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I see this question many times on what kind of feed to use to get my shrimps to saddle and berry eventually.
Actually shrimps are not very fussy eater, as Long as we provide a diet of plant and animal diet that will be sufficient. The misconception about feeding X food or a series of food to encourage shrimp to saddle. This is not the only factor that helps saddling.
The list below will help in saddling:
- Good water parameters (0,0 on ammonia and nitrite, <10 ppm of nitrate is ideal, pH, kH GH and tds
- Temperature stability
- Sufficient food
- Sufficient tank space
So if the question is asked in another way if all my parameters are well, how do I ensure the chances to increase saddling continuously? What kind of food will help replenish the energy loss during berry.
Basically I would say a stable food source which is both daily feed of pellet and a constant food source lubao.
This is a Long term food source, I usually change it out every month. I presoak it for 3 days to dilute the potency for tanks where I have fewer than 50 shrimps.
This constant food source allow shrimps to graze when the pellet is consumed.
This is the complete food that I’m using, take note this is the 1st edition which is phased out but due to a special request, the breeder decide to help me make a batch.
The pellet is quite Long and I break it up to 2-3 pieces which means I can feed 2-3 tanks!
Due to my busy schedule I often only rely on stability to help shrimps feel more comfortable and hence also improve the breeding chances.
This proven method is widely used in Taiwan. Other then a few types of pellet I also feed organic spinach (blanched).
Hope this blog entry helps!
If you are interested in the food I use it is shipped worldwide.
You can contact me at : benetay@gmail.com or Facebook : https://m.facebook.com/Shrimp-Sanctuary-Aquatic-107768137328117/?ref=bookmarks
Shrimp sanctuary aquatic
I primarily like to keep things simple when it comes to food. Since there are a huge range of food products available in the market but what will be an ideal feed?
Shrimps unlike animal and fishes keeps feeding constantly due to their small stomach and straight intestine. My preference to this is to provide 2 macro feed, a shrimplet food and one Long term food.
The reason for a good feed is to Ensure the shrimp get their macro and micro nutrients and doesn’t foul the water. Any pellet that breaks down into powder after a few hours need to be removed by siphon.
For me I like using Hwa version 1 Pads. I cut all my shrimp pads into smaller sizes so the shrimp can feed and consume all of it within 24 hours.
- Pads are normally cut into 3 portion
- Feed in the morning and if food remains by evening I will not feed.
- If by evening there isn’t any food left I will feed another session.
- Repeat in the morning.
- Important to note is the portion size. Adjust according to shrimp feeding level.
- If shrimp feed doesn’t get consume by 24 hours it will be finish by nerite or ramshorn snail if not removal of it is important.
- I also use lubao (Long term food) which is basically sweet potato, soya starches that create biofilm.
- Soak lubao in water for 3 days if you have less than 50 shrimps in your tank before using.
- I generally exchange the lubao in a month time or when it floats up.
A constant food supply is required for good growth and shrimp breeding. There is no short cut to breeding shrimps like feeding a certain type of food will increase breeding. It only does it the shrimp have all the needs met.
Type of feed I use:
- Hwa version 1 pads (You can get through me or from the following people) –
- Robin Abraham in UK
- Kuzey Terzi in Germany
Currently Hwa pads have moved forward to version 3 but I still stick to the version 1 recipe. I’ have his blessing to do limited quantity version 1.
Those who have used really enjoy it.
There are also version 2 in the market but those are phased out and Hwa have moved to version 3.
On the top left there is a marking that denote it’s version.
一 is version 1
二 is version 2
三 is version 3
- Lubao
- Bacter ae
Hwa food
Lubao
If you would like to try any of these food please send me a note through my Facebook messenger either through Shrimp Sanctuary Aquatic or add me through my name direct @ benetay
Thank you for the recommendation avid readers! Please keep them coming so that I can keep writing topics that are of interest. For this blog post, I’ll be touching on the trends of Shrimp keeping in Singapore and you can be the judge on how that differs from your region and or similar.
· Black fancy tiger
· Red fancy tiger
· Boa
· Golden eye tigers or King Kong
These 4 are predominately the trend in Singapore right now but given the small number of serious hobbyists there isn’t a lot being spread among the shrimp. Not forgetting that PRL and PBL continue to remain as a classic and a main stay among the shrimps, this is still very popular for beginners and serious shrimpers!
