6 months into Sulawesi Shrimps

[silane]

Sulawesi Shrimps has been introduced to hobbyists worldwide for about 6 months.

How are they doing in your tank? Which species?

Or are they not suitable for captivity?

What are your thoughts?

[bjar]

I would be interestedt to hear that to,maybe you could start with sharing your experience Silane

[southerndesert]

I have been successful with Cardinal Shrimp and have had them breed in captivity with new young in the tank and shrimp in berry, picture quality is bad due to bio film on glass, shown is a berried female.

http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd219/southerndesert/005.jpg

It took just over 2 months, I also have young almost fully grown that were born to berried shrimp when I purchased them that I hope will breed soon.

At first I lost many to shipping related stress and it took a while for the colony to become established, but so far so good.

Cheers, Bill

[Cold]

Hi Silane,
I also keep Cardinals and had my first shrimplets after about 2 Months. I only see 4 shrimplets, but I think next time it will be better. 1 is carrying eggs again, and the tank is better cycled. I will also add a canister filter next days.
Feeding is kind of frustrating, what any of my other shrimps love, they even don't look at :)
Pretty much work with shrimplets that always hide when you want to watch them, but I love them though.

Regards
Thorsten

[Claudio Cabral]

I think the sulawesi shrimps should be kept with other sulawesis only because they don't know defend himselfs from other shrimps...
I think they even can't swim, they only walk in the ground...
this is my short experience with this species...

[silane]

Ok, after these months, I think the worldwide hobbyists can agree that Cardinals is possible to keep and breed and many of us has some result on this particular species.

How about other species?

For my experience, I have on successful with Cardinals in term of breeding and keep the generations going.

I used to have Gold Flake, they died during molting. Days ago, I found a grown up fries, like 1.2cm. I decided to move it to stay with Cardinals, but it died after 1 day. I am puzzled, moving it causing it to die and some more the tanks are partitioned, that means effectively they are the same tank, having same environment.

For Harlequin shrimps, the source to us is very bad, in fact, most of the sulaweisi reaching as are not healthy. Harlequin started to die in bags before I can release them into tank. I heard something bad about how this species of shrimp is caught, the collectors used chemical to knock them out in water and collect them, I am not sure how true this can be.

Anyway, share your successful and failure stories.

I think I have to highlight between difference of:
- keep and breeding sulawesi shrimp
- keeping them alive for 2 weeks vs 2 months or even longer
- able to hatch fries from a wild caught female
- able to hatch fries from a female pregnanted in tank
- the hatch rate.
- different species has different charactieristic.

I hope this discussion is kept between hobbyists and not mass seller and distributor.

[wood]

I know I have caused some problems with supplying others their Sulawesi Shrimp but I figured it cant hurt to share my experience with them since I have kept many kinds already. I dont want this thread to derail so anyone who is owed shrimp please pm me or email me, they will come. Most know acquiring them from the wild can be difficult so just have patience :)

Anyhow, I will do it by species:



Cardinal Shrimp

http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/7366/cardinalshrimpmacrouv1.jpg

Definitely the hardiest of all of the Sulawesi Shrimp I have kept. I have had babies survive into juvenile age and they are still growing. Out of about 30 babies that I had hatch, roughly 10 have survived to juvenile age. Also, the adults from captivity also survive better than the other sulawesi shrimp. Why this is I do not know. Perhaps this species has had to evolve to withstand varying and harsh conditions based out where it lives in the lake. Thankfully it is also one of the most beautiful.

The babies grow fast and are not shy. You will see them immediately after hatching picking at the surface of rocks or wood and even on the substrate.



Harlequin Shrimp

http://img187.imageshack.us/img187/5229/harlequinshrimpnn7.jpg

The Harlequin can definitely be considered the most difficult to keep by some. However, I now disagree. I believe that the Harlequin have a tough time shipping when packaged improperly by the collectors in Asia. When the supplier properly packages these shrimp, along with all others, then the survival rate is dramatically increased. The first shipment I received of these shrimp I had virtually 100% die within a week of receiving them. That was several months ago. (that sure caused problems :) )

The latest shipment I received was dramatically different. The survival rate has been above 90% and people I have shipped to have theirs still alive. Yes, this is verified from numerous people I have shipped to. The Harlequin was my biggest concern from this latest shipment I received and I am very very happy with the results. I also quarantined them for a couple of weeks before shipping them out, only about 5% died during quarantine, at the most.

I am also proud to say that I have Harlequin babies in my tanks :) Yes, they are small but their pattern is easily recognizable. I will take photos of the babies soon. I do not have my macro lens anymore (sold it to Xema last year) and will see if I can borrow one from my friend. I will definitely start posting information on the Harlequin babies soon because I have not heard much about baby Harlequins elsewhere.



