We used to stock Crystal Red Grade A's a long time ago but demand just wasn't really there. Since then, the hobby has come on some what and now I believe the demand is beginning to grow and hobbyists are prepared to invest in quality live stock. It's always exciting to see shrimp arrive, packed in their little bags all clinging onto the filter floss, waiting for their new home.
Crystal Red Shrimp (CRS) are growing in popularity due to their lovely colouration. The red and white banding on them is what makes them so very different to other shrimp and more importantly they really stand out in a planted aquarium. If you have ever seen Grade A or higher CRS you will know exactly what I mean. Today there are lots of different variants on the market of Grade A shrimps so the message I want to get across is what grade A represents and how you know if you are getting the 'real macoy'. The best way to describe the banding on Grade A CRS is that you get a fairly decent white banding. By decent I mean, pretty good, far from perfect but the white stands out from the red and it looks reasonably solid. The higher the grade, the better the banding. Have a look at the picture below:
This is a Grade A CRS. If you invest in this type of shrimp from us this is what you will receive. You see how the white is fairly solid but not quite there. But don't despair if you are looking to improve the white banding, then you can do so with Genchem White Pellet. We've been using this product on our CRS for 2 months now and the improvement is noticeable.
So are there any special requirements of CRS? Not especially but you have to make sure you treat them with a bit of caution. They are more sensitive than other shrimp because their gene pool is so much smaller than other shrimp such as Cherry or Tiger Shrimp. However we treat all of our shrimp the same way so don't let it deter you. We feed them a broad range of foods and use the Genchem range of shrimp conditioners to get the best out of them. So if you're thinking, maybe I should treat yourself today as you won't regret it.You can see our CRS Grade A by clicking on this link.
If you're looking for more information on grading and shrimp in general, I recommend having a look at Plantet Inverts.
