Designing records for large cherry shrimp colonies

Planning target

200 shrimp per week

Count type

Estimate unless individually counted

Lines in project notes

Multiple colour lines

Core record

Colony, grade and movement

Track the colony as a living population

Fish are often tracked as individuals or clear batches. Cherry shrimp are different. Adults, juveniles and tiny shrimplets share the same surfaces, hide in plants and move constantly. A precise count may be impossible without dismantling the tank and causing more harm than the number is worth.

AquaNexus therefore needs to support colony estimates, confidence levels and observed trends rather than forcing false precision.

Keep colour lines identifiable

The project notes include red, yellow, jade, blue dream and darker black-brown Neocaridina lines. Whether every line remains active should be confirmed before publication, but the record principle is stable: each colony needs a line name, source, tank, start date and history of introduced or removed shrimp.

Do not rely on tank colour or memory. A labelled colony record prevents accidental mixing and makes it possible to understand why colour quality changed over generations.

Use repeatable estimates

An estimate becomes useful when the method is consistent. Count visible adults during the same feeding window, photograph a defined area, or use a catch-and-count method during planned moves. Record the method and confidence alongside the number.

Separate breeding rate from sale rate

A target of 200 shrimp per week could mean new shrimplets observed, juveniles reaching a sale size or shrimp actually moved to new homes. Those measures must remain separate. Breeding can be strong while saleable output is low because growth, grading or demand is the bottleneck.

Record grading as a selection decision

Colour grading is subjective unless the system defines what each grade means. Use photographs made under consistent lighting, a short written standard and the same grade labels across tanks. Record whether shrimp are retained for breeding, moved to a pet-grade colony or sold.

Selection should never be used as an excuse for poor welfare. Every shrimp still needs appropriate housing and care regardless of colour value.

Connect colony changes to water and maintenance

Record moulting problems, berried females, juvenile visibility and unexplained losses beside water tests, temperature, feeding and maintenance. Shrimp are sensitive to abrupt change, and a colony-level trend can reveal a problem before a dramatic die-off.

• Tank and colour line.
• Visible adult estimate and confidence.
• Berried-female observation.
• New juvenile observation window.
• Moult quality and failed moults.
• Deaths, removals, additions and sales.
• Water test and maintenance context.

Movement records protect both stock and trust

Every sale or transfer should identify colony, grade, count method and date. If a mixed pet-grade group is sold, describe it honestly rather than presenting it as a pure high-grade line. Clear records protect the breeding project and the buyer.

What AquaNexus should show

The app should display colony trend rather than a single intimidating total. It should distinguish exact movements from estimates, preserve parent colony links and warn when a production target exceeds available grow-out or sales capacity.

The strongest record is not the largest number. It is the number whose meaning can still be understood months later.