Bumblebee Color Variation Questions - Updated!

Post by **Mustafa** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:45 pm

Various sources. Most of them were imported, but I got one batch of "home-bred" ones from Germany, too. I am pretty sure I have isolated the problem, though.

I am getting another batch soon and things should work out much better.

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 11:08 am

Please let us know, what the problem was

I have 7 bumblebees left, and I like to keep them alive - and hopefully breed them.

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 12:17 am

Well my Bumblebees are doing fine.
Yesterday three of the shrimps were svimming round and round and round all day. In the same way my Amanos and RCS males do the day before mating.
This morning I discovered a empty shell and a female with eggs

GunmetalBlue · Post by **GunmetalBlue** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 10:46 am

blenny wrote:Not only mood and environment. I was in Southern China, the place where bee/bumblebee are caught and send out. Bee shrimps from different creek has slight variation in pattern/color.

Hey Blenny, that's really interesting. And I would imagine each creek might have a slightly different water parameter too. So overall, with the Bumblebee variations, no two alike!

Bo, now that's just not fair...

Haha, just kidding, congrats! There's still some critical weeks ahead, hope she holds on to those precious eggs. Would you mind sharing: 1.) Temp range and the highest your tank gets, 2.) PH range and is your water on the soft or hard side? 3.) Is yours a low maintenance style tank or do you have things going on in there? Thanks for sharing pic - looks like brownish or dark eggs?

-GB

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Wed Aug 17, 2005 1:06 pm

GunmetalBlue:
The temperature is between 23-26 degrees celcius. Just after i bought the shrimps we had a couple of very warm weeks. The temperature rised to 27-28 degrees celcius. The shrimps didn't seem to like that, and i lost half of them.
I can't give the water-parameters, because i haven't measured it.
But i presume it's hard and slightly acidic.
Our tap-water is pretty hard and I have a little air-driven filter filled with peat and gravel in the tank.
The tank is a low maintenance tank. I feed the shrimps and change 1/4-1/3 of the water once a week - nothing else.
Two days before the female was carrying eggs, I changed half of the water in the tank with cold tap-water and introduced a piece of wood covedered with Javaferns, Javamos and algae.
Yes the eggs are dark brown/gray.
I hope you have luck with your Bumblebees

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:22 am

She has dropped most of the eggs overnight.
This morning the water temperature was 26,9 degrees Celcius. It has probably been warmer last night.
She is only carrying three eggs now.

Post by **Mustafa** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 9:51 am

Sorry to hear that...by the way..you have a different species of "bumblebee" shrimp than what I have listed in my shrimp varieties page. Yours was actually tentatively identified as Caridina cf. breviata. Mine could not be identified yet....(which means I have to take down the Caridina cf. breviata identification for absolute correctness).

GunmetalBlue · Post by **GunmetalBlue** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 7:15 pm

Aww, sorry about the dropped eggs, Bo. There'll be another chance to try again, hopefully. Thanks for your tank info.

Mustafa wrote:I am pretty sure I have isolated the problem, though. I am getting another batch soon and things should work out much better.

Sounds good; don't forget to share some guidelines for these little guys when things are ironed out. I always wondered why, on the Shrimp Varieties page, there are no PH guidlelines for the shrimps. I take it temp range is more crucial to success rather than PH? Or are there other reasons PH range/preferences is not listed?

-GB

Post by **Mustafa** » Sun Aug 21, 2005 8:08 pm

I do not have PH guidelines for the shrimp because I do not believe in generalizations. In their natural habitats many shrimp live under varying water conditions. For example the Sri Lanka Algae Eating Shrimp can be found at PH 5.5 in its habitat but I have successfully kept and bred it at PH 7.6. In my experience a Neutral PH (approximately) suits all shrimp species I have kept very well.

If I discover that a certain PH range suits a particular species especially well I will include it in its profile but I am trying to refrain from most generalizations you see on some other websites where the authors just take a wild guess on a "suitable ph range" and include this guess on their websites as credible information.

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 5:30 pm

She is still holding on to three eggs

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:17 am

I just found this 4-5 mm. long baby in my bumblebee tank

BlueEL · Post by **BlueEL** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:22 am

wow the baby looks very cute, is that mom or dad right next it?
Btw, how many bumblebees did you start with?

[quote="bochr"]I just found this 4-5 mm. long baby in my bumblebee tank

bochr · Post by **bochr** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 1:29 pm

I bought 14 and have 3 males and 3 females left - and a baby

The adult shrimp is a female but not the mom.

This is the same female with a male in the foreground.

BlueEL · Post by **BlueEL** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 3:27 pm

I Love baby bumble bees as they tend to show black and white strips much more clearly than adults. I having hard time just keeping them alive for more than month, never thought of breeding. They must love your tank envirnoment

, you will have more than 14 very soon!

Btw, do you keep them in the same tank as other shrimps?

bochr wrote:I bought 14 and have 3 males and 3 females left - and a baby
The adult shrimp is a female but not the mom.

This is the same female with a male in the foreground.

GunmetalBlue · Post by **GunmetalBlue** » Fri Oct 21, 2005 10:01 pm

Bo - so the egg(s) DID hatch, wow!!! Too cute.

You are one of only a few members that's had Bumblebee shrimplets - good job, I'm envious. I hope I can do the same one of these days. It's also really interesting that you have the Bumblebee variety that starts with a white head.

-GB