PFR vs Supreme Red breeding

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

I made a rant about how overrated PFRs are, but I lost it and I don't want to type it all out again. X/ In short, I have had very little success breeding PFRs, mostly because they dropped almost all of their eggs. All my parameters were fine, and I was doing everything I should have. Now that I'm ordering Nick's awesome Supreme Reds, I was wondering how they compare in terms of breeding.

[mordalphus]

Same, they're both the same thing... A really red cherry. I wouldn't expect anything different. You should have success with either one.

[ravensgate]

Originally Posted by mordalphus

Same, they're both the same thing... A really red cherry. I wouldn't expect anything different. You should have success with either one.

+1 I have both. Used to have them in separate tanks and different params and they bred fine. Now have them all in one tank with different params from their original tanks and they still breed fine. No difference noted. I had a problem with my PFRs dropping eggs when I first got them and I had been doing too many water changes and was vacuuming the gravel as well. Stressed them to the max and they would drop eggs within days of berrying. Went to changing water once every two weeks and never touching the substrate. By the time I tore down the PFR tank I had over 200 babies in a 3 gallon tank And that was even after selling 50-100 a month.

[bostoneric]

i just read an article today about how higher grade shrimp (PRL/PBL/ETC) which have been breed for deeper/brighter/etc colors tend to have thicker shells and this sometimes is why they are harder to raise/breed. thicker shells means molting is harder on them.

BUT like mordalphus says, and i've experienced. cherries or BKK or BB or pinto or etc etc.. if you have the right conditions they should all breed with no issues.

[sbarbee54]

Yeah mine breed in anything. I threw a handful of PFR culls in a bucket full water and floaters and forgot about it for 2 months. Pulled all the floaters out and probably had 40-50 shrimp now.

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

Well, time to get out the test kits.

[acitydweller]

The egg dropping is inconsequential of the breed and likely more so of the environment. Are the TDS shifting in the tank due to ferts or water change? stability is key in building a successful colony up.

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

Results:
pH: 7.6
dKH: 5
dGH: 7
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 40
Phosphates: 3(?)
TDS: 283

Obv. nitrates are a little high, but they certainly have not been this way always.

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

So, how are my params for Supreme Red neos?

[speedie408]

I keep all my neos in very hard tap. Check out our water quality report: http://www.valleywater.org/WorkArea/...t.aspx?id=9063

The thing to keep in mind with placing them into softer water is that they will molt even when they don't need to yet so you'll run into molting problems, which ultimately leads to death in most cases. This is why it's important to try to mimic the originating water params as best as you can... or just drip acclimate for up to 8hrs. Something I haven't tried myself but would recommend if you're not planning to match water params.

[ThatGuyWithTheFish]

Originally Posted by speedie408

I keep all my neos in very hard tap. Check out our water quality report: http://www.valleywater.org/WorkArea/...t.aspx?id=9063

The thing to keep in mind with placing them into softer water is that they will molt even when they don't need to yet so you'll run into molting problems, which ultimately leads to death in most cases. This is why it's important to try to mimic the originating water params as best as you can... or just drip acclimate for up to 8hrs. Something I haven't tried myself but would recommend if you're not planning to match water params.

What's your hardness? pH seems to be what yours is too.

[speedie408]

My tap tds is ~390. My kh and gh are off the charts last time I used the API test kit. I no longer bother testing kh and gh anymore.

[Betta Maniac]

Originally Posted by speedie408

My tap tds is ~390.

Wow. Mine is 33 and we don’t live all that far apart. This really illustrates why a TDS meter is so necessary. Clearly our water sources are very different.

[speedie408]

Tonda,

You guys get Hetch Hetchy runoff. Very soft compared to the hard South Bay well water we get.

[sbarbee54]

Yeah it is all about your source water. Mine and Sacramento are differnt as they pull from the Sac river, we pull from Folsom lake. Ours is all rain and snow run off from the mountains. They pull from the valleys up north