Re: Question on Harlequin Shrimp... Price Gouging... No,
Supply and Demand... What the Market Will Bear... Future Breeding
Efforts... A $A350 Purchase! More breeding thoughts... 9/5/07
<Ray, my friend! Mich with you again.> WOW .... what a
wonderful resource to get started with. He certainly provides
some valuable knowledge that would only otherwise come by doing
it yourself firsthand. I think that if I can get my guys to
produce eggs, I will be "up there" very quickly. He
mentions several things that I had already guessed at, but he
provides infinitely valuable info that would otherwise take ages
to figure out on my own. So thank you (and thanks to Brenda too),
for such a great page. <You are welcome! Must credit Brenda
here, was her find, she though it would benefit you.> I
didn't realise you had such an adverse reaction to Harlequin
feeding habits, and I promise not to mention it again.
<Yeeaah... I've gotta couple of issues... perhaps about
same number of issues as National Geographic...> I used to
live in an area right on the coast, with coral gardens only a
short walk from the beach at low tide, <Ahh... heaven :D >
but I have since moved too far south, and the reef flats I used
to frequent are now 1000 miles away. <Now why would ya go and
do that?> I still live just a short drive from fresh seawater
though, so collecting fresh water and copepods is no problem
there. <I think this will be a great benefit to you and your
new babies!> My new little companions lack the large
luminescent eyes of cuteness, <Heehee!> but they have much
greater appeal to me than that. <Ahh, good!> I find myself
sitting and watching them for hours, totally awed by their
graceful beauty <The underwater world holds some amazing
things... can hold ones attention for hours if allowed.> (and
the fact that I can't believe I have them). <I'm
pinching you! You are awake!> I do water quality checks daily,
but I am sure that will settle down when I finally get used to
seeing them every day. <Heehee! A bit of an overprotective
parent are we?> I'm still in shock ... but it will pass.
<Heehee! Yes undoubtedly.> The journey has already been
thrilling, so I can't imagine how good it will get should I
be successful in breeding, and raising even a single one. <As
I said before can be a journey of highs and lows, but hopefully
more success than heartbreak.> I think there is much joy to be
had in the successful accomplishment of each step,
<Assuredly!> and if I can do something small to
contributing of captive bred species around the world, then I
will have paid my dues for all the wild stocks I've kept in
the past. <Each step makes a difference.> Here's to
hoping. <Cheers! I'll toast to that!> Ray. <Wishing
you all the best my dear friend! Michelle>
Re: Question on Harlequin Shrimp... Price Gouging... No,
Supply and Demand... What the Market Will Bear... Future Breeding
Efforts... A $A350 Purchase! More breeding thoughts...
9/10/07 Lovely Michelle - <Precious Ray> Glad to know
I'm not annoying you too much. <Nope! Not at all.>
Charles contacted me and we have e-mailed a few times since I
wrote you last. <Oh, Terrific! I am glad to hear this!> He
says that I am the only other person he knows of that is
attempting to breed these creatures. <Really!?!? I am quite
surprised by this, perhaps there are others who are just not
"vocal". Have you searched other forums, ReefCentral
etc?> No one else has contacted him through his page, <This
I can believe. Was a challenge to find his email on his site.
Perhaps better email placement may encourage more contact.>
and we are going to keep in contact regarding our efforts,
<Very good!> and see if we can figure it out. <Often two
heads are better than one.> The biggest problem we face it
seems is feeding the larvae. <From what I've read, does
seem to be a challenge, finding appropriate and small enough
foods. Not knowing the natural diet is a challenge.> Once we
crack that, we will be world famous breeders of Harlequins...
<Hey, ya never know! Could be your 15 minutes of fame! You
should at least be able to get published! I want an autographed
copy! ;) > I am trying to condition my guys by providing a
completely stress free environment (including stress by less than
perfect water quality), <Good.> and plenty of their
favourite food (which I won't mention). <Heehee! Thank
you! Much appreciated!> Also, I am taking into consideration
other factors often overlooked such as temperature range (and/or
variance) plus water movement, as these sorts of things are often
triggers for breeding behaviour. <Yes and the phase of the
moon is often quite an important breeding queue as well.> I
will get more information from Charles, regarding conditions on
his tanks, so that should go a very long way to getting them
producing eggs. <Yes, to have someone who has had some degree
of success will be most helpful. You should be able to help each
other quite a bit. There are others out there who may be able to
assist.> Once I get them happy enough to produce eggs, half
the battle will be won, <Yes.> but the most challenging
part will begin. <Absolutely. Raising the fry is challenging
to say the least!> I have no delusions of getting it right
straight away, but if I can have even limited success before they
get too old, I will be happy. <Ahh, good.> Tons of
gratitude to you once again, <Glad I could be of help! Please
continue to send updates.> and if you were close by, I would
hug you. <I always appreciate a hug! Michelle> Ray.
Re: question on Harlequin Shrimp -- 09/05/07 <Hello
Charles and Linda, Mich from WetWebMedia here.> Thanks, it was
very nice to see the effort I put into that page was of use to
someone. <Likely more than you know! I thought you might enjoy
seeing. This will be posted on the www.wetwebmedia.com website
which averages around 20,000 unique visits per day, more than
www.reefcentral.com so hopefully more will find their way to the
wealth of information you have provided. Thank you for your work
here. Mich> Charles & Linda Raabe
Re: Question on Harlequin Shrimp... Price
Gouging... No, Supply and Demand...What the Market Will Bear...
Future Breeding Efforts... A $A350 Purchase! More breeding
thoughts... 9/7/07 Darling Michelle - <Sweet Ray>
I really, really love to write to you, but please let me know if
I am wasting your time. I don't wish to become a burden on
your time, so you must tell me if you are too busy. <Not
currently...> I just wanted to let you know that I have
e-mailed Charles and Linda to thank them for their page on
Harlequin breeding, <Very thoughtful of you. I'm sure your
kindness will be meaningful and appreciated.> and thank you
and Brenda for sending me there. <You are quite welcome and I
have informed Brenda as well.> You asked me why I moved so far
away from my coral world ... The answer is life. I needed to get
out of the small town I lived in, and find a life with better
opportunities, so I move to our state's capital. <Ahh,
yes, I can very much relate and am making strides toward such a
move myself... but hopefully towards the octopus' garden, not
away.> I can tell you that had I not moved, I doubt I would be
e-mailing you now ... so it's all a progression, <Yes, I
understand, growth and change are indeed good.> as it will be
with breeding "my" Harlequins. The first thing to do is
set up a tank to raise the larvae in while mom and dad are
settling in properly, <Acclimation and time is good> and
then try to condition them to produce eggs. <And just how you
going to try to condition them to do that? Heehee!> So .... here
goes ... <Are you ready?> It all begins ... <Excellent!
As Confucius said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins
with a single step."> *Hugs and Gratitude for your
support* <Thank you very much Ray, been a while since I've
received much of either and they are appreciated. Michelle>
Ray. Re: question on Harlequin Shrimp -- 09/14/07
Beautiful Michelle - <Dearest Ray> My little Harlequins
seem to be very shy. <I'm sorry. Makes it more difficult
to enjoy them.> They rarely come out of their cave, so
observing them is often difficult, <perhaps more time to
acclimate will help these guys get more comfortable.> but they
seem happy enough, and feeding well. <Oh good!> Water
quality is spot on, so all I can do now is wait. <Time and
patience...> I've only had them a week and a half though,
so I may have to wait a while yet. <Yes, Hopefully they will
become more secure and outgoing with time.> I don't think
the food issue for the larvae is the biggest problem. <No, I
didn't think so either from what I had read on the DIBS
board, the unexplained deaths are more concerning in my
opinion.> Charles seems to think that his water quality has
been to blame for all the losses of larvae, <Again from what I
read, this does seem like a reasonable/logical conclusion.>
because he has observed them feeding ravenously on copepods in
his rearing tank, but he just can't get them to live longer
than 7 days. <Could be something else as well.> The water
quality issue may well be true, <Yes.> but he is awaiting a
new batch, due to hatch any time now, <Excellent! Please keep
updating.> so it will be a big leap forward if he can make it
work this time, even if it's just a few. <Oh! Yes! Most
definitely!> I intend to do things a little differently to
Charles, <Trial and error... doing things slightly different
is called experimentation ;) and is often how we learn and at
times succeed. Just document what you do and how you do it.>
but he has found a suitable food, <A large obstacle to
overcome!> and I'm hoping he has more success this time.
<Me too!> The challenge is worth it, <I'm glad you
feel this way.> and I'm just excited to have mine produce
eggs at this stage, but who knows if and when that will be.
<One hurdle at a time.> You know a little about what makes
me tick, so what's your interest? <After many years of
longing I was recently certified to SCUBA dive and I have much
enjoyed doing this, though I'm not doing it as much as I
would like. It is wonderful to see so many of the creatures I am
familiar with, in their natural setting... and the
"tank" maintenance is so much easier ;) I am also quite
a passionate above and underwater amateur photographer. I have
much to learn in this area. I enjoy traveling and have been quite
fortunate to do quite a bit this year and hope to continue this
trend. Perhaps making it to your country at some point in the not
too distant future, I would really love to see the GBR. My father
spent over 33 month in the South Pacific including Australia, New
Guinea, the Philippines and I believe he made it into Japan as
well fighting in WWII. So I grew up hearing many stories about
the wonders of your country. My first "research" paper
(in 6th grade mind you) was titled The Marsupials of Australia. I
also enjoy interior decorating; swimming, actually diving more
so; hashing, running of sorts; spending time with friends;
helping and sharing with others; and philosophizing, laughing,
and chatting with interesting people.> Do you keep marines
yourself? <Barely... my tank is more of a nuisance algae farm
at the present moment. I hope to be relocating soon so it has
been rather neglected.... Michelle, hanging her head in
shame...and grateful that no one can see her tank.> Ray.
