tpot wrote:I`ve put my Bee shrimp on e-bay at £2.50 per shrimp and some one has offered to buy 6, but said they wanted the red and white shrimp really not the Black! I`m waiting to see what his reaction will be now I`ve told him they are NOT Black crystals but BEE shrimp! I wouldn`t mind but I am selling them as BEE shrimp not Black and there is a photo and they look nothing like CBS!
Hi tpot.
Got a bit of info on shrimp jargon!
The term 'Bee shrimp' is synonymous with 'Crystal Black / Black Crystal shrimp', but terms are often confused in the hobby due to misuse. 'Crystal Black' shouldn't really be used at all, I believe it's a bit of a nonsense term coined from the trademark 'Crystal Red shrimp'.
The shrimp you have on eBay are Bee shrimp, or Crystal Black shrimp. To be true to these names they should have a wild-type phenotype. Similarly, Crystal Reds should have wild-type pattern, but be red and white instead. They should all have NO gold bee ancestry, but obviously this is extremely difficult to determine. Bee is usually used for wild shrimp or pure wild-strain.
For shrimp that have higher grade patterns, use the terms Black Bee and Red Bee. This includes, and is predominated by, shrimp with gold bee ancestry. These terms do encompass Crystal Blacks and Crystal Reds. (Aka, a Crystal Red is always a Red Bee, but a Red Bee isn't necessarily a Crystal Red).
Despite this, the terms are used interchangeably, causing confusion - though it's not surprising that it happens.