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Is grading only for competition?
Shrimp grading should not only be used during competition or sales. I think it is a good tool for hobbyist used wisely and appropriately can help improve shrimp quality.
In general the shrimp grading would consist of a few broad spectrum and they are :
- Size
- Color
- Pattern
- uniformity
In these grading list we will need to look into a few areas like for example color, the overall color of the shrimp, how does it look. What about the legs are they colored as well.
If we based everything upon 100% you can actually develop your own grading ranking chart to improve your shrimp quality.
Setting up the grading
Size and colour is critical because if the shrimp is able to maintain the colors when they are of big size 2cm,2.5cm the scoring increases. The reason behind this is because as the shrimp grow large, their colors fade so if the shrimp is able to attain to the max size and maintain the color it will be scored highly.
As you can compare the size on the left and right, the right Boa have a much large size, max size with full colouration. This would have scored very highly.
The color is also uniform with little to no transparent in the body nor legs. Also the colors of gold/blue and black are all colored well.
Next as we come to pattern, it is critical to score highly here too, while color comes first followed by pattern, it does not mean it is not important. Pattern as you can see from the size of the shrimp vs pattern.
The patterns are well shown on the body with respect to body size.
Now with that in mind, we understand this is how the grading chart works. So if i take this as a benchmark, i’ll work my shrimps towards this grade. I benchmark the boa grading with Skyfish as i have his shrimp also authenticity to understand and learn what entails Grade 1, 2, 3 and Championship grade.
Selective breeding helps to improve the shrimp grading eventually if done properly. However, that is the external features of the shrimp which is done through selection. There is another critical point the internal factor of the shrimp health being attributed by how well the food, water parameters, grazing material and overall tank condition.
These 2 factor, internal and external need to be done hand in hand for better results. One focuses on the exterior beauty of the shrimp, the other focuses on the interior health of the shrimp.
Internal vs external beauty
While we can grade external features of the shrimp such as colors etc we cannot grade the health of the shrimp and i think both internal and external features are important.
Usually if the internal health of the shrimp is fundamentally sound, the process of selective breeding will breed very successful shrimps.
What does that mean? For example, a healthy shrimp may not be within the grading chart, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good shrimp. The environment it was bred in is ideal, there is good food, grazing material and regular water change. In short, the husbandry is taken care well. The health of the shrimp is in good shape regardless of the grading of the shrimp. This is what i call the internal health of the shrimp.
Now with good husbandry associating with good selection we can start proceeding with selection process which is now the external features of the shrimp.
Only when 2 of these internal and external concepts forge together will deliver the outstanding results you are looking for. One cannot work independently and this has been proven and seen from time and time again.
We have breeders who get the same shrimp from the same source and it was hand selected at the place 20 pieces. It was then brought back home and pass to 2 breeders, each of the breeder get 10 shrimp randomly, but one of the breeders faces issue with the coloration of the shrimp for most of the shrimp he keeps whereas the other does not have any issues with it. Persist on and remained like that.
Once is probably a coincidence but it happened more than once and i’m sure you have experience this too. Even the same shrimp kept at different breeders place will result in different colouration. So this exemplifies that both internal and external factors for shrimp breeding is critical.
Improve Internal health
Improving internal health can be understood as the external environment such as water parameters, inhabitants, hiding area, food, grazing material. All these sums up to achieve the Gold standard of the external environment.
Water parameters :
- GH 3-4
- KH 0
- pH 5.8
- TDS 85-90
- Water change weekly weakly (5-10%)
- Filtration : Totto hangon
Hiding areas:
- Mosses/plants
Food:
- Hwa Version 1 daily pad
Grazing material:
- Moss
- Lubao
A simple list that i use and used by many renowned breeders in Taiwan.
The direction
Having dreams and Goals
When i first started i always thought that having one type of shrimp per tank and i can keep multiple types if i have multiple tanks. That was my initial plan, setup more tanks so i can house more of them. However, as i grow and learn deeper into the shrimp breeding process i met with renowned Taiwan breeders who shared with me over many years the How’s and Why’s.
Having a dream is important and having goals is even more important to get to your dreams. Whatever your dream might be for shrimps it is achievable as long as you set your heart and mind to it. Have goals so that you will eventually reach and get what you wanted.
If you dream is to have the best PRL you have in the country, start learning what it takes to get there.
Focus
When you have your goals, it is important to focus on what you have. Everyone is different and so is space, time, money, etc so you’ll need to ensure that the goals you set is achievable by yourself. I have this discussion few years ago with a group of breeders and it is clear that while breeders in Singapore are generally constraint by space, we had to re-think to get better at what we do.
