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What are the differences between them?
Main & Secondary Line Shrimps
It is becoming difficult to ignore the fact that the shrimp industry can be quite daunting if you are just entering the hobby. Even those who are in this for a few years may still find some of the things confusing. In this post we will help to share some information so you’ll be able to better decide with the information.
Main line shrimps
What do we mean main line shrimps? In simple terms main line shrimps are the breeders selectively bred shrimps. Selective breeding instead of mass breeding.
Main Line crossing
A main line cross is where a Boa x Boa and then the shrimplet that are boa are then use again for selective breeding. No other lines or shrimps are utilize to continue the line.
Secondary Line Shrimps
This is where mass breeding occurs and any shrimps can be use to generate volume and does not focus on lineage or colors, anything really goes.
Secondary Line Crossing
When a Deep blue bolt x with Black King Kong, there will be shrimplet that may look like DBB and some like BKK or some in between and some different. Hence in such circumstances this isn’t selective breeding. They are massing the shrimps to cater for the general market based on market pricing.
In general these shrimps will throw out anything and everything and if they are kept in planted tanks i believe they will be fine. However if your intention is to have a selected line to breed, this isn’t for you.
Does it matter?
If you have read this far, it shows you are keen in understanding the notion behind it. Keep reading. Here is where it get even more interesting and is happening all the time.
Breeders that share the line if they are main or secondary line is critical. One of the most important reason here is because as hobbyist we should be buying the shrimp we want and breeding out the shrimp we want. For example, if a breeder sells a “Deep Blue Bolt” which is a secondary line as Main line, and when the hobbyist buy it back and the shrimplet comes out anything but blue bolts. This can become very concerning. For example, i have also experience this and this is the sole reason why this blog and sharing exist because i feel strongly we need to be open and transparent.
From a cost perspective, the gap between a main line vs secondary line is huge. It can go up as far as 5x difference. This is preyed upon hobbyist who are not in the know. A reputable breeder will share openly the line if it’s secondary or main. There is nothing to really hide!
Secondary Line
Main line
Price perspective
The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.
Sharing a perspective on this and are you truly getting what you are paying for. While business survive based on profits, where is the line where it is drawn?
- Cost of main line shrimp: $10
- Retail of main line shrimp: $25
- Cost of secondary line shrimp: $1
- Retail of secondary line shrimp $20
To the untrained eye, it is difficult to discern between main and secondary line BUT the first bred out will almost show everything or down the line there will be other shrimps that comes out of it.
While we support local businesses we need to be truthful to buyers. “Not Knowing” is not an excuse for selling secondary line shrimps as main line.
If we use this in today’s market space with high price tag of main line boa vs secondary line, it will be exponential. Hence, buyers beware and if you are really keen in getting what you pay for, please ensure you ask everything you need to.
Here are some of the questions that can be asked:
- Who is the breeder
- is this a main or secondary line shrimp
- selective or mass
- how long has the main line being bred
- What is the grading criteria
Some telltale sign that you’ll need to watch for:
- Quality does not have quantity
- if it’s too cheap to be true, it is
- unable to answer or tries to smoke through
- unable to share lineage openly
- shifty in answering
- History of mixing and having multiple lines
- History misuse of other lineage to sell
- Has no backstory of how the shrimp are bred
I hope this post have shed some light on it, i have created a video on this as well.
Thanks for reading!
What do you expect if you are new to this
What to look out for
It is becoming difficult to ignore the fact that with rising prices of commodities and inflation, things get more and more expensive and what do we expect can happen in the shrimp industry.
Eventually the shrimp industry will also be hit by the rising cost of raw material and logistics, however as we know these are not beyond our control, it is important to note what is truly important. Additionally, it is also a good time to reflect on what is necessity.
This is the same as what we will try to look out for in a tank that may crash. I have been discussing with a few breeders local and overseas regarding their journey and one of the common reasons for them having dead shrimp is because the tank crash.
What led to a tank crash
Many factors can contribute to a tank crash, one of the more evident issue resulting in tank crash is by adding too many things into the tank. I have been discussing with one of the US breeder who had his tank crash overnight. To his horror when he woke up, most of his shrimp had die of ammonia poisoning.
What did he do differently?
Nothing.
Yes he did nothing differently before 2 of his tank crash, but why would something like this happen. This is the fallacy of the shrimp industry and i chalk this up to knowledge and experience. As more and more breeders continue on their breeding journey they’ll realized that what they’ve learn in the beginning may not apply to what they are experiencing or doing now.
So how can someone do everything the same he has always been doing and the tank just ‘miraculously’ crash over night? He did the same water change and added powder bacteria.
The prognosis:
From this, we understood that over time the bacteria powder have caused the accumulation of ammonia that resulted in a spike. Some of the shrimps couldn’t take the spike forces them to force molt, some got stuck, and die. This dead shrimp over a few hours released higher ammonia, together with all these created an Armageddon. This is not even coincidental, as 2 tanks with the same method done had the same cause and effect.
