Interbreed? (Part 2)

[Kenshin]

Mustafa or anybody with knowledge to this question:

Have there been any real reports that CRS and bumblee shrimps can interbreed and produce hybrids? (I have seen the info. in your Shrimp Varieties" section already, but I just want to ask to reconfirm).

Do bumblebee shrimps interbreed with green shrimps?

Thank you.

[TKD]

Hi Kenshin,

Do bumblebee shrimps interbreed with green shrimps?

I don't believe so.

I would also like to ask if there is any new news on Tigers crossing with bumblebees

There is this thread here

viewtopic.php?t=331&highlight=jaguars

and this thread that we have been discussing it a bit too

viewtopic.php?t=1016

Anyone???

Thanks,

TKD

[GunmetalBlue]

Have there been any real reports that CRS and bumblee shrimps can interbreed and produce hybrids?

Hey Kenshin and TKD, here's the thread I found on this subject:
http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569

It's not a real report per se, but an observation someone made.

-GB

[Mustafa]

As *real* bumblebees and Crystal reds are unrelated species they *should* not crossbreed. But with the name confusion going on between bee shrimp and bumblebee shrimp I can imagine that some people mistakenly report crossbreeding. Also, many bumblebee shrimp show very variable coloration, so people might think there are hybrids in their tanks although there are none.

The only way to really test if shrimp are crossbreeding is to put one of each sex in a separate tank and see if you get any offspring. I can confirm hybridization between tiger shrimp and bee shrimp this way. Also, all Neocaridina seem to be able to crossbreed (tested also in the above manner).

So, unless someone tests in the above manner, I would not lend the reports too much credibility since people still have problems distinguishing even the different color variations in one species.

[Kenshin]

Mustafa,

Can you please let me know what do you think of this? Is this the "real" bumblebee shrimps or just "bee" shrimps? Thank you so much for your input.

[GunmetalBlue]

Yow! Those are great looking Bumblebees (subject to Mustafa's opinion on what they are). Kenshin, are they yours? If so, congrats on getting them.

So Mustafa, with all that said, do you still recommend keeping Bumblebees separate from the serrata group if we want to avoid potential hybrids? You are saying *should not* but not *would not* interbreed. Also, you do recommend keeping them separate in the Varieties page, so I'm still confused.

-GB

[TKD]

Hi all,

To be clear, I'm curious if the following two shrimp types can cross breed with each other.

http://www.petshrimp.com/bumblebeeshrimp.html
http://www.petshrimp.com/tigershrimp.html

Thanks,

TKD

[gr81]

Mustafa,

Can you please let me know what do you think of this? Is this the "real" bumblebee shrimps or just "bee" shrimps? Thank you so much for your input.

Some look like Bees, some BumbleBees. Is that ofspring of one female, or did you buy they somewhere?

[Kenshin]

It seems to me that they have a black head instead of a white head. I only see a very narrow white band on the head on some shrimps. Well, I could be wrong since I am not even close to a decent shrimp keeper (still learning ). Let's wait until Mustafa decide and see for himself.

[Mustafa]

These are definitely bumblebees. Is this picture from an auction? If so, I've seen that auction with the exact same picture a few days ago. In that particular auction the guy is selling them as "home-bred" young shrimp, but these bumblebees are clearly in a holding tank, just as it is typical for imported shrimp. If you plan on buying these shrimp make sure that you ask the person clearly if he/she has bred the shrimp personally and if these pictures are of his shrimp. If he says that these shrimp are his, then be extra careful because I can guarantee you that no bumblebee shrimp will breed in that holding tank.

I am not saying that this person is necessarily misrepresenting facts, but I've seen it happen before and thus advise caution. If those are imported shrimp it is much more likely that you will experience losses either during shipping or after they arrive.

[Mustafa]

As it says on the bumblebee page, there is a *very* remote possibility that they might crossbreed, but I have never heard about any verifiable reports. We'll just have to wait until the hobby gets bigger and more people keep shrimp for reports about possible hybrids to keep coming in. For now I am not going to experiment too much with hybrids myself since establishing pure populations of the wild-types is hard enough to do.

Hi all,

To be clear, I'm curious if the following two shrimp types can cross breed with each other.

http://www.petshrimp.com/bumblebeeshrimp.html
http://www.petshrimp.com/tigershrimp.html

Thanks,

TKD

[TKD]

Ok thank you...
Now if I could only find some tigers...

lol

TKD

[Kenshin]

Alright, here is the 2nd picture I can get from the person. I hope this helps a little bit more. Would you please kindly check it for me one more time Mustafa to see if they look like imported animals? I would really appreciate it. The person stated that it was first imported and then they were all bred in his tanks.

[Mustafa]

I'm glad to see some green in that picture. Ok, this looks much better. Not like a holding tank anymore. The shrimp look pretty healthy to me. Hope this helps. It's difficult to tell for sure if a shrimp is imported or not just by looking at it. I was just cautioning earlier because of the bare tank. Either way, as I said, they look healthy to me.

[Kenshin]

Mustafa, thank you so much for your verification. I really appreciate this. I was just starting to worry . Well, now I can rest in peace until I receive them tomorrow . Thank you once again.

One question though: They are not as temperature tolerant (high temp of 82 - 84 F) as the RCS? (I read it in your varieties page, but I have heard some people have kept/bred some sort of bee shrimps even at 82 - 84F. Is that true?