Breeding by crossing varieties for new genes?

Marx · Post by **Marx** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:22 am

Hi, I'm new here and in my tank I have three beautifull big female beeshrimp. They are big and well developped with nice white stripings.

A few days ago I bought two RC to go in the tank with the 3 females. I think one of them is a male beceause he shows intrest in the females in a way I've never seen with the three older ones before. He walks on them and sticks his paws under their bodies. He's more active and my females now are developping eggs I think, there is a white spot behind their heads

.

Now my plan is to breed the RC with the high quality wild-coloured females and the interbreed the offspring to see if they do devellop the same size and quallity as their mothers (who are sisters).
I also want to put some females in with their father to get more RC.

Were I live RC are seldom sold and very expensive. They only had two in the shop and another shop is waiting for months to get some. My hopes for buying a colony of good quality are very low. Maybe this is a way to get some nice specimens?

Or is interbreeding no good for the shrimps?

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:36 am

Before I comment I want to make sure what you mean by RC, do you mean Crystal Red or Red Cherry.

If you are trying to begin a selctive breeding project I tink you have the right idea. You let the shrimp in the tank breed and then you select out the shrimp with the qualities you want and seperate them. Well best wishes and please keep us updated.

Marx · Post by **Marx** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:36 am

Here a pic of the pair, this female has a few white stripes, one sister has a lot and the other sister has none

This male has 3 white stripes and is very red, I think a nice shrimp to start a colony of RC with. Or not?
I also have a RC with 3 very big withe stripes with red in between. He or she is also white on the face.

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:39 am

Now that I see the picture I know you mean CRS (Crystal Red Shrimp) and not RCS (Red Cherry Shrimp)

Great picture by the way

Marx · Post by **Marx** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 7:41 am

Neonshrimp wrote:Before I comment I want to make sure what you mean by RC, do you mean Crystal Red or Red Cherry.

If you are trying to begin a selctive breeding project I tink you have the right idea. You let the shrimp in the tank breed and then you select out the shrimp with the qualities you want and seperate them. Well best wishes and please keep us updated.

Sorry for the mistake I made, I mean Crystal Red

I have three tanks here, two 50 gallons and a small tank with these shrimp. I can select the shrimp and put the bad quality in the big tanks with my minnos so they all have a good life if not selected for breeding in the shrimp only tank

Marx · Post by **Marx** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:03 am

This is my other CRS. He or she has bigger white markings on him/her. Is this a poor quallity specimen or just a different colourtype?

Neonshrimp · Post by **Neonshrimp** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:10 am

As you selectively breed them you will get a few with more and more white. If the white is what you are looking for in a couple of generations you will have even more white. With me, I am happy with any CRS right now

I like how your tank has a forrest lok to it, thanks for sharing

Post by **Mustafa** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:14 am

Marx wrote:This is my other CRS. He or she has bigger white markings on him/her. Is this a poor quallity specimen or just a different colourtype?

There is no "poor" quality...just different colorations. Bee shrimp (and crystal reds) can display a wide variety of colorations and patternings. Some people get carried away and declare everything that does not fit into a japanese "high" grading scheme "poor" or "low" grade. Not every shrimp has to be cookie cutter.

Marx · Post by **Marx** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:27 am

Mustafa wrote:
Marx wrote:This is my other CRS. He or she has bigger white markings on him/her. Is this a poor quallity specimen or just a different colourtype?
There is no "poor" quality...just different colorations. Bee shrimp (and crystal reds) can display a wide variety of colorations and patternings. Some people get carried away and declare everything that does not fit into a japanese "high" grading scheme "poor" or "low" grade. Not every shrimp has to be cookie cutter.

I understand that, but if a shrimp has a certain colour and pattern and it has for example no deep white parts but is pale in those areas, it's better to select the ones with more white I think. I have to select by some criteria or they all are going to look the same in a few years. In the Netherlands CRS are very rare, so I do want to know how to select breeders en non breeders in my future group.

I also hope to breed a big group of the same colour and pattern for my 50 gallon showtank. So I have to select on some criteria

Marx · Post by **Marx** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:43 am

Neonshrimp wrote:I like how your tank has a forrest lok to it, thanks for sharing

Thanks, it took me over a year to get it like this. I bought 2 big peaces of wood and had a tiny wild African Anubia grow on it, two kinds of javafern and some mosses. Now after a year it all balanced and looks like a part of a riverbank in the wild. Only the big gravel I don't like and that has to be changed soon

Some of the fern and mosses:

The whole tank: