Difference between Fire Red and Sakura shrimps?

[bluesilver]

I have seen some definitions online saying that Sakura are lower-grade Fire Red, and other definitions saying that Sakura have a pink streak along the back.

But, I have seen 2 types of the so-called "Fire Red/Sakura" shrimps commonly sold. One is a very fiery red colour, while another is a very deep pink colour, like darker sakura flowers. Both are very striking and both clearly come from the original Red Cherry through selective breeding of Neocaridina davidi.

Common sense tells me that the original breeders intended for "Sakura" shrimps to mean those deep pink shrimps, while "Fire Red" shrimps mean those shrimps with a fiery red colour, but the names got mixed up a lot over the years because they were being sold as either names.

Low-grade Fire Red shrimps should just be called lower-grade Fire Red shrimps, not "Sakura" shrimps, because the names invoke two different images.

I have attached two images (one of which I believe depicts true Sakura Shrimps and the other depicts true Fire Red shrimps).

Sources:
1. http://youtu.be/CAZxt1cMDFM
2. http://shrimpusa.com/shop/neocaridin...ed-neocardina/

On a side note, it seems that, in Singapore, those deep pink shrimps are rarer as compared to the fiery red shrimps, but I have seen them here before.

What do you shrimp hobbyists think? Should there be a clear distinction between these shrimps so as to give proper recognition to both breeds of shrimps and their original breeders?

[SwordZ]

Hi there! The first picture is of the painted fire red, while the second one is of the normal fire red. Definately not sakura grade. Sakuras are not completely covered in red and have some white patches. The painted fire red is considered the rarest one of all and I only have 1 in my colony of 20+ fire red shrimps.

The grading of shrimps vary from person to person: a normal fire red may seem to be a high grade sakura and vice versa. Personally I think a sakura grade looks like this

Credits to the owner

[Urban Aquaria]

Yeah, breeders like to give various names to grade their shrimps (all the fancy names start coming out)... but in general locally, when we see LFS label their shrimps, the sakura grade ones are like the photo that SwordZ posted (shell color are in speckles and still have transparent areas), while the fire red grade ones are like the ones you posted (shell color are solid), whether they are pinkish soil or reddish solid will depend on the source.

Here is a common RCS grading guide that most people base upon:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...re-Red-Shrimps

Note that when you see photos of shrimps on the internet, their red color also depends on the tank lighting, the camera's color balance and photoshop color filters used, it can make pinkish shrimps look dark red and vice versa.

Quite often i see nice fire reds in LFS tanks, but when i net them out into a container, their color tun out to be pale red... thanks to those "color enhancement" shop lights.

[Urban Aquaria]

Btw... i managed to find an old photos of a group of my cherry shrimps:



These were 3rd or 4th generation offspring from a batch of fire reds (which were solid "medium" red in color)... as you can see, the offspring range from pinkish to orangey to reddish to darker red, yet they were all from the same parent shrimps.

I guess whether the shrimps are more pinkish or more reddish just depends on how they are culled or separated by the breeders to line breed the specific color traits, but when left alone to breed on their own without much culling over a few generations (like in my case), all the different shades of red start popping out.

So the puzzle is, if i separate the pinkish shrimps from the orangey shrimps and from the reddish shrimps and sell them, do i list that they came from 3 different breeders? Even though they all came from the same parent fire red shrimps.

[SwordZ]

Yeah, breeders like to give various names to grade their shrimps (all the fancy names start coming out)... but in general locally, when we see LFS label their shrimps, the sakura grade ones are like the photo that SwordZ posted (shell color are in speckles and still have transparent areas), while the fire red grade ones are like the ones you posted (shell color are solid), whether they are pinkish soil or reddish solid will depend on the source.

Here is a common RCS grading guide that most people base upon:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...re-Red-Shrimps

Note that when you see photos of shrimps on the internet, their red color also depends on the tank lighting, the camera's color balance and photoshop color filters used, it can make pinkish shrimps look dark red and vice versa.

Quite often i see nice fire reds in LFS tanks, but when i net them out into a container, their color tun out to be pale red... thanks to those "color enhancement" shop lights.

Hi UA. I think their colors fade due to them being momentarily stressed. When I pick my shrimps for sale, their colors fade too!

[jovinceino]

Hi UA. I think their colors fade due to them being momentarily stressed. When I pick my shrimps for sale, their colors fade too!

Yeah. Bring the shrimps home for a good tanning session. Colors would be back.

[Urban Aquaria]

Hi UA. I think their colors fade due to them being momentarily stressed. When I pick my shrimps for sale, their colors fade too!

Yeah. Bring the shrimps home for a good tanning session. Colors would be back.

Yeah, that does tend to happen with sakura or lower grade fire reds, though i've noticed the fire reds with solid red shells usually retain their color even when stressed, its almost like a permanent suit of red plate armor.

I was actually referring to the shrimps housed in LFS tanks that use those pinkish "color enhancement" lights. Those lights make the shrimps look alot redder than they really are (which is the main intention anyways). Put the collection container under the pinkish lights and the shrimps inside look super red with nice solid shells... but move the container away from the lights, they turn out to be less red with speckled shells. Put them back under the pinkish light and they become super red again. It can be abit of a headache when trying to select the nicer shrimps to buy.

[jovinceino]

UA, if you can't win them, join them.

Buy those color enhancement lights for your shrimps. Haha

[Urban Aquaria]

UA, if you can't win them, join them.

Buy those color enhancement lights for your shrimps. Haha

Haha, i know what you mean... i actually bought one of those pinkish lights a while back to try out, makes the tanks look abit like pink alien scapes, but the colors on the shrimps and fishes look incredible, its like tuning the color saturation on them to beyond maximum level.

[SwordZ]

Whoops, my bad Does the lights help even in planted tanks?

[Urban Aquaria]

Whoops, my bad Does the lights help even in planted tanks?

Well, their light spectrums are designed more for making the colors on fishes more intense... but in a planted tank it also tends to make the plants look abit weird.

[Streamer]

Haa haa i guess you cant have the best if both worlds...

[SwordZ]

Haa haa i guess you cant have the best of both worlds...

Yup but nothing is impossible