So focus was the topic of discussion for many weeks and months and eventually we came to realize to be great at what we do, we need to understand what to do with what we have. This particular local breeder is very successful with Gold Standard breeding methodology and he is one true example of breeding successful and awesome looking shrimp.
For him, he focuses on 1 type of shrimp which is the PRL and really do very well on it. Focusing all his time, effort, resources into it rather than to spread it all out. Like mentioned on the onset, everyone is different so if you want to be good at breeding, you will have to make a plan and goal that suits you. Remember that focusing doesn’t mean you only can keep 1 type of shrimp, you can keep a few type but choose which to focus based on your resources.
When the going get tough
All great breeders started somewhere and would have fallen down many times before they got to where they are today. It takes decades to fully appreciate the journey. None of the renowned breeders had it easy and this is a great lesson for those who are starting and also those who are already in this for a long time. There will be times when you feel down because your shrimp just die, it is part of the breeding process and does not define if you are a success or failure. It is simply part of the process. Learning from it is important because we try not to make the same mistake.
If you are not failing, you are not even trying. To get something you never had, you got to do something you never did. This is important because when we think that we are too good, we don’t learn or further tweak to be better. This is a very dangerous place to be at so it’s better to understand why some people are more successful. Learn from them both their success and failures.
Learn as much as you can, try and keep trying even very season breeders continue to learn. It’s a life long journey. At the end of the day, the focus is on the shrimp, if you can get to your goal of a beautiful shrimp you are halfway there. The other half is sharing. Not much use holding onto everything in my opinion. When you reach your goal, remember to pull someone up, each one, teach one.
Time is limited
Everybody have the same amount of time a day, so it is limited and by focusing your time on what matters is important. Being better tomorrow should be your personal goal as well, this means that you’re using your time wisely and to improve your breeding process, your setup and program altogether. In my previous post about time, it is important to know that shrimps life span is very short. There is only so many times a shrimp can breed and by focusing on that it becomes clear that there is really no time to waste.
Time can be invested or wasted, so do not waste time on the naysayers along the way because they will not be supporting you in getting where you want to go. Let them go. They will tell you a thousand reason why you cannot do it but they never tell you how you can do it (Only holds you back). That is why it’s better to learn from breeders who are successful and have results to show. Hence, i take time to share what works, as i was fortunate to learn from the best and i wanted to share it with the rest.
Hope you had a good read!
Are you confuse at times?
Shrimps are Shrimps
Yes, Shrimps are Shrimps and i believe everyone agrees with that. Why did i bring this up? One of the important elements during the setting up phase of shrimp keeping is the tank setup, introduction of shrimp, feeding and water change. As we go deeper into the biology of shrimp, we tend to think what is best for keeping our shrimps in the most ideal condition.
So what really am i driving at? Shrimps are by nature scavenges and they have a fairly straight digestive system unlike human. In general the food takes a very short time from consumption to passing out and there are 2 important factors here.
Firstly, shrimps would need to have sufficient nutrients such as staple food, vitamin and trace minerals for healthy growth. In addition, because shrimps feed and digest quickly it is necessary for shrimps to have a comprehensive food to provide the majority of the nutrients and also feed frequently. It is better to feed lesser but higher frequency vs feeding more but lesser frequency. However, i think it is difficult for many to feed 4 times a day including myself. If we can feed them once or twice a day, i think it is considered a luxury. The science behind this is so that excess food does not foul the water and hence i use snails to clean up the rest of the food.
Secondly, between feeds, shrimp need to graze continuously and it is important here to have a few natural biofilm producers such as mosses and lubao. Mosses are great for cover and biofilm for shrimplets to survive as they need those food in the first couple of weeks before they can consume larger food item. I have received feedback from Netherlands breeders that the shrimplets are always on the lubao that they got from me. This is great for the growth and development of the shrimplet as they get their first food which helps increase survival of shrimplets. I have written it here in detail :
https://www.shrimpsanctuary.com/tips-on-increasing-shrimplet-survival/
Lastly, it is important to note that there are a variety of staple food and i have been using Hwa v1 pads for a long time and it is really have a strong pull/draw factor (written here: https://www.shrimpsanctuary.com/hwa-food-lubao/) with comprehensive ingredients. In addition, i also recommend having a couple of biofilm producers such as plants, mosses and lubao. While lubao is a natural producer of biofilm, it need some learning to use it well. It took me two years at least of trial and error to learn how to control using it.
Maintaining water quality
Other than feeding the shrimps and reminerize after water change, i don’t add other elements into the tank. The reason is because the lesser you add into your tank, the more stable the water parameters will be. Not all shrimps are kept the same and the higher the grade the shrimp, the purer it is and a slight change in water parameters they get uncomfortable and that had taught me to be discipline in breeding high grade shrimps. Keeping the water as consistent as possible with little fluctuation.