These are two pictures of his tank.
What it really meant is the water parameters have already been peaking to a point where the tipping point came when the water change was done and powder added. Is there a way to tell if the tank is breaking?
Like one of my topics on ammonia vs porosity, where we cannot measure the amount of beneficial bacteria we can however measure the porosity of filter media. In other words, if the filtration is unable to handle the added powder the tank has reached it’s tipping point.
Knowledge
When hobbyist encounter such incidences majority may quit the hobby and totally give up. Some persist on after finding out new found knowledge. Those who continue will then get afraid of doing what they normally do. I think while powder bacteria is not an issue, using in large dosage and frequently after water change have caused the tank to crash when the filtration/media no longer able to convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrate, robbing away oxygen during the bacteria bloom process.
So while we may be in this hobby being taught different things, there is no one best way and i guess there can only be one way that suit you better.
Recommendation:
- While setting tank up, it is optional to add bacteria powder (it is the dormant state of nitrifying bacteria). If you don’t use it, it is perfectly fine.
- There is no requirement to add bacteria powder after every water change, colonization of beneficial bacteria will not be entirely loss because of water change.
- Clean your sponge filter to unclog it before they start jamming up
For me i treasure the simplicity of the hobby and to keep them as fuss free as possible, streamlining things, eliminating optional stuff whenever possible. This would then help to enjoy the hobby a lot more.
Hence, when there are issues such as tank crash, it is important to have a standby tank or emergency tank where you can immediately transfer the shrimp into the tank or hang breeder box to house the shrimps and hopefully you rescue them in time.
There isn’t much you can do at this point but to reset the tank and continue on the hobby with the new found knowledge.
I’m still in contact with him and i’m sure now he will now be able to breed back the number of shrimps he use to have.
Behavioral of Shrimplets
Shrimplet survival
If you are wondering if shrimplet are getting sufficient food after they are born, you are right to have that question because like all living things, survival is instinct.
All shrimplet are born with the instinct to survival and to be as close to food and shelter as the fundamental elements of survival. It is by no coincidence that shrimplets especially those that are relatively young within 14 days of being born.
This observation can be seen here where the shrimplet are all congregating at one particular spot in the tank. While there are some in other areas of the tank but it is very evident that most of them are near the vicinity of the kallax ball within the ceramic/terracotta dish.
In the video below, it becomes very clear that majority of shrimplet have congregate in that area. There are some found at the moss area but the most are on the feeding dish where it’s close to the food source. As shrimplets are small they thrive readily on available biofilm and kallax ball helps with that production of biofilm which the shrimplet can directly benefit.
While using the kallax ball it is important to note that it has to be soak 3 days prior to using and the effect will last up to a month, sometimes longer.
Biofilm
Are all biofilm create equal? The long and short of it is no they’re not create equal. The content to create the biofilm makes a difference in the quality of biofilm. If you have tried putting driftwood into a new tank you’ll realize there are some slimy white cotton thing appearing. Those are biofilm, however created out of the wood, which we believe have no direct benefit.
For our Kallax ball/ Kallax plus and lubao are carefully formulated and individually hand packed myself to ensure the goodness reaches your shrimp in good order.
The quality of this can be seen by various breeders around the world who have learn how to use it to their benefit.
While we understand there are quite a bit of competition in the market but we trust that the Original will provide the best biofilm for your prized shrimp.
Trust you have learn something from this article and appreciate the support once again. It has been a great journey sharing information with all of you and those who are keen in learning how to breed quality shrimps.
The 4 Golden Rules
Why do we need the rules?
One of the reason for having the 4 rules to successful shrimp breeding works for me and it doesn’t just work on the shrimp hobby, i think it can also be applied to your daily life.
If we want to be successful and truly enjoy the hobby, i think these 4 rules are for you.
- Have a vision and goals
- Working Hard
- Ignore the naysayers
- Give something back
When i use these 4 rules in the shrimp breeding hobby, it helps me navigate to where i would like to be. While all the rules are important, the very last one is actually one of the most important of all.
I’ll take this opportunity to share how i structure and why i do it that way so that we can continue this hobby for a long long time.
Have a Vision and Goals
Having a vision is important because it charts the course to where you would like to be. Having the goals is going to help you get to where you want to be. This is important because while we do enjoy the shrimp hobby, we share our experiences, we build that friendship but at some point without a goal/vision you just float by. There is nothing wrong about that, however if you would like to be successful you will need to have a direction.
The best ship without a Captain to chart the course is still a ship aimlessly sailing in the sea.
When i first started the aquarium hobby, i had very good friends who taught me and answer my constant questions. I am very grateful and even in the shrimp hobby, i have met very good breeders who share with me, took time to cultivate and grow me into the hobby.
With all that, my vision became very clear it is to share information and experiences so that people will benefit from it. Hence, my goals yearly is to achieve that sets the direction to keep sharing information with the rest. Also to uplift and encourage more breeders to sieve through the large amount of information available.