Re: question on Harlequin Shrimp 7/21/07 Dearest
Michelle - <Hi there Ray of sunshine!> It's always so
nice to hear from you, <And you as well... brightening up my
day!> so I thought that I would include a small picture of
myself for you to put a face to the letters. <Ah, yes, thank
you. It is indeed nice to put a face with the name. We, the crew,
are familiar to many, as most of us have our pictures posted on
the meet the crew page. I am just returning from an international
conference, MACNA, which was held over the weekend and it is
always surprising to meet some of the people who I have heard
about or corresponded with on-line. You never know what to
expect.> Bad news about Charle's Harlequins I'm
afraid. <Uh-oh!> He did a too hasty transfer to his rearing
tank and they all died from not being acclimatised properly.
<Darn. A shame.> Sad news, but his Harlequins have eggs
every 3 weeks or so, so he won't be waiting too long to try
again. <This is good. Charles's name came up a couple of
times in presentations at the MACNA conference over the weekend.
Took me by surprise. I actually saw some pictures of some of his
tanks! How funny is that? I was like wait, I know that name! Also
attended a lecture on breeding and micro-foods. You and your
little shrimp were first and foremost on my mind.> I on the
other hand have not had so much luck as yet ... (not that I was
expecting any mind you). <Yes, sometimes low expectations can
protect our wellbeing.> One of them did shed for the first
time though, and I suspect it was the female because she has been
hiding completely out of sight for 2 days now, and didn't
even come out of hiding to try to grab the new food I put in
their tank today, but left the little male up to the task. She
got involved only when it was safe in the hole they live in.
<Well at least she had a safe molt.> I hoped that she may
have been protecting new eggs (as I have read they will do), but
she isn't carrying any yet, so I suspect it is because she
still feels too "soft" after shedding to come out.
<Likely so.> Thank you so very much for the personal info.
It's great to know something about you, and I think we are
very similar with regards to our diving history. <Oh, I only
wish. You undoubtedly have many, many more dive than I do, likely
several magnitudes more.> I learnt when I was just 19 (geez
... that's 20 years ago now), and it was about a year and a
half to two years after I started keeping marines. <With over
20 years of experience keeping marines why aren't you writing
on WWM?> Ultimately, I learnt to dive because I wanted to see
what I was keeping in their natural environment, so I could
better take care of them, <I actually wanted to dive before
keeping an aquarium. If anything, I started to keep an aquarium
as a means to satisfy this urge.> plus I just wanted to
experience the thrill of diving a coral reef, <Initially, I
would have been happy just being able to be underwater for a
prolonged period of time, just to see what I could see. Now
I'm a little more spoiled. I want to be in warm, clear water,
with a camera.> and I got hooked like I never thought I would.
<I'm hooked, but I can't say I'm surprised. I have
always loved being in the water.> I spent the next 8 years in
the diving industry, <How awesome!> eventually becoming an
instructor (though I haven't taught for a long time now), but
it still thrills me to get wet and see what's under the
water. <It's a whole different world. I love it! Though, I
can hardly bear to go without a camera. I love seeing what images
I might capture.> Some of my happiest memories are the times I
sunk to the bottom of the reef after a few weeks away, and
looking around, feeling like I was home again. <A wonderful
feeling.> My mum (sorry ... mom) always said that one day I
would find a mermaid and never come home again... Well... I never
found a mermaid, but I still keep my eyes open for one... <You
may still find her.> It would be an experience of a lifetime
for you to come out here and see the GBR. <I would absolutely
love to. Is one of my life goals.> I can definitely tell you
the best places to go, and who knows ... I might even come with
you to see the places I love and haven't seen for so long.
<That would be wonderful! This is the best way to do it, with
an experienced and knowledgeable friend.> Much hugs. <And
to you!> Ray. <Keep updating! Mich>
Re: Question on Harlequin Shrimp -- 10/04/07 Michelle :
<Hello my friend> I hope you get this in time ... <I
did, but just barely! I leave in 3 short ours from now!> I
write, feeling very much like an amateur. <Uh-oh!> I went
out last night (Wednesday) and got back rather late. I used a
flashlight to check on my shrimp before I went to bed, <Tuck
them in!> and the tank was a mass of larvae. <WOW! YAY!
I'm so happy for you!> I couldn't figure it out at
first, because I didn't even know she had eggs, but after a
closer examination, I found them to be shrimp larvae. I was both
gleefully surprised and pitifully ashamed at the same time.
<Heehee! Mixed emotions indeed! But a fantastic discovery!>
I check the female nearly every day for evidence of eggs, but I
never saw them. How foolish I feel, but how excited for the
future. <Heehee! Great that they are reproducing so soon!
Well, it would likely help to know exactly what the eggs look
like, which I doubt you've seen before and you may not really
know what you're looking for until your little guys have had
a couple of spawnings. Pictures help, but until you've seen
such with your own eye... But this is wonderful news! I am much
looking forward to your updates! Feel free to write as I'm
gone thought I won't be about to respond for a while. > It
looks like those links will be coming in handier sooner than I
thought. <I guess! Glad I could get them for you!> Enjoy
your trip, <I sure hope to! I am very much looking forward to
being in the warm, clear, water with a camera!> and please
take care, and be safe. <Thank you Ray. I appreciate your
concern. Looking forward to hearing about the future
developments! Hugs, Michelle> Ray.
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