When it comes to grading shrimps it can be relatively tricky to answer as there are a plethora of species, on top of that various lines you can select for, you also have crossing capabilities with Caridinas so it can get muddy.
For Neocaridina, it is more straightforward, the stronger the specific colour type on the cherry shrimps, the higher the grade. There are various colourations including red, blue, orange, yellow, white, green, with variations in shading as well. Of, course there are Rili types that have a pattern element to them as well, but the overall consensus for cherry shrimps is more colouration on/in overall body means higher grade.
Standard grading elements that are looked at when selecting shrimps can include the following:
- Colouration intensity on the shell
- Leg – patterns & colours barely visible or really strong
- Shape of the shrimp to judge health, and the overall shell thickness
- Patterns, this is especially crucial for types such as pinto shrimps
- Lineage – meaning overall consistency of the line (% wise what comes out)
This list structure to grading may not apply to all shrimp variants, but it applies to the majority, with colour being the most important contributing factor, in my opinion.
For Caridina it gets messy, and nuances will be missed but, I’ll try my best to cover all the fundamentals. With Caridina such as Taiwan Bees, normally colour & shell coverage isn’t a major issue you would need to select, rather it’s mostly lineage, so consistency with each batch of juveniles produced. For Red/ Black King Kongs, Wines, Pandas, Ruby Reds/ Blacks the colour is already great. Lines such as Bluebolts, Shadow Pandas, Mosura Bluebolts, the colouring could definitely be improved upon via selecting or crossing.
Another major segment of the Caridina include the Pintos, this area gets messy as it’s relatively new, & high grades are constantly evolving as time passes. Although colour is still important, with Pintos pattern would be equally valuable during the selection process as the variations in patterns give meaning to the pinto, say if it has galaxy + tiger striping, it’ll be known as a [insert colour] galaxy tiger pinto. Due, to the complexity of the patterns, getting consistent offspring’s is rather difficult and you should take caution to those selling with 80-90% offspring’s rated. Realistically the higher quality the line, the lower the percentage you should expect. Say for example, for a BOA, the cream of the crop offspring’s would only be 30-40%, the rest probably falling under stardust, galaxy fishbones or other lower pattern grades. Hence, for pintos the lineage is extremely important if you want less work on your end for culling.
With other miscellaneous lines, it can be difficult to find a target to reach towards in terms of grading and selecting, I’ll recommend to try for best colours and consistency in overall colony of what you find appealing to breed.