How to make a CRS with better color?

This question is often hear in forum.

Long term external factors have great influence on CRS color beside the phenotype genes of a CRS:

• Water temperature, ideally is 23°C, this gives the best color vs other factor like growth rate. 24°C to 25°C will work as well, but 26°C and above is not so much for color.
• Light, there are 2 factors to consider, that is the invisible light and the visible light. A light temperature like in range of 10,000k will give better coloration for our eyes. And for invisible light, they will need those has UVB.  I like to use 2 combo from Sera light tube, the 12,000K Blue Sky and Sera Terra FL tube (full spectrum daylight with 30% UV-A and 4% UV-B).
• Food, plant based food like Mosura CRS Specialty food. "Meat" based food is better for growth rate while plant based food is better for coloration.
• Water pH, keep at round 6.5 to 6.8. Lower pH will give not so nice color.
• Water GH, around 6 to 8. Use Mosura Mineral Plus to increase mineral contents and GH.
• Less water change and change lesser amount of water.
• And of course good filtration of water, use canister filter and quality filter medium

Bloody Wine Red Shrimps

The latest development in Wine Red Shrimp are pattern and color. The color is very deep red, often called as Blood Red and the pattern wise, it has yet to reach a common concensus in different communities. But vintage pattern like hinomaru seems to have won the heart of Taiwan community, Japanese community current is at liost of which trend to go, to go for more red patch or go for pattern, but I think they will go for pattern/color trend of Wine Red Shrimp instead of red patch trend soon.

The above picture shows a Blood Red Hino type of Wine Red Shrimp in focus and the rest are Wine Red Shrimp.

How does a baby king kong shrimp look like? 

It is born to be different, with its light blue white patch and blue to greyish black patch, shows color even at 3 days old.

This is how a few days old black bee (black diamond) shrimp look like.

Formula to Better Pattern CRS

To upgrade patterns of CRS, one can put some snow white or golden CRS into a tank of CRS. The result can be seen in F1, if not F2, if not F3, if not...... Over these years, the white color of the result CRS has improved but red is no where near pure red line. Years ago, CRS with golden genes can be easily tell apart from one without by telling the white portion, but nowsaday, crossing with golden CRS can get quite good result.

 X  =

To get good result within the first few generations, good parental genes of the golden CRS is important. Pinkish or yellow  golden has red genes and whiter golden CRS has black genes.