Red Goldflake

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/8227/redgoldflakeshrimppd7.jpg

The Red Goldflake can be hard to keep as well, but as I stated in the Harlequin section things can improve dramatically based on shipping procedures. I found that the Red Goldflake will crowd together if stressed. They also like big tanks, so I recommend them for tanks 20g and up. I have babies of them as well and am closely monitoring them. The survival rate of the babies in the past has been zero. All of the babies ended up dying. However, with this recent shipment came more babies and they are still alive. I will take photos of the recent babies as well.

So, if you want to keep the Red Goldflake then keep them in a larger tank. Make sure that they are well quarantined as well before you get them. They can be difficult shippers from overseas. Recently there has been good success with them from people I have shipped them to after quarantine. I am happy but the success will truly show in about a month after they hopefully get pregnant for others.



Brown Camo

http://img73.imageshack.us/img73/8967/browncamopw6.jpg

The Brown Camo is another hardy species comparable to the Cardinal. I have not had many babies from them as most get shipped out, but the babies do grow fast and survive well. They are good for smaller tanks and seem to like to wander around by themselves more than huddle together like Red Goldflakes and Harlequin.



I will post more info soon and info on more species too.

[Frank]

I don´t keep Sulawesi for a long time. Just some weeks.
Currenty I have small numbers of Towuti tiger, Spongicola, Spinata and Cardinal.
My Ensiferia all died. They arrived in bad condition but I think they are good to keep. I get more species/quantities next week.
My shrimps hide all the time, they are pretty shy.
Also I noticed that Sulawesi shrimps are more sensitive for shipping.
I keep them together with many varieties of Sulawesi snails.
The snails are awesome and I have many babies crawling around.

[silane]

Snail seems to be a good tank mate for them, I see they go for ramhorm snail poo, it is funny to see that.

You mean Sulawesi snail baby? How's their eggs look like?

[bjar]

Most sulawesi snails that have been imported seams to be live bearers.I have got some ofspring from my T.patricalis they are born on at a time ,quite large at about one cm as new born.Acording to the little info I have found they produce one ofspring every eight weeks .

[Frank]

Snail seems to be a good tank mate for them, I see they go for ramhorm snail poo, it is funny to see that.

You mean Sulawesi snail baby? How's their eggs look like?

No eggs, they are viviparous.

[Cold]

Hmm my offspring of Tylomelania patricalis is only 3 to 4 mm.
At that point, did anyone get them to lets say 2.5 cm? How long did it take?
I have the impression mine don't grow.

[silane]

I have not try Tylomelania sp, do they take algae at all? Or they can survive on algae alone?

[Cold]

The tank is absolutely free of algae, except Nitella sp. which they don't like. There is always heavy activity when I feed vegetable flakes like JBL Novovert.

[bjar]

I have not try Tylomelania sp, do they take algae at all? Or they can survive on algae alone?
They do eat algae ,it is striking to see these long big snails grazing on the glas.I am sure they can survive on algae ,providing there is enough.I also feed mine dried indian almond leaves,boiled dandelions and peas they also eat
alge waffers etc.

My first ofspring are about 3 months old and have doubled in length during that time.

[Cold]

peas... nice idea, I'll try them, thanks.
What I meant, with absolutely no algae in the tank, I think the Tylos eat any little bit of algae that comes up.

[aligi66]

My experience with Sulawesi shrimps is with:
-Cardinal: they breed easly and they are very strong shrimps. The second generation are more active of the wild one and they eat also commercial shrimps food while the wild one prefere only periphyton
-Harlequin: I took 10 pcs. They dead one by one in 2 month. One female make some shrimplet. Now I have only 3 shrimplet that are born in my tank
-Orchid: they are more strong that Cardinal. The wild one and the second generation eat without any problems commercial food. This shrimps is more aggressive than Cardinal

I have also Tylo and they breed many baby.

The "Sulawesi" tank is 20 litres; pH 8.3, 280-300 microsiemens, T 27° C.
I started in february with 10 Harlequin, 20 Cardinal, 6 Orchid and 9 Tylo.
Now I have (I don't count them... I suppose!!!) 150 Cardinal, 3 Harlequin, 60 Orchid and 24 Tylo.

[Frank]

Tylomelania eat normal fishfood. Based on plant or meat, they like both.
I keep mossballs and lomariopsis in the tanks. These snails don´t eat living plants from my experience.

[tancho_kuhaku]

so is the water temp. required for sulawesi's are same with cherries?

