cherry shrimp color

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Kuhlifan

AC Members
Mar 28, 2007
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16
Ohio
I have what appears to be a lot of adult red cherry shrimp that are clear. Could this be a breeding issue? I've had them for about a year, so could the genes just be getting a little thin?
 

TwoHobbies

AC Members
Jun 26, 2008
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Wow, there is just no easy answer to that question. Could it be a breeding issue? yes if they never had good color, and no if they once did.
I've had RCS for almost ten years now and the colors are just as good as back when. Stress in Neocaridina sp. cause them to lighten. It could be water quality, over feeding, having fish in the tank, sickness, just to name a few.

You also said many...is that like half? Males are lighter in color than females.
 

Kuhlifan

AC Members
Mar 28, 2007
904
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16
Ohio
I've had them about a year. They maybe weren't the darkest red, but were pretty good. Some still are, many are not. There seem to be an awful lot of clear or barely red ones now that seem large enough to be darker, but maybe I just have a large batch of the lighter gender at the moment.

I don't think there are any water issues, but I haven't tested lately. I'll have to check into it.

There are some neons, but there have always been neons in the tank. The substrate is light, but it's always been light. I've heard people mention that sometimes stock can get genetically "thin" if it doesn't get some new blood added from time to time. I just wondered if that may be the case here.

Thanks for the advice!
 
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