Isn’t this a hobby? Why do we need to set goals?
I think one of the biggest difference is if you would like to enjoy the hobby even further, over time as we improve ourselves through newer racks and adding more tanks and optimizing the space, every new change is a new improvement.
For example if the goal is to reduce water change time without affecting quality. Then this will help reduce time needed for water change yet achieving the same results. Now you have more time to do more things on the ones that you want to.
Hence, goal setting is very important and it can be big or even as small as goal to breed better Boa this year.
Working hard
When you have set your goals, than comes the hard work. To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did. This quote is certainly true as to reach where you would like to be you got to put the hard work in. You cannot climb the mountain of success with your hands in the pocket.
Hence every year i set goals and i work towards them, i have to allocate time for the work of sharing information, be it blog or youtube. This takes time and to keep improving myself i can constantly and consistently share information with the rest.
There are days where i have trouble writing, i can’t allocate time because of schedule however i always remind myself that i need to continue to be consistent to achieve my goals.
Hard work, works. Doing the water change, resetting the tank and learning how to improve the process of your hobby.
I know many hobbyist and breeders dislike tank reset because it takes time to do so. Some even gave themselves reasons not to reset. However, we all know that at some point of time the optimum breeding time has past and while they may still be alive, they may not be breeding as optimally as before.
Hence, this is why i told some breeders i can’t wait to reset my tank, the more i do it, the closer i am to my goals. i keep improving the process so i can be more efficient and all these are hard work and certainly back breaking.
While during this process, sometimes your shrimp die, but don’t even take it as a setback but a setup for better things to come. Reason being is it is the best time for you to learn what was the cause of it.
Ignore the naysayers
Ignore the naysayers. I think this is one very critical piece in the 4 rules to successful shrimp breeding hobby. There are many that will tell you that you cannot succeed with the shrimps you have. You will never going to have great looking shrimps. You cannot be as good as the Taiwanese.
If i would have listen to the naysayers, i would have gone out of the shrimp hobby long ago.
There are yet again many ‘online professional’ dishing out advise on 1, 2 or maybe 3 tries of the product. Have the product been tried on really high grade shrimps on their own shrimp before sharing? When i’m referring to high grade these are shrimp that are of at least 1k per piece. Yes! i have heard some tell me, Ben you are absolutely crazy to risk it all.
i didn’t listen to them.
I tested on the most expensive shrimp tank because i wouldn’t put my name on a product that doesn’t have the best in me. Tested proven over many years before even sharing it.
Then information sharing, i think this should be shared freely and of cause there are good breeders who have gave me good suggestion to earn more when i’m sharing. i appreciate that thought and yes have thought about it, however, i would like to share the information freely so people can do the same.
Taking an example:
The Lubao ball, there have been hobbyist trying to pull me down or even down play the importance of it citing reasons to prove their stance. Some even try to make videos and skew the test, some tried and didn’t work out.
If i would have listen to the naysayers, i wouldn’t have great looking shrimps today.
I think the easiest way to differentiate and cut through all these noise is simply look at the shrimp. The quality of the shrimp is a non-bias measure of information authenticity.
Another Example:
How would you be able to manage so many things in life with work, kids, racks and racks of tank, i don’t think you can make it. Doing youtube, blog, kids, shrimps, work.
i took it as a good feedback so i can improve.
That is where i made the change to switch all the tanks to semi-automatic draining system without drilling holes in the tank. Helped me reduce time in water changes and such.
Hence, it is important to keep trying until you succeed. You are not a failure if you keep trying. Down 5 times up 6 and keep pushing forward. There are many people in life that will tell you what you cannot achieve, don’t listen to those naysayers (some even call themselves realist).
If you keep the 2nd rule always on the back of your mind it will help you to get where you want. If someone tells you, no it cannot happen, don’t listen to that. Look at different ways to approach it.
As long as you have set your mind to where you would like to be, then keep trying and trying and trying until you get there.
Give something back
Instead of just taking, it is important to give something back to the society or even the hobby. When you are successful in breeding good shrimps, teach the next person who wishes to be as good as you. Each one teach one.
Giving back to the hobby is at the cornerstone of why Shrimp Sanctuary existed because i was personally at the receiving end of being scam because of a lack of information and knowledge.
With that, that is the reason why i have made it a point to share and give back to the hobby. In life, we are not measured by how much we take and achieve but at how much we give back.
Hence, remember when you have started to learn and understand how to breed great shrimps, it will be beneficial to the hobby as a whole to share the information so everyone benefits from it.
Summary
Hope you guys like this post which i use it as my guiding star to ensure having that 4 rules will help with the shrimp breeding journey.
To always remember to have a vision and goals, hard work, ignore the naysayers and giving back to the hobby.
When you use the 4 rules you will have a truly meaningful journey and i’m sure there are some of you out there who have already a few of the rules that you are using and certainly a great way to enjoy the hobby as a whole.