So... I'm Brainstorming a Bit...

[rich_one]

DOH!

sorry guys... I got my wires crossed. here is where I got the amanoes, and where I plan on ordering the other shrimp:

http://www.invertzfactory.com/stocklist.htm

I stupid sometimes.

I was just at Ryan's site for research, when I confused him for Milalic (Pedro) for a second. and while Pedro does not have some of my intended items on his current stocklist, I believe he can get some of them somewhere down the road. so if there are any red flags with Pedro, THAT I need to know, because that is who I have planned on dealing with... not Ryan. sorry for the mistake! LOL...

[PadreJP]

No, pedro is a really good guy from all I know. He's active on a couple of the big shrimp sites, and is a moderator for at least one of them (the inverts forum on Aquatic Plant Central). He usually goes by the forum tag milalic.

Shrimp breeders I most trust, based on my own experience with them or recommendations from people I trust
Mustafa Ucozler (Petshrimp.com)
Bill Southern (Arizona Inverts) (goes by forum name southerndesert on most sites)
Pedro (Invertz Factory / APC / etc.)
msjinkzd (moderator at AquariaCentral.com)


Ones I would avoid
Ryan Wood (Planet Inverts)
Arizona Aquatic Gardens (azgardens.com)

Neither list is by any means complete but at least it's a start. As for the "avoid" list, well I've already spoken about Ryan and as for AZGardens.com, well, I've heard from no less than 4 people (all shrimp experts) who have ordered from them and had the company send them incorrect (or mislabeled) shrimp.

[rich_one]

thanks for the recommendations, Padre! I'll check those sources out as I get closer to being ready for the shrimp.

[rich_one]

Arizona Inverts is pretty cool... thanks for the link again, Padre!

[ingg]

Won't deal with Mustafa just because he has a complex on his forums, but yeah.

[PadreJP]

IMO, Arizona Inverts is the best shrimp forum to join just for the sake of "talking shrimp" with other hobbyists. I used to always use Petshrimp.com as my main shrimp forum site, but that site is less active and the site owner/mod (Mustafa), while probably the most knowledgable shrimp keeper in the entire country, can be a bit of a...pain. He has a short temper (especially for any violations of his forum rules) and can come off pretty abrasive. If you have a technical question that no one else can answer, that's the place to go. But for more general discussions, it's not necessarily the most welcoming, friendly site.

That is where Arizona Inverts thrives. Bill Southern (site owner/mod) is just a great guy, the folks there are really friendly, they are happy to help even the newest of newbies, and because Bill has some really generous settings in terms of the ability to post photos, you will see some just AMAZING photos on that site. Stunning. (Just one example: check out the picture of the berried Golden Bee shrimp in post #9 in this thread. Absolutely incredible...)

Anyway, I'm now a big believer in Arizona Inverts as my favorite shrimp forum on the net. Anyone with an interest in shrimp should check it out! (P.S. - My forum name there is JohnPaul, not PadreJP.)

[magsdez]

rich one, how's the discus tank going? I'll keep you updated on the danos.

[rich_one]

discus tank is not going yet... that is the last of my renovation projects. once I get the 33 gallon stocked, and aging, and the same with the 55 in my bedroom, I will then focus on the 55 in my family room, where the discus are going to go.

man... talk about a lot of projects... lol...

[rich_one]

I do believe I may tune down my shrimp ambitions though, and just do some more research. I know the cherries and will do them because despite how common they are, they are still my favorites. but I want to look into more info about these dark greens. I'd really like to have two different species in the same tank that will breed, but not interbreed... but I also need to stay within my bounds so I'm not killing shrimp! lol. I kind of like those blue pearls... but I don't know.

anyway... like with the rest of this stuff... I guess I'll see how it unfolds over the next few months and so.

oh... btw... was doing some reading on dwarf crays... are these guys escape artists?

[PadreJP]

I'd really like to have two different species in the same tank that will breed, but not interbreed... but I also need to stay within my bounds so I'm not killing shrimp! lol. I kind of like those blue pearls... but I don't know.

Blue Pearls should not be kept with RCS. They are different species but so closely related that they are presumed to hybridize. Thus, to be safe, in one tank it is generally considered possible to have only one of the following list:

• Red Cherry (Neocaridina heteropoda var. red)
  Yellow (Neocaridina heteropoda var. yellow)
  Snowball (Neocaridina zhangjiajiensis var. white)
  Blue Pearl (Neocaridina zhangjiajiensis var. blue)
  "Green" shrimp (Neocaridina sp. 'green')
  "Wild" Neocaridina (Neocaridina sp.)

What is less clear to me is whether anyone has actually observed/tracked crossbreeding between one of the heteropoda species and one of the zhangjiajiensis species. In other words, has it be demonstrated they interbreed, or only suspected? I don't know the answer to that question.

oh... btw... was doing some reading on dwarf crays... are these guys escape artists?

I've only heard one or two brief reports of this, and those have always been from (in my mind) dubious sources. I know the larger freshwater crays in the hobby are most certainly escape artists, so it makes me wonder if someone simply had a juvenile alleni or clarkii and thought they had a dwarf cray, thus leading to the reports. I don't know for sure. All I know is from the half dozen or so experienced dwarf cray breeders I know, I've never heard any reports from them about the crays showing any inclination whatsoever to leave the tank.