Hello friends! Back again with another blog post and this time, we will be talking about price versus quality.

I’m sure many of you have done some shopping around the world as how technology makes it so easy for us to contact anyone in this world now. That would make comparing prices with different breeders so much more easier.

However, there is always a trade off between price and quality. When the deal is too good to be true, it usually is. So let’s talk more about what qualities to look for when purchasing shrimps from someone else.

DISCLAIMER: I would always suggest heading down personally to view what you purchase if you are purchasing premium shrimps.

Appearance
Needless to say, this is one of the most important aspect of purchasing your dream shrimp. The actual appearance of shrimp would usually differ from pictures, so it would always be good to request a video of the actual shrimp from the seller if you are paying premium.

Shrimps would usually look better in pictures as they can be enhanced by picture editor applications or a good camera would just take good pictures of shrimps.

Gene pool
Gene pool is one important factor as that would determine the percentage of your offsprings. When viewing the shrimp tank of the breeder, make sure that there is a good amount of shrimplets that look like the parent shrimp in the tank. Reason for that is because some breeders, they purchase shrimps from other breeders and interbreed them with their own. Therefore, the shrimp lineage would be different from the original and thus the gene pool might be mixed up.

However, for this case, it can only be controlled to a certain extend as they can also purchase shrimplets from other breeders and put them in their tanks. Always ask more questions about the shrimps you are purchasing, reputable breeders would spend more time explaining on their shrimp genetics and history.

Size
Breeders tend to sell juvenile shrimps at a cheaper price as the full coloration and pattern has not been shown. It is a gamble to purchase these juvenile shrimps as shrimps below 1.4cm have yet to show their true potential of it’s appearance.

Adult shrimps that are ready to mate will cost you close to twice the amount of a juvenile shrimp. But still, it’s worth the investment as one batch of offspring would give you about 15-20 shrimplets! Another tip on buying adult shrimps is to ask the breeder how old the shrimps are. If the shrimp is too old, they tend to be more sensitive to change of environment, when transferring them to your tank, they might be too fragile and die. So get shrimps that are about 10-12 months old, they are the optimum size for breeding.

These are just some of the things that I will take note of. Most reputable breeders will not try to cheat you as they want to uphold their reputation. They may be more costly, but you can have a peace of mind buying their shrimps. I hope these tips could help you with your shopping for your dream shrimp. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me an email at demin@madshrimp.com.