why are 2 of my ghost shrimp turning white???

[kilofey]

all my ghosties seem healthy... but 2 of them are getting white. one is more of a yellowish white and the other seems to be a blueish white (maybe tinted different colors because of gender?) one also appears to be older than the other, one is much bigger. they seem active, healthy, and they are eating well, but the color is off...

im wondering, could it be because of what they are eating? maybe these 2 are just chowing down more than the others and you can see the food in them? i am feeding glass worms, mysis shrimp, tiny pieces of market shrimp.... ummm... i think thats it. my paramaters are ammonia/nitrite 0. nitrate 10.

the rest seem very healthy both ghosties and cherries... except these 2... one of my other gosts is going to have babies in the next few days... so i know they are healthy... just cant figure out why their color is off... btw, they seem to be white on the inside, if that makes sense... it seems like their exoskeleton is not affected, just under their outter shell

btw, can ghosts and cherries inter breed? my ghosts never bred before the cherries showed up, just curious. and how do i take care of my new arrivals? i have the mommy to be in a breeder box with some java moss floating around. should she be removed? or should she remain in the breeder box to take care of the babies??

sorry for the bad camera phone pic

[SammyDee]

I had that happen to me once to a ghost shrimp just B4 it died. Soo.. IDK what it was I just assumed an IP bc the tank they were bought from was dirty as hell. I want breed the cherries only but cant find them around here. They bread like crazy and supposedly are more nutritious for puffer food. When I get some Im done with ghost shrimp. They are known to carry IP's often. If it die I wouldnt try to feed it to your puffer just to be safe.

[RTR]

Whitening of normally transparent or translucent fish or inverts is fairly common before they die.

[JaxPuffer]

Whitening of normally transparent or translucent fish or inverts is fairly common before they die.

RTR,

This is also what I was thinking but, was waiting for one of the pros to say it.

[bigfatfish]

Yep. The only time one of my shrimps turned white, was when I found it with a big chunk out of his back - he was close to death.

[Pufferpunk]

+1, my guess is their lifespan isn't very long...

[kilofey]

aaawwwwwww...... *sigh* oh well... its wierd tho cause the bigger guy has been all milky white like this for about a week now... i would tink he would have croaked by now... and i just noticed the other one last night. so i dont know how long hes had it goin on.... oh well, at least theyre dying of old age, not sickness and at least they are making babies to replace themselves.... guess they must be happy

[RTR]

Ghost shrimp are not long [lived for me. Six to 18 months is about the range (unless in a puffer tank of course).

Amano shrimp are quite long-lived for something so small. Six or more years in captivity isn't rare in my tanks.

Some of the Macrobrachium sp. are pretty long-lived also.

[Nick]

Wow, my last Amano shrimp has another 3 years on him? I had figured he was on borrowed time already, but I had been guessing based on Ghost shrimp.

[kilofey]

good news!!! one of my cherries decided to make babies too!!! so now im waiting on some ghostie babies AND some cherry babies.... and the ghostie is further along, so i should have a few batches right after another swweeettt.... can the babies slip through the cracks of a breeder box? just curious, cause if so, i should probably get them out of my palem tank they are floating in. they havent hatched yet. i think the ghostie babies are hatched but maybe just clinging onto moms belly. shes still fat, but her darker colored eggs are gone. im thinking they are hatched but are the same color as mom now... i dunno, havent had babies yet. so i dont know what to look for. thanks!

[RTR]

For the ghost shrimp, the female way well cannibalize her own young,or anybody else' young. The female should be in a heavily planted, well established smallish (10-15 gallons) tank by herself. She should be removed after she has released the hatchlings. That tank provides the infusoria the fry require. Without it, don't expect fry survival. Their planktonic phase is not fully suppressed, just very greatly shortened. As plankton they doubtless eat and molt once and settle out as miniature adults within hours.

I guess you have not read:

library/misc/ghostshrimp/

The Red Cherries are not as picky. The eggs produce tiny miniature adults which settle out immediately. But good plant cover is a big plus even for these highly prolific shrimp. they do seek shelter for their many molts while growing up.

HTH

[kilofey]

thank you rtr, i had no idea ghosts did that... ill be sure to read the article. and the mom will be removed. thanks for all the info