[Clintaceous]

Unfortunately I cannot post a pic of the tank for a while, but I can tell you parameters and such.

GH: 7 (aim for 6, straight out the tap is 3)
KH: 5 (aim for 6, straight out the tap is 2)
pH: 7.6 without CO2, 6.8-6.6 with CO2 (pH is 7.2 in the mornings. I have the cylinder turn on and off throughout the day to prevent it from being gassed. Can't seem to get the bps to stay consistent, it always speeds up. What I have setup now works though)
Temp: 18-20C (64-68F)
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm (Only due to ferts. Biomass is not high enough to affect it with plants)
TDS: ?
Inhabitants: Ramshorn snails, Alpine newts (apparently the breeder keeps some shrimp with his, and I've heard others do it with other newts species, so it seems possible)

The tank is very heavily planted. There still is much to be desired in vertical growth (a little less than halfway up), but looking down into the tank you can't see much of the substrate. There is also a rock outcrop with driftwood amongst it that the shrimp could hang out and hide in. I also have weeping moss attached to the driftwood that is filling out quite nicely right now.

I looked at various photos today to see if I could make up my mind. I think rili is the way to go, just which rili is what I'm having difficulty with. When I was first looking this up, I really wanted to get crystal black or red shrimp, but their KH requirements put me off. I figured I couldn't keep them, but the white & black or white & red really stands out and I love it!

 

[Clintaceous]

Thanks for the suggestions. Maybe one day I'll do a skittles tank, but for now I'm going to stick to a "clean" look with one colour.

I'm still in the process of making my decision though! Right now its bloody mary, painted fire red, sunkist orange, carbon rili, blue velvet or blue dream.

I know it has a lot to do with how they were bred, but of these colours which one tends to breed the most true? I've heard bloody marys will throw way more colours and culls (excuse my ignorance, still learning shrimp lingo) than painted reds for example.

 

[Clintaceous]

Thought I'd close this thread off by saying I opted for blue, as eventually I'll add fish that will most likely have reds and yellows. Having shrimp in that colour too might be a bit too much

 

[Clintaceous]

Really? I thought blue dreams and velvets were davidii, and blue jellies were palmata as palmata make up the snowball shrimp right?

Anyway, the supplier has them labeled as Davidii

 

[Clintaceous]

You'll know once you receive them.

How do you tell the difference? Is it the size? Shape? I don't think I'd be able to tell the difference. Heck, if you placed a Caridina and Neocaridina of the exact same colour next to one another I'd assume they were the same species! I can only tell them apart because of their different colour schemes