Do Taiwan Bee Shrimps Hybridize?

Written by Noa in Taiwan bee shrimp

Part of the excitement of keeping shrimp is breeding them and possibly selling the babies that result from your efforts. However, hybrid shrimp are often seen as undesirable, so many shrimp keepers try to avoid hybridization. So, will keeping different Taiwan Bee shrimp varieties in the same tank create hybrids?

Taiwan Bee shrimp do not hybridize with other Taiwan Bees because they all share similar genetic lines. This means that you can keep different kinds of Taiwan Bee shrimp in one tank without making any hybrids. 

The rest of this article explains in detail why you can mix Taiwan Bee shrimp without worrying about hybridization. I’ll also explain why many shrimp keepers, enthusiasts, and breeders think hybridization is a bad thing. If you have questions about keeping Taiwan Bee shrimp in the same tank as other shrimp, keep reading! 

Why Taiwan Bee Shrimps Don’t Hybridize

The reason Taiwan Bee shrimp do not hybridize with other Taiwan Bees is that they have similar genetic lines. That means any breeding between two Taiwan Bee shrimp will result in baby shrimp that look like the parents; and not hybrids. 

However, Mixing a Taiwan Bee with a different kind of shrimp, such as a Crystal Red Shrimp, will likely result in a hybrid with weak colors and clear patches. 

Taiwan Bee shrimp have many different varieties, and you can mix a bunch of them in your tank without the risk of hybridization if you’d like. Here are some variants that can be kept in the same aquarium: 

  • Red King Kong 
  • Black King Kong 
  • Red Panda 
  • Black Panda 
  • Blue Bolt 

The babies between these variants will still be a Taiwan Bee and will most likely have desirable coloring. However, you may get some shrimp with unusual patterns. This may not be an issue for you, but it is something to consider if you are looking for a specific look of shrimp when you breed.

One kind of Taiwan Bee shrimp that may result in an undesirable hybrid is the Yellow King Kong. Not a lot is known about these kinds of shrimp, so it is unknown if any babies of this kind would have coloring and clarity issues.  

Why You Shouldn’t Hybridize Shrimp

A hybrid is an offspring of animals of two different species, and many shrimp enthusiasts believe that hybridizing dwarf shrimp is not a good idea. Let’s look at some of the reasons why: 

  • Releasing non-native species into the wild could have major effects on native shrimp populations. When you hybridize shrimp, there is a possibility that that hybrid could eventually be released into the wild. This shrimp could then eliminate and replace the native species in the wild. Alternatively, it could breed with the native species, causing a variety of problems. 
  • Making hybrids muddies the gene pool. There is already a wide amount of dwarf shrimp, so further muddying the pool will make it more difficult for shrimp keepers and hobbyists to know what kind of shrimp they have and how to care for them properly. If there are more hybrids, it will become more difficult for anyone to know what care their shrimp needs. 
  • Hybrids make scientific research more difficult. Hybrid species make scientific studies more difficult, as each hybrid needs to be documented and described.
  • Hybrids may be genetically weaker than their parent species. There’s a possibility that the genes may combine to make the resulting shrimp weaker and shorter-lived than its parents. The genes mixture may also make the shrimp uglier and less desirable than non-hybrid shrimp.

With all these negatives, you may be wondering why anyone would want to hybridize shrimp in the first place. Here are some arguments for hybridization: 

  • There’s a possibility that hybrid shrimp will be genetically strong. There is a chance that a hybrid is strong, but there’s no guarantee. Dwarf shrimp are already pretty robust on their own, so there isn’t a need to make them genetically stronger. 
  • Hybrid shrimp may be good-looking. This is also a gamble. There’s a chance that a hybrid will be more beautiful than a non-hybrid, but there’s also a chance that it will have weaker coloring and less interesting patterns. 
  • Experimentation can be fun. Some shrimp breeders think it’s entertaining to try breeding different kinds of shrimp to see what will happen, but this is irresponsible and not a compelling enough reason to justify hybridization. 

Because there are more disadvantages than advantages to hybridization, it is best to keep Taiwan Bee shrimp with other Taiwan Bee shrimp so they won’t hybridize.   

Conclusion 

Because all variants of Taiwan Bee shrimp have similar genetic lines, you can mix them in one aquarium without fear of hybridization. Any shrimp babies will look like their parents. Red and Black Pandas,  Red and Black King Kongs, and Blue Bolts can all live in the same tank. 

Sources 

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