Page 21 - lukhaup_pekny_invertebrates
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Taiwan Bee Shrimp or Shadow Shrimp
A new generation

  New colour morphs originating from Taiwan             colour morphs are created from this new shrimp        SHRIMP
have caused a lot of excitement in the shrimp scene     generation at astonishing speed.
during the last years. The breeders at first gave them
imaginative names like Panda Bee, King Kong, Blue         For breeding Shadow Bee Shrimp, water pa-
Bolt, Black Diamond, Red Amber or Red Ruby. All         rameters of 200 µS/cm and a pH of 6.4 to 6.9 have
of these shrimp are known as Taiwan Bee Shrimp          proven suitable. Temperatures ought to be in the
in Europe. In Asia and among breeders in all the        range of 22 to 24 °C (72 to 75 °F) for successful
world, they are called Shadow Shrimp, Shadow            breeding. The shrimp can be kept at a greater tem-
Bee Shrimp or Shadow Bees. Meanwhile, for better        perature range of 17 and 26 °C (63 to 79 °F), even
orientation and description, a classification system    with temporary variations, just like their ancestors
has been established for these colour morphs.           were used to in their natural habitats. Breeding
                                                        tanks are, as a rule, planted sparingly, with mosses
  The arrival of the first Shadow Bee Shrimp in         or undemanding plants like Vallisneria.
Japan and Europe triggered a major hype around
these beautiful shrimp in specialised forums and        Shadow Bee Grades
with breeders, quite similar to the interest the
shrimp from the Ancient Lakes of Sulawesi had            Black or Red Shadow lined
stirred only a short time before.                        Black or Red Shadow banded
                                                         Black or Red Shadow saddled
  There are several theories how the Shadow Bee          Black or Red Shadow Hinomaru
has come into existence. Some sources say the new        Full Black or Red Shadow
colour morphs were probably created through a            Black or Red Shadow Mosura
spontaneous mutation that is said to have occurred       Black or Red Shadow Mosura Spotted Head
in the tank of a breeder of the highly variable Red      (aka Pinto)
Bee Shrimp in Taiwan. A comparable development           Black or Red Shadow Multistripe
was observed earlier on in Germany, however, the         Blue Bolt
outcome was not as attractive. Another theory says       Red Bolt
that Shadow Shrimp are a result of a cross between
Tiger and Bee Shrimp. In our opinion, this theory
is viable, as some German breeders have managed
to achieve good results from deliberately crossing
Tiger and Bee Shrimp (Red Bee Shrimp).

  In the beginning, breeders did not follow the
most obvious course of only breeding Shadow Bees
together, as would be the layman’s way to go. The
first specimens were crossbred with standard Red
Bee and other Bee Shrimp variants and thus, a lot of
lines of mixed heritage were created. In the opinion
of the breeders, this led to more robust, less suscep-
tible offspring. By now, many stable lines of Shadow
Bee Shrimp have been created, and they form the
basis for a new generation of beautiful shrimp. New

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