For the Neocaridina family, the Fire red, bloody Mary, Yellow Golden back are also very popular among the general hobbyist as they are less expensive and easy to take care without the need for a chiller, RODI water, so on and so forth.
Coming back to the trend in Singapore, it follows quite closely with Taiwan. One of the reasons is because we are situated geographically quite near Taiwan. A 4.5 hour flight will bring us to the heart of Shrimp heaven. Count our blessing!
The trend in Taiwan from King Kong to Galaxy to Galaxy Fishbone has also brought waves of strong enthusiasm among hobbyist however it wasn’t quite long before the King Kong were mass produce. From Taiwan’s perspective anything that is easy to breed, easy to keep will not be able to hold their prices for long. For the hobbyist this is good news!
On the flip side, any shrimp that requires crossing and selective breeding will continue to command a higher price. How do we determine if the prices of shrimp will maintain or drop and this is one of the most critical factor that drives market trend.
Innovators and Early adopters are willing to spend top dollar on premium shrimp to breed for own keep or for investment. The Early and Late Majority being the main bulk of hobbyist will generally be the next to adopt and the Laggards are the last to follow the trend. Taking Black fancy tiger for example, due to it’s difficulty in breeding and keeping, the barrier to entry for hobbyist to adopt gets later and later. One important aspect is due to the stability and price. Hence, there are many Taiwanese and even Singapore breeders who take short cut by mixing shrimp to make it look good for a generation and eventually breed undesirable traits. Like in many Taiwan Youtube broadcast, it is also mentioned the difficulty of stabilizing the shrimp is when the prices will continue to remain high. If it’s easy to stabilize within a year, the prices will plummet. For example any tiger stripe and pattern will be difficult to stabilize and hence continue to remain high. Any King Kong gene, galaxy, galaxy tiger, galaxy etc will be cheaper compare to Black Fancy Tiger for example.
On the next point I would like to touch on shrimp detractors and promotors.
Detractors of Shrimp keeping example:
· Hobbyist K purchase shrimp from Breeder X
· Hobbyist K breed a fair number of shrimp from Breeder X
· Trader L purchases 10 bred shrimp from Hobbyist K.
· Trader L in future claim that his 100 shrimps are F1/F2 of Breeder X.
· Hobbyist A purchase from Trader L 10 shrimps and sold as shrimps from Breeder X.
Question:
-What is the probability of Hobbyist K mixing other shrimp to breed?
-What is the probability of Trader L mixing shrimp to breed?
-What is the probability of Trader L telling Hobbyist A to get direct from Breeder X if Hobbyist A wants a top-grade shrimp?
-What is the probability of Hobbyist A getting a good shrimp?
If there is even a 1% probability on the first question, the probability increases exponentially by the time it reaches Hobbyist A. This happens quite frequently in Singapore and it kills the trend and hobbyist of their interest. What could have been better?
Promotors of Shrimp keeping example:
· Hobbyist K purchase shrimp from Breeder X
· Hobbyist K encourages Hobbyist A to purchase direct from Breeder X and encourage Hobbyist A to visit breeder X.
· Hobbyist K being a promotor of Breeder X will cut away the Trader L resulting in Hobbyist A having access to breeder X Shrimp.
For us in Singapore, it is fairly accessible to Taiwan hence the promotor of shrimp keeping should be adopted, and I want to hear from those overseas what are some of the pain points you guys and gals experience!
Do you believe there is a magic bullet in shrimp keeping?
Apparently after much observation I haven’t found someone or any brand for that matter to have good products and competition grade shrimps. The reason is simple, line breeding requires precision and discipline in maintaining water quality and adding anything will alter the water parameters. This include black water extract, “fly solution”, amino acid, vitamins, anti chlorine (your water should be tds 0), bacteria powder, increase breeding enhancer, anything other than reminerizer.
For example, there are many breeders who proclaim their magic powder/solution but have you realised that they generally do not have very nice show or comp grade shrimps? They are good in selling products that they claim will help shrimp breed better etc but why ain’t their shrimp any better than top renowned breeders?
It is an unspoken rule in the Taiwan shrimp industry that such truth are only shared within the inner circle. If someone proclaim that their magic solution or powder is superior and is required every water change or during setup, then just ask yourself what if I don’t use them?
Frankly nothing happens if you don’t use them but I can guarantee that using those magic potion will not make keeping or breeding easier especially comp grade shrimps.
Only the best