Good water filtration is still at the fundamental of shrimp breeding and while there are a range of filtration available, choose one that you be able to stick to. i have tried a range of filtration, box, perm ugf, etc and i stuck to the Totto filtration due to space constraint. Sponge filter will work too i think a large sponge across the tank will also be a good method.
Deciding your method and Taking Risk
I often remind myself, If i want to achieve something i never had, i need to do something i never did.
Taking risk is not just about breeding shrimps but it’s about knowing what you know and what you don’t know. There will be people who will encourage you and people who pull you down. Embrace both.
As Sarah Ban Breathnach mentioned “Consider the track record of your naysayers. How many dreams have they successfully brought into this world?“
Keep trying and never give up. Fall down 9 times, get up 10. Taking risk is also about accepting new views and new opinions. It may be frightening at times but is also rewarding, the changes you take, the people you meet, the faith that you have, that is what going to define you. People who keep trying after the first attempt generally start to see results. Brushing teeth for one day doesn’t do anything, going to the gym or running once a month doesn’t do much. It is doing it consistently day in day out and keeping at it that makes a difference. T
Time can be invested or wasted, and all the failures are time invested to be even better. With all the setbacks you have experience, do not be discourage or disappointed, it is simply a setup for better things to come.
So never be discourage, never hold back, give everything you got and while you fall down along the way, remember to always stand up and keep trying and moving forward. End of the day if you are better than yesterday, you have made progress.
Hope you guys have a good weekend!
You are successful
A different perspective
I often get this including myself. Am i a failure if i have dead shrimp? Frankly you are successful and the long and short of it is that if you don’t fail, you are not even trying. Only through failure we learn what was the fundamental knowledge behind why we fail. We dust it off stand up and keep moving forward. I have some tell me that they feel disappointed when their beloved shrimp die and all the time and money that goes into it is gone.
For me it is clear that if i want to get something i never had, i need to do something i never did. For example, if i want to do selective breeding, i need to try, i need spend time, effort and money to have a setup and than go for it. I rather fail trying than not try at all because at least i had some learnings. Shrimp breeding especially high grade shrimps are not straight forward but the learning from it will be beneficial.
There cannot be success without trying. If you don’t start, you will never have a chance of being successful. Not everyone succeed, but those who keep pushing forward, does.
Many don’t even start, some give up after the first fail attempt, the rare few keep persisting on and tweak their process and than stuck to it. Keep trying, keep moving, keep pushing forward.
Knowledge is key to understand and having the will to keep trying is as critical. Many aspire to have the best shrimp but don’t have goals and plans to reach there, all the excuses started to come in, oh i don’t have this, i don’t have that. There are thousands of reasons for not starting, but it only take one to begin.
Now, if not when?
Start now. There is no better time than now, set a goal and then move towards it. Shrimp life cycle is very short, 2 years or lesser so we need to ensure that we provide the best opportunity and probability for the shrimp to breed out their next generation. While we human may have a longer life span compared to a shrimp but the idea is the same.
Don’t count the days, Make the days count. Get your female shrimp ready by ensuring the water parameters are spot on, the male:female ratio is good, have sufficient food, grazing material and hiding space. Get the female shrimp ready before they molt. Make the days count.
Like most things in life, we often delay, wait another day, think too much and eventually life takes control. Days turn into weeks, weeks turn into months and then look back and say i should have done something back then.
There isn’t a day call “Some day”, there is Monday to Sunday and Some Day isn’t in there. So instead of telling some day i will do it, make a plan and make it happen.
So start now, if not when?
if not you, who?
If not you, who?
Keeping $5 shrimp and $1000 shrimp doesn’t define if you are successful or not at least to me. I love my $5 shrimp as much as the high end ones. I have seen some breeders who are truly good and understand the fundamental of shrimp breeding and selection. Even normal $5 shrimp are being selective bred for excellence.
Don’t listen to your inner voice and say oh no, i’ don’t have the time, and it’s not me, i can only dream because i don’t have good stock shrimp. Again you beat yourself to it because whether you can or cannot, you are right. If there is a will, there is a way. Probably it doesn’t happen now, but do you have the faith to keep trying?
Maybe now you may not have good stock shrimp but you can start off the selection process and see if you get successful results from that, once you are more confident over the years you can than move on to higher grade shrimp. So why not take a chance and believe in yourself that you can do it. Learn, unlearn, relearn.
Don’t be afraid to try because you get one chance in life because if not you who?
I trust you have benefited from this post and keep trying!
