View Full Version : Blue Pearl Shrimp
Mustang Boy
11-10-2009, 1:12 AM
i was wondering what kind of water parameters these guys prefered
The Zigman
11-10-2009, 1:38 AM
Same as RCS..
red cherry shrimp
msjinkzd
11-10-2009, 8:08 AM
yup, moderately hard water. temps in the 70's. They are Neocaridina cf. zhangjiajiensis. They are nice shrimp. I used to keep them but they weren't 'blue' enough for me. Their colors can range from a frosty blue/white to a nice clear bright blue.
Mustang Boy
11-10-2009, 11:34 AM
cool thanks for the info i think ill keep an eye out for some of these guys
fabsroman
11-13-2009, 2:22 AM
cool thanks for the info i think ill keep an eye out for some of these guys
They aren't easy to find. I spent over a month looking for a decent price on them and they just arrived today. About 25 of them in the bag and one of them was berried. They went to eating as soon as I put them in the tank, which is a good sign. Knock on wood. Now, if I can just get my yellows to a decent colony size I will be set.
The Zigman
11-13-2009, 5:06 AM
I have blues and a few baby blues ATM.
I have 2 adults they are berried quite often.
But they are more of an ice blue.. Very pale.
Not many BLUE shrimp in my tank yet.
Mustang Boy
11-13-2009, 10:03 AM
cool since you guys have them maybe one day in the future you guys will be selling the offspring once you get large numbers
fabsroman
11-13-2009, 10:22 AM
I have blues and a few baby blues ATM.
I have 2 adults they are berried quite often.
But they are more of an ice blue.. Very pale.
Not many BLUE shrimp in my tank yet.
Have you posted pics of your berried shrimp? If so, I think I have seen them, and was even considering asking you if you wanted to sell me some. I'm hoping the 20+ I just got work out.
fabsroman
11-13-2009, 10:27 AM
cool since you guys have them maybe one day in the future you guys will be selling the offspring once you get large numbers
I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The RCS haven't been a problem. Yellows have been a headache. We will find out how the blue pearls turn out.
Mustang Boy
11-13-2009, 2:30 PM
yea im hoping that once i get a little more experience with shrimp about doing an all blue tank with some blue pearls and some blue tigers
Blue Tigers, like many caridina species, prefer softer water with a lower PH than neocaridina species. You might have a difficult time keeping blue pearls with them.
Mustang Boy
11-13-2009, 7:18 PM
blue pearls like cherry shrimp hav a wide pH and hardness range inwhich they can live and ive seen plenty of people keeping cherry shrimp with CRS which leads me to believe this may be possible
True enough; it's certainly possible, but perhaps less than ideal. Water with a PH around 7 and a fairly low GH / KH might be a good place to start.
I can't keep any tigers, CRS, or anything like that because my water has a PH of 8 (And I'm too cheap to buy a booster pump for my RO system). :( RCS and Malawa, on the other hand, love my water.
fabsroman
11-14-2009, 2:38 AM
True enough; it's certainly possible, but perhaps less than ideal. Water with a PH around 7 and a fairly low GH / KH might be a good place to start.
I can't keep any tigers, CRS, or anything like that because my water has a PH of 8 (And I'm too cheap to buy a booster pump for my RO system). :( RCS and Malawa, on the other hand, love my water.
I was going to suggest RO water with a CO2 injection system to get the PH down around 6.3, but that is a pretty expensive way to go. With that said, when we finally get a single family house and I have more room for tanks, I'm going to go that route with a couple of caridina tanks. So far, I like the CRS, blue tigers, and some black shrimp that I just saw some pics of that somebody got from Germany.
pbmax
11-14-2009, 10:21 AM
If I had to choose, I'd probably go with CRS or some bee shrimp. I love their striking, not-as-translucent colors. :)
Mustang Boy
11-14-2009, 1:29 PM
i have the same pH problem you have and down the road when i get better at keeping pH's stabilized i will move to some of the more fragile species like CRS or bees. i will be doing a combo of driftwood, oak leaves, RO/distilled water, and maybe diy co2 to get the pH and hardness where i want them to be
BandiCat
11-18-2009, 12:14 AM
That process of stabilizing your pH seems like it could get fairly complicated, lol. I also have the same pH problem; this week it tested at 8.2. For now I'm just happy with my RCS, which are doing really well in my water. You should keep us posted on how your shrimp are doing, sounds like a fun project :)
fabsroman
11-18-2009, 12:39 AM
That process of stabilizing your pH seems like it could get fairly complicated, lol. I also have the same pH problem; this week it tested at 8.2. For now I'm just happy with my RCS, which are doing really well in my water. You should keep us posted on how your shrimp are doing, sounds like a fun project :)
If you are referring to what I wrote, that is what I do right now with all my tanks. I have pressurized CO2 running to all of them with a ph controller making sure the ph stays where I want it. Granted, all of the tanks are planted and all but one of them have some species of shrimp in them. I'm looking to put snowball shrimp in a 55 that I have amanos in right now, but that will have to wait until I see how these blue pearls are doing.
Honestly, once the system is set up, it is really easy to deal with. I do not have to worry about ph at all. The only thing I have to worry about is the kh of the water after water changes so I can get the CO2 level correct for the plants. Even if I have the kh value wrong for the plants, the ph level will almost always be correct for the shrimp.
I'm just looking forward to trying the process on some cardinia species at 6.3 versus the neocardinia species at 7.2 to 7.4.