quick Q on bumblebees

[jayson]

I finally have red cherry babies ; so I've turned my eyes on the colony of bumblebees in a heavily planted shrimp tank (10gal). I bought them from a lfs in San Diego for ~2 bux a pop. They've been in the tank and eating, growing, molting for a month now and no eggs. Is it possible I have all females? 2 are a little more drab than the others, but they all share the same white topped head of bumblebee variety. There's about 10-11, bought in packs of 5, spaced over 2wks.

Nitrates are high (10-20), otherwise 6.8 hard (obnoxiously hard) water. The pH might fluctuate with the C02, but I can't monitor it constantly. Its DIY yeast and I can't justify the expenditure on pressurized.

Thanks,
Jayson

[GunmetalBlue]

Hi Jayson, glad to hear you have Cherry babies now.

Of course it's always possible to have all of one sex, but I would think it unlikely out of 10 shrimp. The males should have a slimmer body through the tail, while the female's carapace over the tail would be fuller, hanging lower over the swimmerette area. There could be any number of reasons why they don't have eggs yet; Bumblebee's tend to be much more sensitive than for example, RCS.

Though it's irrelevant to your question, wanted to mention Bumblebees start with a dark stripe first, whereas the Bee shrimp start with a white stripe (just behind the eyes). So when you say white-topped, I take it you meant the second stripe?

-GB

[imisky]

also bumblebees like softer water...not hard, they tend to not carry eggs n hard water. i also got confused when you said white-topped head maybe pictures would help

[jayson]

Its a black then white series, definitely bumblebee. I'll give them a look over to see if there are any sexual differences.

My digital is up in the sierras with my mom, so I'll post some in a new thread later next week and see what anyone thinks.

I'll soften the water slowly this week (I hate that carbonate buildup anyways), using peat or RO or both in the next water change. Thanks for the suggestion.

Jayson

[Mustafa]

By the way, there are also bumblebee related species out there that have a white head, just like the bee shrimp. I have a group of them here right now and will post some pictures in the Shrimp Varieties page soon.

[GunmetalBlue]

Hi Jayson, now with Cherries, it's easy to tell because of the difference in color between the sexes and of course the "can't miss it" yellow saddle. But if you look beyond those two things, you'll notice the Cherries are the same way, the male has a slimmer "racy" appearance, whereas the female has a deeper body and the more extended carapace over the wwimmerettes. As far as I know, it's true for most of the shrimp species, so is a good general guide. I've also heard a little "brown spot" can sometimes be seen on the BB's where the ovaries are, but frankly, due to their opaque stripes, I've never been able to see it. Lastly, some shrimp are just plain hard to tell! So with some, you might not know unless they actually become pregnant.

Two bucks a pop! Nice price.

By the way, there are also bumblebee related species out there that have a white head, just like the bee shrimp. I have a group of them here right now and will post some pictures in the Shrimp Varieties page soon.

I am really looking forward to seeing what these guys look like! It seems they would add some confusion in ID-ing though. I presume the ones you have are not available here in the states anyway, so none of us would have them? Is there any remote possibility they are hybrids? I mean I hope not, but I presume it's one of those "studied under a microscope" and found to be Bumblebee related rather than Bee related?

By the way, do Bumblebees have a scientific name other than Bumblebee? According to what I've read they are neither Caridina breviata nor the serrata group. Or did I misunderstand?

-GB

[Mustafa]

It seems they would add some confusion in ID-ing though.

--Actually, they look different enough from bee shrimp that there should not be much of problem with IDing them.

I presume the ones you have are not available here in the states anyway, so none of us would have them?

--Actually, they do get imported to the US just like the "normal" bumblebees, so it's a crap shoot which variety you are getting since they are all sold as "bumblebee shrimp" usually.

Is there any remote possibility they are hybrids? I mean I hope not, but I presume it's one of those "studied under a microscope" and found to be Bumblebee related rather than Bee related?

--I don't think they are hybrids since they are wild caught. They are so obviously bumblebee related that it does not even need a microscope to determine that.

By the way, do Bumblebees have a scientific name other than Bumblebee? According to what I've read they are neither Caridina breviata nor the serrata group. Or did I misunderstand?

--No scientific name that I know of yet. Some varieties sold as "bumblebee" appear to be similar to Caridina breviata without really being C. breviata. That's why they are sometimes calleed Caridina cf. breviata. The "cf." means "most similar to but definitely not." However, other "bumblebees" do not show that similarity, so I decided to not even call them Caridina cf. breviata since there is really no hard data to justify it.

[GunmetalBlue]

The funny thing is - I just looked at Bo's BB shrimp in my "Bumblebee Color Variation Questions" thread viewtopic.php?t=896&start=15 and lo and behold, Bo's female shrimp with eggs (particularly noticeable in the last pic) starts with a white head as far as I can tell...

--Actually, they do get imported to the US just like the "normal" bumblebees, so it's a crap shoot which variety you are getting since they are all sold as "bumblebee shrimp" usually.

The crap shoot especially goes for their variation in color/pattern. I have some again (so far survived a month, phew!) and they look nothing like the first set I had except for one that's somewhat similar.

-GB

[Mustafa]

There you go. That's the variety I am talking about. Clearly a bumblebee shrimp, but with a white head. Compare that one to the bumblebee shrimp picture in the "shrimp varieties" page on this website.

The most important thing is to recognize the different varieties and not let them interbreed in the same tank.