shrimp-attack.com

novina-news.blogspot.com

Tell us a little bit about yourself, please:
My name is Gregory, shrimp farming is already occupied about 8 years. I began with two tanks, at this moment there are already 63 We are planning further because there is no space for new shrimp and a new hybrid. Currently, we also seek to deepen our knowledge about crayfish Cambarellus that were found in our kennel.

When did you start keeping and breeding shrimps?
The first shrimp came with us about 8 years ago, they were in an aquarium shrimp Macrobachium friendly. After about a year we get the first dwarf shrimp which we tried to reproduce. The first, which were born in our kennel were Red cherry and Tigers.

What are your basic tips for beginners?
Be patient and don’t forget about water changing

Which mistakes are made often and easy to avoid?
Primarily to take care of the water parameters, do not cause the undesirable crosses.

How much time do you spent with your tanks weekly?
I try to spend every free moment with shrimp but I do not always succeed, taking into account the fact that my little daughter, with whom every moment is priceless.

What is your favorite shrimp?
I love them all but I think that my favourite is King Kong.

What makes the polish shrimp community different from others?
I think that shrimp community does not differ from those in Germany or other countries. The only difference is that we’re a little behind when it comes to new varieties in comparison to shrimp lovers in Germany.

You are running a local forum: What are the ups and downs?
I noticed that a lot of people are afraid to boast of new shrimp because they fear the envy of others. I am glad to see more interesting projects of people who want to create polish shrimp scene. I think that will be more such people that it will easier in Poland for fun shrimp.

What do you think of an international shrimp club?
I think it is an interesting project that will allow us to harmonize standards. I think that this will also speed the introduction of new varieties in the countries that belong to the club because it will be much easier than the search for new varieties on their own. International shrimp club will also be a great opportunity for regular meetings of members.

Three web pages you find useful:

• shrimpnow.com
• blue-tiger-shrimp.com [Imke says: Thank you!]
• redbee.pl

Your motto is:
Go your way and do not look at the others who do not wish us well.

Your final say:
I am very pleased that I could give a short interview for this page. And I hope that world shrimp community will still grow and provide us many pleasures and surprises.

Links

• Blog: http://novina-news.blogspot.com/
• Forum: http://redbee.pl

http://redbee.pl/

Damien's Blog (http://www.damianaguilar.com)

Tell us a little bit about yourself, please:

Hi, my name is Damian Aguilar. I am from Murcia (Spain) and I studied engineering, and now basically I develop software for companies. You can find more information about me in my blog: http://www.damianaguilar.com.

When did you start keeping and breeding shrimps?

I started with shrimps in 2007. It was a dark time… I started with a few Red Cherries and it was a nightmare for me because a week later I lost all the shrimps! It was a personal challenge and I began to learn about shrimps, mainly from other Spanish friends who had a lot of experience with shrimps, and of course, from shared information in Spanish forums.

How many tanks do you currently have?

I have six tanks now where I keep: Blue Tigers, Black Tigers, Blue Bee, Sakuras, Yellow shrimps, CRS and CBS. But I have another tank waiting for a new project. All my tanks are between 30l and 60l, I prefer small tanks.

How much time do you spend with the hobby?

Maybe one hour a day or perhaps more, it depends… Since I work from home and have my tanks around me while I am working, I sometimes spend more time with the shrimps than I should…

Which breeding projects are you working on?

I am focusing on my Black Tigers, trying to get a full black.

What do you do with shrimp that don’t meet your breeding target?

I share it with friends.

What’s your favorite shrimp and why?

I think that most people will answer the same: the Red Crystal. The point is that this is a shrimp you can evolve with, getting new patters, new colors -  you are continuously learning with this shrimp. The Red Crystal is the best for me.

What are your basic tips for beginners?

• Weekly water changes.
• Use high quality water (here in Spain the tap water have a pH around 9).
• Planted tank.
• Things that works for fish tanks don’t work for shrimps tanks. I think that it is an important point.

What are your plans for 2010?

Crossbreeding a different Tiger species, maybe a Black Tiger with Blue Tigers. I am not sure yet…

Three WebPages you find useful:

• shrimpnow.com
• soloinvertebrados.es
• aquaticquotient.com

Your personal motto is?

Don’t let for tomorrow the water changes you can do today.

Ram from Bangalore (India)

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Ram (Short for Seetharam Rai), I’m 30 Years Old and based out of Bangalore City in India, I’m not new to the fish keeping hobby, have been keeping fish since I was 12 years old. Gave up the hobby when I went to college and when I later started work. My primary interest is Aquascaping; In 2006 when I wanted to get back into the hobby, I started reading up on the internet and I came across some tanks by Takashi Amano and was just amazed, after that I started reading up on Nature Aquariums and started my first tank in late 2006, entered the IAPLC 2009 contest and was ranked 532. My family owns a tropical fish farm which is run by my elder brother, I look at the marketing aspects and supply chain for South India. I am also a consultant for Nature Aquariums.

When did you start breeding shrimps?

I was first introduced to shrimps by a fellow hobbyist in 2008; the shrimp that I got fascinated with was the Crystal Red Shrimps. To get to know the basics I started with Cherry Red Shrimps in Sep’08, was quite successful in keeping and breeding them. Got my first consignment of CRS in Sep’09 and so far have been quite successful in keeping and breeding them.

How many tanks do you currently have?

Currently have 8 Tanks, 3 of which are planted tanks and the rest are used for stocking fish, shrimps and plants.

How much time do you spend weekly (or daily) with the hobby?

