensitive to changes in water parameters, so a few hours of drip acclimation with help them adjust and avoid losses.

In my experience Bloody Mary's do breed well, but are no where near as prolific as standard Cherry shrimp. You will get occasional genetic throw backs to standard Cherry shrimp - my population of pure Bloody Mary's has even thrown out a blue shrimp, and a couple of Rili's. If you want to keep the genetic lines and colouration as pure as possible so you only have Bloody Mary's in the tank, then those genetic variations need to be removed and housed in a separate tank, or given to a friend etc before they get of breeding age.

This is really useful to know and I was wondering whether the gene pool would have been too small with four (assuming I had had a male!)

Thank you so much for the link... Great to get a recommendation.

I add a few ml of water every 15 mins or so for an hour or so but it sounds like I should take longer over this process?

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[alex_l]

If it's any consolation, I bred a whole colony of Bloody Mary shrimp from 1 female and 1 male. Just after the female got saddled the male died so I was extra worried but they pulled through and I never had to cull any, the colours on them were amazing.

As @Wookii said, it's best to diversify the gene pool with some extra additions but it can be done!
View attachment 202697
(All these shrimp came from one pair)

Oh wow!! They look fabulous That's awesome... thank you... it's a fun little project

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[Wookii]

This is really useful to know and I was wondering whether the gene pool would have been too small with four (assuming I had had a male!)

As @Courtneybst has shown, you can breed a population with very few individuals, but a bit of genetic diversity is always a good thing I reckon - better top have them marrying their cousins rather than their brothers and sisters! 😂

add a few ml of water every 15 mins or so for an hour or so but it sounds like I should take longer over this process?

I would say so, yes. I tend to put my shrimp and fish in an oversized bucket with an airstone and some floating plants in the water they came in, then drip in from the main tank 3-4 times the water already in the bucket, over the course of however long I have available but at least 3 hours. Then I net them out and into the tank, and discard the water in the bucket.

If I don't have the ability to use the bucket for whatever reason, then I'll float the shipping bag open in the tank, clipped to the side of the tank, with a airline into the bag, and gradually replace the shipping water in it with tank water a half cup or so at a time - again over the course of 3-5 hours.

Probably overkill, but I prefer to play it safe with these things.

 

[alex_l]

Thank you for the guidance... I will take my time more in future and play safe

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[Andy Pierce]

You could probably do with a few more shrimp just for genetic diversity. You can get them on eBay, I've had some from this seller and they were very good quality shrimp:

10 X amazing BLOODY MARY good quality aquarium shrimp size approx 1.5 - 2 CM | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 10 X amazing BLOODY MARY good quality aquarium shrimp size approx 1.5 - 2 CM at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

I just ordered some of these - very nice shrimp arrived in top shape, drip acclimatised no problem.