Keeping Taiwan bees?

Yep, I'm making the plunge, I'm keeping Taiwan bees.   A lot of people wonder, "How do you keep Taiwan Bees?  Where are they from?  Why are they so expensive & not in the US?"

Well, Taiwan bees require finite conditions, just like CRS, but more so, since they're more specialized.  I don't claim to be an expert on TBs but in reading up on how to keep them and talking to experts who know the tricks, I've learned a lot.

TB parameters:  ph 6.0-6.8
gH: 5-6
kH: 0
TDS:  150-180, can very a little
Temp:  70-72

And here are my parameters:

ph 6.5
gH: 5
kH: 0
TDS:  150
Temp:  71

THE most important thing I believe is that the shrimp adjust to the water.  A friend of mine told me that TBs breed better in 6.0, but most breeders keep them in 6.5 anyway because it's a minuscule difference.  It's important to use RO water, or at least know your TDS, while dealing with these shrimps.  They're unusually sensitive to them.  Temperature can go a little bit lower than 70, but NEVER higher than 74; it should be pretty uniform, and below 68 is bad also.  kH of 0 helps them breed better.

Even though they can be kept in them, I wouldn't recommend any tank smaller than 10 gallons; that way the water parameters are more stable and take longer to change.   I'm keeping mine in a 10 gallon for that reason ;)

Where are Taiwan Bees from?  Taiwan I guess.  Just kidding.  From what I've read they're from Taiwan all right, and that they're a spontaneous mutation of CRS.  You can tell they're a real mutation and not selective breeding because BKK eggs are dark blue vs. regular eggs which are reddish brown, and TB eggs take 4-5 more days to hatch.

Blue bolts were a spontaneous mutation of BKK, and there's something like a .01% chance of getting a BB from a berried BKK.

Why are BKKs so expensive?  Because there aren't many of them in the US.  It's a case of supply and demand, and there's a very limited supply so there's a big demand.  People in the US have them but they're a lot more obtainable in other countries like Japan, Taiwan, etc.

Well, now you know ;)  I hope to make more of these info blogs when I get the TB firsthand so I can absolutely tell what they like, what crosses get what, etc.

Adam