Ghost shrimp not a ghost anymore

[KIM_TMA]

I have some ghost shrimp that I use as feeders, but they are in a 10 gl with marine sand in it. The sand is sort of blueish/green and natural mixed. Well as I was doing my tank daze, I noticed that 1 or 2 of my shrimp have a blue pigment on their bodies. Could they have been blues that got mixed up? or are they just morphing to stay the same color as their surrounding? If neither explain what are the possiblties of anything that is suggested.

Thanks.

[Notophthalmus]

Ghost shrimp are pretty good little color changers; I often catch wild shrimp in various shades of brown, red, or green. They quickly turn clear when stressed.

[KIM_TMA]

So are all ghost shrimp stressed. You think that they maybe just changing b/c they aren't stressed but happy. I just haven't ever seen this before and I have went through tons of ghost shrimp.

And shoot if they are true blues then I won't be feeding them to anybody. THey would be seperated to breeders only.

[pixl8r]

Shrimp sold in North America as 'Ghost Shrimp' are most likely to be Palaemonetes paludosus. However, many Macrobrachium shrimp, in their juvenile post larval state, appear exactly like adult Palaemonetes paludosus.

Palaemonetes paludosus commonly have spots of pigment, orange, yellow, white, and other light colors. Most frequently it's concentarated on the tips of their claws, and tail.

However, people have fairly frequently aquired Macrobrachium shrimp when they thought they were purchasing common Ghost shrimp. Many Macrobrachium species slowly develope color as they mature. There are species that are blueish, to dark blue. One notorious species that gets blue is Macrobrachium rosenbergii. They will get very, very large (approximately 12 inches, not including their claws), when full grown. They are also extremely aggressive.

So, watch your blue shrimp for signs of aggression, and for continued growth. If the shrimp starts to attack other aquatic fauna, you many need to take steps to prevent an invertebrate slaughter.

Good luck.

[DAVIDFBT]

My ghost shrimp are usually a mottled greenish color with a clear base color, some of them even have some orange on their legs. It's perfectly fine if your shrimp are like that.

[wataugachicken]

hey, if they turn out to be macrobrachium rodenbergiwhatevers i call dibs.

[bluekrissyspike]

interesting. got any pics?

[KIM_TMA]

I tried the pics and they are so blurry you can't even tell it is a shrimp LOL.

Wataugachicken you may get your dibs. I have watched them very closely since Pixl8r has brought this to my attention that they may be macrobrachium rodenbergiwhatevers. Their claw arms do seem a lot longer than the rest of the ghost shrimp. Now I am worried that this might be true expecially after looking at this site + others. http://www.fao.org/fishery/culturedspecies/Macrobrachium_rosenbergii/en

[1oooop]

I'm not too sure, maybe they are just camoing to your gravel? because it's bluish and they're blue