Breeding Project No. 002 ~ Sulawesi Cardinal Shrimp (Caridina dennerli) #the$maker

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

GreenGo

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Apr 26, 2015
Messages
165
Location
Arizona
Yes, this is my second breeding project and my first one isn't even off the ground yet. I've considered just creating a fish room thread, but since I have the Panther Crab Breeding Project thread it'd be a headache and a half, so I'll have each breeding project separate from the others. Also, since this is an invertebrate I think it fits better in the inverts section of the forum vs the breeding section which is for "discussions on breeding freshwater or brackish fish", but don't worry as I have a few of those in mind when I start getting an inflow of cash ;)

And yes, this is the money ($) maker for my business. Well, the first of many. It's an expensive shrimp being sold for around $12 on average, but there is a seller on aquabid that i'll bid on his shrimp that goes for as low as $6/shrimp which is a steal :D

Anyway, this is going to be a slow progress build, breeding, and update thread with many pics and youtube video links attached, so stay tuned!

PS, I have a profile 90% complete, but I wanted to include a link to this thread so I could unclutter my signature a bit by having a link to the profile which'll include a link to this thread.

Future plans for shrimpy money makers include all types of rili shrimp (red, blue [velvet], carbon, etc), blue diamond, and perhaps some others, but those will have their own threads. I may combine all the rili shirmps into one big thread, but we'll see.

It's important to note I chose this shrimp because it's attractive, expensive, 'hard-to-keep' (I aim to prove otherwise on many breeding projects I embark on), and they have almost the exact same water parameters as panther crabs seeing as they come from the same lake system (and potentially the same lake).

Some future branches of this breeding project I may embark on is keeping other shrimps from this region of the world and perhaps setting up a biotope tank of the lake (system?). However, each new species will be a separate thread, and the biotope tank will also be a separate thread.

That being said, a lot of the things on this thread may be repeated on my panther crab breeding project thread, and vice versa. However, your support is greatly appreciated and I'll try to keep the overlap to a minimum, but be forwarned that it's virtually impossible to not overlap some things since they're in the same fish room and all the other things that overlap (for example, the unboxing videos). This warning and attempt to keep things separate also applies to other breeding threads or biotope tanks or other offshoots that may develop along the way. Please keep in mind, however, that I'm largely making this all up (the organization and other aspects) as I go along :cool:

:ROFLMAO:

:D

:thanks:
 
I think we're all making it up as we go along to one extent or another. It's called living. I'm glad you're doing two threads, that way it'll be easier to tell which you're talking about in particular.
 
Sounds sweet Green! I love the look of these guys, never seen them in person though. Hopefully it works well for you! Lots of members here to help and support you on the journey. :)
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Yeah a lot more people will be able to help and follow with this one..Gl!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Cardinal shrimp.

We have a local breeder which posts some for sale locally and they are also around $6 each so a great deal. I personally have soft water and very low KH and would have to do RO and remix the minerals to keep it the same. So not happening here for a little while. I plan to get some Pure Red Line CRS. Better suited for my water. Maybe later on down the road when the breeding is good we can trade!

Will enjoy watching the progress.
 
I want to have algae for these shrimps to graze on every once in a while and was wondering the best way to go about doing this (purchasing 'algae wafers' is out of the question with how I'm doing things). I have a couple options as far as I can see:
(1) put rock within water in sunny place, rock grows algae, place in aquarium + switch with different (though similar) rock, repeat, OR

(2) perform water changes with green water from 20 Hex tank

So, which would you recommend and why?

Don't know what size tank I'm going to put these shrimp in, but it was originally going to be a 5 gallon. However, with everything very much in flux right now with my other breeding project [due to the research project I'll likely be using them for in my Invert Zoology class (and will hopefully get reimbursed) {nothing inhumane :nono: so don't be alarmed}], it may be upgraded to a 10 gallon if I have any extra.

For substrate, I'll use the play sand sparingly with plenty of rocks to help simulate their natural environment/habitat since I'm big on that to start any animal off with until I accomplish breeding them for the first time.

I'll use a double sponge filter rated for either 5 gal (if I use the 5 gal) or 20 gal (if I use the 10 gal), and will rinse one side every month.

Other maintenance includes weekly water changes of 5 - 10% (I've heard shrimp are very sensitive to water changes), but can't change the water any more frequently due to college and other responsibilities.

Water temp and parameters will be as per the profile (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f29/caridina-dennerli-sulawesi-cardinal-shrimp-344973.html), and I'll put in a single IAL and a single 6" piece of cholla wood (perhaps an alder cone or two as well). I hope to leave as much 'natural habitat' real estate as possible for the shrimps, which is why I'm trying to keep the supplemental items (i.e. cholla, IALs, alder cones) to a level I think might be in their natural environment.