[bjar]

Regarding the original topic of this thred ,I got this info from a friend that
have spoken to the aqurium manager at one of swedens leading whole salers in tropical fish.
The guy my friend had spoken to has tried to establish 15 different species of sulawesi shrimp ,and in all species his experience was
more or less similar he maneged to get a first generation but they all died as
large juveniles or young adults.He was of the opinion that there was some thing missing in captivety that they get in nature .

[ChuckNorris]

Have had great success with the cardinals. Bought 11 but only 4 made it. Out of the four I had 2 males and 2 females. So far one female has given birth (captive) to about 12-13 young. All have survived and are growing very fast.

Just recently I have ordered dark maroon sulawesi. Was very worried with order and sure enough all 14 died within a week and a half. They were in the same tank as the cardinals which are very healthy and thriving. They seemed to die off one by one very sad/frustrating.

I also have some sulawesi snails in the tank and they are doing very well. The babies survival rate is about 50/50 though. Not sure why. They also seem to eat my dead leaves of plants but leave the living leaves alone . . .

Which are these "orchid" you mention????

[aligi66]

This is the Sulawesi shrimp that I call "orchid".

[Nunhez]

wow that fantastic shrimp!

[bjar]

Aligi66 do you knew if you have gotten any F2 offspring ?Also you live on the canary islands if remember right? And they are vulcanic ,right ? I was thinking that since the lakes where the sulawesi shrimps live are also vulcanic ,maybe these shrimps need some mineral,cemical etc that are present vulcanic areas?

If i remember corectly Xema is using some kind of vulcanic rock in his sulawesi tanks .As seams to have good suces in keeping them long therm.

Maybe this could explanin why some pepoles find have good
sucess and other have not ?

[ChuckNorris]

I like the orchid shrimp! Now where to find them . . .

[wood]

No eggs, they are viviparous.

Actually they do lay eggs from what I have seen. Chucknorris and I have both witnessed this and posted a thread: http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php/sulawesi-snails-2908.html

They are beautiful snails. Sulawesi is definitely a gift to freshwater hobbyists.

Here is a photo of the egg sac:

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/1713/sulawesisnaileggsac2qm7.jpg

[wood]

This is the Sulawesi shrimp that I call "orchid".

That is actually the Orange Delight Shrimp. I believe that one in the photo is a very dark one. Almost brown.

Orange Delight
http://img92.imageshack.us/img92/7052/orangedelightoo3.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/1276/orangedelight3ym2.jpg


This is what others call the Orchid Shrimp. I call it the Brown Camo.

Brown Camo
http://img174.imageshack.us/img174/8653/browncamoqq9.jpg

[wood]

More Sulawesi info.....


White Dash Shrimp

http://img95.imageshack.us/img95/4138/whitedashshrimpem8.jpg

This is a moderately difficult shrimp to keep. It is the larger of the species, comparable in size to the Red Goldflake, but the Red Goldflakes might be slightly larger. I believe that this species will benefit from a larger tank, 20g and up, but I have had decent success in the 10g. The babies look just like the adults, just not as colorful. The babies have grown to juvenile stage along with the Cardinal Shrimp. I believe that this species is hardy like the Cardinal, although I think that the Cardinal is slightly more hardy. So, I recommend this species for a 20g tank and up. When stressed it seems to hide. When it is happy/healthy it will come out into the open.


Orange Delight Shrimp

http://img224.imageshack.us/img224/8043/orangedelightyb3.jpg

This is a very hardy shrimp from my experience. It is the size of a Cardinal shrimp, not as large as the bigger species' of shrimp from sulawesi. It seems to color up very nice when healthy/happy. It is a solitary shrimp and does not crowd in groups. I believe that the coloration may be an indicator of health. I think that when it is healthy it will be a nice orange/red coloration. When unhealthy it will become a dark brown I believe.


Tan & Blue Shrimp

http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/5664/tanbluepregnantyz1.jpg

The Tan & Blue Shrimp has been difficult for me to keep. It is the largest species that I have kept. I believe that this species will also benefit from a larger tank, 20g and up. The coloration is definitely an indicator of health. When you actually see the two shades of coloration then it means it is healthy. An unhealthy shrimp shows almost total grey coloration. When stressed it will tend to hide and move slowly. It is a beautiful species but needs a bigger tank. The babies that I have had hatch have grown to sub-juvenile size. I have 2-3 in the tank.

I will post more species info later...

[tancho_kuhaku]

can someone help me? sulawesi's can live with normal temp. right not like crystals and cherries?

[wood]

can someone help me? sulawesi's can live with normal temp. right not like crystals and cherries?

