This stuff is addicting.

[Soothing Shrimp]

Okay, I've just gotten into keeping heteropoda and this stuff is addicting!

So far I have:

Yellow
Taiwan Red Rili
off color cherries I'm breeding for orange
blue rili
and a secret project or two. ;)

I really love the cherries because I can get into some unusual colors. Perhaps soon I'll be confident enough to move up to Crystals... the unusual colors, of course. :D

[Soothing Shrimp]

...and a learning experience. I recently added a heater to my yellow cherry tank because one or two shrimp were dying off due to cold water from weather here. I set the temp at 80F (26.6C) and two more died off due to high temp. Also prob due to me not graduating the temp in steps. So now I am setting it to 78F (25.5C)

[mordalphus]

Cherry are fine even in cold temps, down much lower than 70, I would search for a different cause of death

[Soothing Shrimp]

I guess my point was I had the temp too high. As far as cold water, it fell below 68 (before the heater) and affected more than one tank of shrimp. :(

[mordalphus]

Neocaridina are fine below 60 too. And also fine at 80. I guess maybe your adding a heater could have caused the temperature to go up too fast, but neos are pretty hardy

[Soothing Shrimp]

As far as I read, neos are one of the hardiest around. I've also read that they stop breeding as much in cooler temps, so I just ordered a bunch of heaters to keep them in the upper 70's F. Today I also added a small mystery snail in each tank to help clean up as well.

A cherry had babies which were fine for about a week, then disappeared. So I'm thinking of adding some java tied on something to each tank to help the babies survive. I'm hoping with the higher temps and java I'll have a better breeding/baby survival rate. I can only go up from here.

[EdVanRyzin]

I had to post because I see you live in Illinois. I kept cherries in a tub outside all this past summer, until temperatures were dropping to about 50 or lower, without any problems, and I kept quite a few in an unheated tank in a basement all last winter. I live in Wisconsin, so my temperatures shouldn't be too much different from yours. Just make sure your water is very clean and you should have no problem with babies surviving. I always have a ton of duckweed and moss. Duckweed keeps everything very clean.

[donnie]

For some reason when I hear a tub outside , I think bath tub (lol) . I'm also in Wisconsin. So far I have had pretty good luck with out a heater. My water temp stays around +/- 3 deg air temp.

[EdVanRyzin]

When I say tub I really mean culligan water containers with the top cut off.

[Soothing Shrimp]

Thanks guys. I haven't used plants at all, because I really want to see the shrimp well for selective breeding... however that idea goes out the window pretty fast if I have no babies! I'm going to take the plant idea and and twist it a little. I'm going to tie some java on something and drop it in the tanks. We'll see if that helps survival.

I've also ordered a load of heaters and have thermometers for each tank. We'll see if that helps and (hopefully) increases productivity and baby survival as well. Currently I have water ~76-78 F in my yellow tank and will do the same for 4 more. Unlike many wonderful people here I'm not looking to have a plant scape, only very basic tanks for lots of breeding.

Edvanryzin- what cherries do you breed?

Donnie- what cherries do you breed?

It's nice to find some folks "close" to my state. :)

[donnie]

I had a nice size colony of red cherries but sold most them to get into the crystal shrimp, I did just start a new colony of fire red cherries but still need about 5-10 more to be happy , the one's I have are pretty small. After seeing the red tigers I think I will be going that route once I can get my hands on some. Or get some of the soothing tangerines , I like that much better then plums

[Soothing Shrimp]

I hope you can find some red tigers. I hear that in the USA it is hard to find them.

[donnie]

I have been looking ever where and can't find any thing. If you find some let me know

[Soothing Shrimp]

Sure thing. If you breed any I may get some from you.

[EdVanRyzin]

Right now i just keep cherry reds, and rili. Donnie, do you have a good herd of crystal reds?

[donnie]

It's getting there, I'll post some pic's as soon as I get my rack system setup , I should have some decent shrimp that I will be willing to part with some time next month if you are interested? I believe I may have found some red tiger shrimp also , we'll see if it pans out.

[reefdive]

Those red tiger's are nice I would like some if anybody find's some . I am 99% sure temperature will not affect your breeding or babie's unless it goes below 60 . Not having a source of natural food may effect both of those especially the babie's . The Java fern I have found to be much less helpful than Java moss . Java moss help promote infusoria or something the babie's like and a little algae does not hurt as well . I have a plant bulb all the way at the back of one of the shrimp tank's and there are alway's dozen's of babie's grazing back there . Other mosses seem to attract the shrimp as well especially the flame moss . I would never be without moss's . The tank with hundred's of babie's is only 3 month's old so there must be something to plant's in the shrimp tank