For plants I'll use a single shelf I bought from knutsen with a single type of moss attached, and I'll have the cholla stuffed with moss like Fresh2o's build as well (unsure of the type of moss I'll use in that case as well, but will likely be a different type than the moss shelf moss)

Don't know about the lighting, but do hope to purchase a finnex planted plus 24/7 fixture for every breeding project I do (though that'll probably happen after I make a bit of money with these shrimps).

What do y'all think of this? Anything I should change, improve upon, or take into consideration as I start planning this out?

:thanks:
 
Breeding Project No. 002 ~ Sulawesi Cardinal Shrimp (Caridina dennerli) #the$...

If algae wafers are not an option, then I would go with either #1 (growing algae on rocks and rotating them) or both #1 and #2 (green water). Some of the algae in the green water should settle and the shrimp can graze on it. Lots of lights and ferts should help culture algae on the rocks.
You could skimp on the lights (24/7) for now if you want to save some money. I have had good success with plants/moss using13w or 26w 6700k CFL bulbs mounted in incandescent fixtures. It is a low cost option.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
 
Last edited:
2nd on the 6700k CFL. If you really want algae, leave it on 10-12 hours and light dose liquid fert the tank. I've accidentally murdered shrimp with too much leaf zone and too much PPS-Pro. I think it's the iron.

If you have a window what gets great sunshine for pretty much of the day, miracle gro in dechlorinated water will go green for you pretty quickly. Or feed the tank a little and get a 24/7. Bpophoto has some nice algae going in his 20L for the shrimpies.

For his shrimp tanks, he only tests for nitrates and does wc when it gets over 20, I think. Doesn't happen often. The rest of the time, he tops up. It's worth mentioning his 5.5g has peacock moss, subwassertang, DHG, dwarf lilies, a monster water sprite and staurogene repens. It was crawling with shrimp before he jar trapped a bunch to populate the 20L.
 
I would do the rocks, use some old tank water with them and they grow algae well, use a few old jars (upcycled) and a few scraps of Anacharis to get really algae ridden and rotate them into the tank.

Don't know about your locations but the CFL Daylight bulbs with higher K ratings above 5000K are hard to find where I live - our Ace has them GE Energy saver Daylight 6500K and couldn't find them anywhere else. Thrift store desk or clamp lamp or architect desk lamp works perfectly and really cheap.

Also how about a Nori sheet, use little bits as supplement foods. Making a happy shrimp tank is more important than a pretty tank. Age in a tank, is a big help for shrimp since little goodies like biofilm /aufwuchs. That is why leaf litter is useful.

You can pm me and I can send you a Nori sheet if you can't find them and it should last for months!
 
Since you are planning on breeding I would stay away from rotating rocks with moss in and out. The babies will join the feeding and removing all of them could be very difficult when taking out the rock, they are tiny and hard to spot in moss. I would focus on getting algae to grow in the tank, they like to constantly graze, I've never seen a shrimp stop eating unless the males are doing the drunken mating swim. If you find any dollar per gallon sales you will spend less on the 10s than on 5 gallon tanks. 5s are not typically included in the sale and cost $13-15 each but the 10s are $10 during the sale. 3 10s side by side are about 30 inches wide, one 24x7 could light 3 at a time this way.

Sent from my LG-H901 using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Bpophoto,

Great point! Although I was going to keep the moss on shelves and not necessarily rotate them out on rocks, I think it would be easier to try to grow the algae in the tank itself. What would happen if I wasn't able to rotate the rocks, or if hair algae was growing on the rocks and the shrimp didn't eat the hair algae but shrimplets were hiding in it? Similar problem, slightly different situation.

I thought about putting three 10 gal next to each other and lighting them with one 24/7 for my panther crab breeding project, and since it's looking like I will get reimbursed (still need to submit the budget and get the decision finalized) for the crabs I should be able to get this breeding project up off the ground. As for using some 10 gal I already have, it may not happen quite like that, but I do like the idea of buying some at one of the dollar per gallon sales and will look into that. :)

Currently looking into suppliers for the shrimp, cholla wood, alder cones, and some other items (including the Nori) for this breeding project. I put three IAL in with my guppies in the 40B to grow biofilm (yes, that's how soon I think I may be getting these shrimps! :D ). I might start a new thread named "Breeding Project 000: The Food Web System" for the documentation of everything I breed, raise, or grow that's going to help support this business venture, including the guppies, worms, algae, zooplankton, phytoplankton, brine shrimp, vegetables (using a DIY aquaponics system connected to all of my tanks), and a few other things.

I'll keep y'all in the loop for these things, and hopefully I'll have these shrimps within the next couple months, and the crabs around the same time (though I'll likely not bring the crabs home until after my research project @ASU Tempe)!
 
Brennae is great to buy from. She usually sells cholla, alder and some other shrimp favorites. You can find her in the classified section of the forums here. Send a pm and she'll let you know what she has. We have bought from her and love her prices and helpfulness.

Sent from my LG-H901 using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Back
Top Bottom