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It is not quite clear where Snow White shrimp come from and different theories are discussed in the net. As far as we know by now, there are two different strains:

A pure white Snow White which shows very light and brilliant white color. It comes from selected Chrystal Black (Black Bee) or Crystal Red shrimp (Red Bee). Some tend to have a bluish touch. This shrimps are probably the ancestors of the Taiwan Bee called ‘Blue Bolt Shrimp.

The Golden Snow or Skeleton Snow has a warm golden or even pinkish shade. It’s origin is mysterious too. Some say it comes from Crystal Red (Red Bee) shrimp and recessive to red. Others say it is a special kind of its own.

The reason why the genetically background is discussed controversially is that not every Snow White or Golden Snow seems to have identical genetic information. The results one can get by mating:

• Golden Snow X Golden Snow = Golden Snow
• Snow White X Snow White = Snow White, Grade SSS, Grade SS

High Grade (Picture by http://benibachi.ocnk.net)

The question how a good coloration of CR shrimp can be archieved, is often heard among shrimp keepers. While red and black are not that difficult, a thick and brilliant white colouration challenges breeders worldwide. But what exactly characterizes a high quality shrimp?

Line breeding in common genectical sense means, that a certain group of shrimps produces offspring and that out of these juveniles only the best are chosen for further breeding. Good breeders may reject 90% or even more of the offspring to guarantee high quality. Attributes for chosing a shrimp are: healthyness, behavior, coloration and pattern. It is possible to breed around 15 shrimp generations before you have to do to widen the gene pool by doing some in-crossing.

High grade shrimp from Asia are often described as ‘pure red line’ shrimp. Pure red line shrimp should have NOT been crossed in former generations with Golden Snow or Snow White shrimps. That’s why the white is more brilliant. It indeed is true that crossing CR with Golden Snow brings higher grades, but the coloration is suffering because brilliant white is turning yellowish or reddish.

One very succesful breeder of ‘pure red line’ CR shrimp, AlonsoT from Taiwan, has shared his tank parameters to us:

PH: 6.0-6.5
dGH: 5-6
TDS: 250
Temp: 24 degree celsius
water change once a week

(More details and pictures here)

The aquanet.tv-team has visited the shrimp farm of Mr. Yeh in China where ~350.000 shrimps in 1000 tanks are bred. Take a closer look at the video here.

Chrystal Red Shrimp

How to breed Chrystal Red shrimps best is discussed worldwide in forums and hobbiest’s networks. Everybody has his own experiences, secrets and advises to get offspring regularly. Actually CR shrimps are yet a product of mass production in southern Asia. Indonesian companies breed CR, Bee and Tiger shrimp for Japanese market. Here, all of the costs are lower; particularly electricity, water and manpower.

Relying to an article in ‘Amazonas‘ magazine [1] CV Maju Aquarium sells around 100.000 CR shrimp every month. Excellent water quality (temperature 23-24 C, ph 6,5-6,8) is the most important factor for effective breeding. So check out the full article and learn from professional shrimp breeders.

[1] Amazonas (1-2009, p. 19)