Caridina poso.
If you want to help us with breeding of endangered species from the Sulawesi lakes, please first be aware that these are species that are specific and demanding to breed. They are unsuitable for beginners and require considerable experience.
Even in Sulawesi we can find riverine species of shrimps with a large area of distribution, which are adaptable and easy to breed. However, the interest of breeders in mainly focused on lake endemics, which need to be protected. We will deal with them in this article. They occur only in large natural lakes, where the water has very specific and stable parameters. In other conditions, they usually do not prosper, they suffer and eventually die.
The composition of the water in the aquarium should be similar to the water in the lakes, so it is advisable to first demineralize the water using reverse osmosis and then add special mineral salts. The pH value and hardness of the water are very important and should be measured on a regular basis. Substrates that lower the pH of the water or contain fertilizers should not be used in the aquarium; it is also not desirable to have a tank densely planted, as the pH may fluctuate considerably due to photosynthesis. . To maintain stable parameters, a larger tank volume and regular changes of a smaller part of water are more suitable. Water changes should again be made with reverse osmosis water and added minerals.
These animals require a higher water temperature, which should be close to 30 °C, so a heater with a thermostat is necessary. They are sensitive to nitrites and ammonia in water, so we need good filtration and a well cycled tank with stable parameters before releasing shrimps there.
Sulawesi shrimps are tiny (about 2 cm) and therefore must not be kept in the company larger of predatory fish, as they would be easy prey for them. It is ideal to keep them separately in a single-species tank, or with other invertebrates from the Sulawesi lakes, such as snails of the genus Tylomelania, who prefer similar living conditions.
In addition to the complexity of breeding, consider the price of these animals, which is often higher than for other more widespread and undemanding shrimps. It is appropriate to keep a group of more individuals, so the cost is rising. The potential husbandry mistake can be even more painful, not to mention that these are endangered animals.
It is difficult to maintain a long-term prosperous population of shrimps from Sulawesi lakes, but all the more so we need to cooperate, help each other and learn from each other.
Kateřina Schrimpelová