I spend anywhere between 1-2 hrs a day observing my tanks, doing maintenance etc. Most of my time now is spent with the Crystal Red Shrimps, Checking on the adults and babies for any signs of things being good or bad, water parameters, maintenance and feeding.

Which breeding projects are you working on?

The only breeding project I am focusing on right now is the Crystal Red Shrimps.

What do you do with shrimp that don’t meet your breeding target?

So far I haven’t faced this situation, but if I do, these shrimps would be given to fellow hobbyists or would go into my community tanks.

What’s your favorite shrimp and why?

I guess its no surprise but its the Crystal Red Shrimps, These little critters really catch the eye with their bright red and white markings and watching a group of them is just amazing. Another aspect that is interesting to me is the number of variations that have been derived from these shrimps in terms of markings, patterns and color.

What are your basic tips for beginners?

Before you decide to keep any fish or invert, get as much information as possible on them about the kind of environment they need, feeding habits etc and ensure that you buy them only once you have all the necessary things in place to keep them happy. If you are dealing with sensitive and expensive species like Crystal Red Shrimp then there in not much room for making mistakes.

What are your plans for 2010?

As of now I am in the process of getting some Golden Crystal Red Shrimps and plan to introduce them into my existing batch, hopefully if things go well then I aim to develop some High grade Mosura variants in 2010. Apart from this Sulawesi Shrimps are something that has caught my attention, especially Harlequin and Cardinal, so hope on keeping them and breeding them as well in 2010.

Three WebPages you find useful:

• shrimpnow.com
• Indian Aquarium Hobbyist
• barrreport.com

The next aquaristic trend is/are:

Currently in India Nature Aquariums is catching on fast. Indian Native Fish keeping is also on a rise.

Your personal motto is?

‘You don’t live forever, create something that will.’

Joep van Esch

Tell us a little bit about yourself:

My name is Joep van Esch (nickname on the forum: Joepmaster). I live in Schiedam, the Netherlands with my girlfriend Debby, my son Storm. I am a certified judge of the European Halfmoon Betta Breeders Club (EHBBC) and currently apprentice judge of the International Betta Club (IBC). Besides my personal website www.bettaterritory.nl, I am the founder and owner of the International  Bettas4all forum (www.bettas4all.nl).

When did you start breeding betta?

As a kid I used to breed Budgerigars and several Australian parrot species for shows together with my father. When I was 20 I moved out of my parents house to study medical Biology I unfortunately had to stop breeding birds. In 2001 I moved to a bigger student room and finally had place to keep some animals again. I started with a few small aquariums to breed guppies. I became interested in bettas in 2002 by accidentally stumbling on a Dutch Betta forum. I found out that the set-up I had was very suitable for the keeping & breeding Betta splendens too. In March 2003 I obtained my first breeding pair and have been breeding Bettas ever since. I started out with longfinned halfmoons but since 2005 my breeding program is completely dedicated to shortfinned halfmoons, the so-called halfmoon plakat. To this date I have raised >85 spawns in my “Betta Territory” and have participated in 12 shows (in Germany, Switserland, France and the Netherlands) where my fish won several prices).

What are your basic tips for beginners?

When you want to breed bettas please consider the following important notes in order to make sure that you are able to give them the best care as possible: (1) One single spawn can produce up to 300 fry; (2) Around 2 months of age the young males have to be separated and jarred individually to prevent fighting and improve their growth. So make sure you have enough room for this; (3) Off course all your youngsters need to be fed with the best (live) foods available; (4) Taking care and raising the offspring will demand a lot of patience and time before they will reach maturity(feeding, changing water, cleaning, etc). and (5) Make sure that you financially are capable of supporting this hobby.

Work with your fish! Everybody can buy quality fish, but not everybody can breed quality fish! Usually the real breeders will stand up from the crowd as they are able to at least maintain or improve the quality of the line they initially acquired. Improving a line usually also means outcrossing to fish from another line in order to bring in the new desired traits you want to fix in the generations to come. At this moment people actually are creating their own unique line. Usually a breeder gets more satisfaction from working with the fish that he/she has bred him/herself. Working with your own fish also has a big advantage as you will get to know the genetic potential of your line. It sometimes can take multiple generations in order to find out what traits are hidden within a certain line. Do not be afraid to cross different colors and finnage types. We all want to reach our goals as quick as possible but usually this will need several generations. Several generations, means several years of work and this will require a lot of patience which is not always easy, but it is definitely worthwhile. Finally, I will end with one of the most important points when breeding bettas: Enjoy your hobby!

Which faults are made often and easy to avoid?

New hobbyists often underestimate the time it takes to breed and maintain a quality line of bettas. In their enthusiasm, they are easily tempted to purchase several color and finnage varieties to start with. By the time that they realize that they do not have the space and lack the time to raise all these youngsters it is often too late. Overwhelmed by the amount of work, the hobbyist is not able to give the fish the necessary care which will negatively influence the outgrowth and the health of the fish. Sick fish and disappointing results are often the cause of the fact that many promising new hobbyists quit our hobby. In the long run it therefore might be better to keep your focus.

What are your plans for 2010?

To further improve my red and iridescent HM PK lines towards a more symmetrical type (strong bodies, broad dorsal and short parallel anals).

Three webpages you find useful:

• EHBBC.org: Website of the European Halfmoon Breeders Club (Germany).
• bettysplendens.nl: Website of Victoria Parnell-Starke (USA)
• siamimbellis.com: Website of Sarawut Angkununawat (Thailand)

The next aquaristic trend is/are:

In general, I would say nano tanks. With respect to the betta hobby, new trends are dragons, crowntail plakats and symmetrical halfmoon plakats.

Your personal motto is?

Work with your fish!