Imported
Imported can get a bad rep. They are typically a lot cheaper than homebred but travel a long distance. Several of my imports come from Taiwan to California to Nebraska. As you can imagine this stresses out shrimp and casualities are common.
Neocaridina imports typical come from outdoor farms. Variables aren't as easily controled. Water parameters can be pretty extreme to what we as hobbyist keep. I've measured parameters to be 18 GH, 12 KH and close to 400 TDS from the water they are received in. My water parameters for Neos comes from Omaha tap water and is typically 8GH 8KH TDS 250.
What makes Aqua Atomic Imports different?
I quaratine for a minimum of 2 weeks. I find most of the shrimp casualities happen in the first 10 days. However I still offer the shrimp at a much cheaper cost than homebred.
Homebred
Homebred are typically 2+ generations removed from any shrimp import. Hobbyist have to be vigilant in culling to maintain high grade colors. Imports typically are high grade and no culling is needed.