I recommend temperature between 80-86F

[Frank]

Actually they do lay eggs from what I have seen. Chucknorris and I have both witnessed this and posted a thread: http://www.shrimpnow.com/forums/showthread.php/sulawesi-snails-2908.html



You are right. They are ovovivipar.
The eggs need no time to mature. The babysnail begins to crawl out the egg directly.

[silane]

I will post more species info later...

Wood, do you have information on your shrimp survival rate in tank after their arrival, and babies survival rate?

[silane]

Please continue to share, both good and bads, so that newbie into Sulawesi shrimps will know what to expect.

Many would have lure into keep Sulawesi shrimps by nice picture, little would they expect the not so nice side about them.

[crandf]

I bought 10 cardinals, one died the very next day. I suspect it was the one that oddly turned bluish right after I caught it. Possibly it turned blue due to stress? Because after a few hours in my tank, its red coloration had restored enough that it was undistinguishable from the rest.

After about 5 weeks and 3 water changes later, I can count 8 shrimp still, but I didn't notice any extra corpse. No pregnant shrimp spotted yet :(

My water parameters at Singapore's tap water plus enough Seachem equilibrium to raise GH by 3 degrees. KH is about 4.5-5. pH was about 7.2-7.5 last I measured. About 28-30 Celsius. Filtration: HOT with seachem purigen

[silane]

It is not easy to spot pregnant, the body is just a little bloated. Must view with night view camera, you can distinish matured females, preg females from the rest easily.

[wood]

Wood, do you have information on your shrimp survival rate in tank after their arrival, and babies survival rate?

Hi Silane :) My good friend :) hehe

The first shipments that I was getting were 50% DOA and almost all died after a couple of days. Packaging during import is EXTREMELY important and unless your supplier knows what they are doing you are going to get many DOAs without a doubt. I am sure most of the people who have imported from Asia know this.

They are the most delicate creatures to import from the wild. It is very depressing when you open the big box and find over half of the shipment dead. I will post photos of this if you guys want me to. I will show you photos of thousands of dollars worth, dead. The smell is awful too :sick2:

My next importation will be packaged very well according to my very strict demands for packaging to the supplier. Depending on the outcome I will share the results and shipping methods I demanded. I have gone through enough hell with these shrimp.

The Cardinals are definitely the hardiest of all of the Sulawesi. They have the best chance of living after shipment. Harlequin have the worst.

When the adults gave birth in my tank the survival rate for the babies is high. Captive born is obviously the best. I would estimate survival rate for babies is 75-80% and they look very healthy. The Cardinal babies do the best. The goldflake babies are also good. Harlequin babies seem to do ok if they can get past the first 2 weeks.

[Alesfra]

Sulawesi invertebrates that live with me:

- Caridina sp. Cardinal. I have some of them in a 30 liters tank with Tylomelanias

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb229/alesfra/Sulawesi/Acu_sulawes4_ok-1.jpg

- "Matane Tiger" or "Black Tiger Matane" In this picture you can see a young shrimp and a little Tylomelania. Thanks, Xema. I saw a female with eggs a month ago but I haven´t any shrimplets.

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb229/alesfra/Sulawesi/Sulawesino_MTyTPe-1.jpg

- Red Goldflake (Cardina spinata) they share aquarium with "Black Tiger Matane":

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/bb229/alesfra/Sulawesi/Caridina_spinata_web-1.jpg

[silane]

Hi Silane :) My good friend :) hehe

The first shipments that I was getting were 50% DOA and almost all died after a couple of days. Packaging during import is EXTREMELY important and unless your supplier knows what they are doing you are going to get many DOAs without a doubt. I am sure most of the people who have imported from Asia know this.

They are the most delicate creatures to import from the wild. It is very depressing when you open the big box and find over half of the shipment dead. I will post photos of this if you guys want me to. I will show you photos of thousands of dollars worth, dead. The smell is awful too :sick2:

My next importation will be packaged very well according to my very strict demands for packaging to the supplier. Depending on the outcome I will share the results and shipping methods I demanded. I have gone through enough hell with these shrimp.

The Cardinals are definitely the hardiest of all of the Sulawesi. They have the best chance of living after shipment. Harlequin have the worst.

When the adults gave birth in my tank the survival rate for the babies is high. Captive born is obviously the best. I would estimate survival rate for babies is 75-80% and they look very healthy. The Cardinal babies do the best. The goldflake babies are also good. Harlequin babies seem to do ok if they can get past the first 2 weeks.

Thank for the input.

But don't call me good friend, I hardly know you.

[telinar]

Thank for the input.

But don't call me good friend, I hardly know you.

Even with all the bad rep wood has been getting, I don't think that's necessary, silane.

[invertedclack]

Maybe Ryan ought to think about refunding all of those people who are posting on his own forum requesting refunds rather than use their money to buy more shrimp.